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The Fund supports Jewish education in the Diaspora for all ages, streams, and sectors. It works primarily in five areas: training and in-service training of educational personnel; establishment and development of educational institutions; informal and adult education; development of curricula and educational materials; and research on Jewish education. As part of its pro-active approach, from time to time the Fund also has established special "umbrella" projects, which offer accelerated application paths in certain areas of endeavor. At present, these include: establishment of Jewish kindergartens in the Diaspora; establishment of Jewish kindergartens in the Former Soviet Union (FSU); Jewish Special Education; multimedia in Jewish education; and small communities. The Pincus Fund is an independent legal entity, whose deliberations and decisions reflect the collective opinion of its Board members. The Fund operates in cooperation with the organizations which apply to it for funding, without infringing upon their independence. Projects are designed by local communities, to meet their needs. The Fund always has encouraged excellence, and many projects have become models replicated in other locations. The past quarter century has witnessed enormous changes in Jewish education in terms of geography, enrollment, and technology. The Pincus Fund has responded quickly to the needs of the day and has played a leading role in developing each new frontier. Following the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the Fund was among the first to promote the establishment of Jewish educational institutions in Eastern Europe and throughout the FSU. It has supported over 115 projects in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Romania, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Latvia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. These projects have established 28 new Jewish kindergartens, and 24 day schools and boarding schools, from first grade through high school. Among the newest institutions to receive support are new Jewish day schools in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Bratislava, Slovakia; and Jewish kindergarten programs in Rostov, Russia, and in Moscow. The Fund has supported 6 projects which train new teachers to staff Jewish schools in the FSU. Other projects have provided in-service training for those already working in education; still others train personnel to work in informal education networks in the FSU. Numerous projects in the FSU have developed informal and adult educational programs, which provide Jewish Studies and enhance the revival of the Jewish community. These include a Bet Midrash in Kiev; four centers in Georgia which offer courses in Jewish History and Traditions, as well as in English and Computer Skills; a network of small Jewish learning centers for communities in Siberia; a program to prepare young adults to work with small Jewish communities in Moldova; a "Family Club" including Jewish Studies classes and celebrations of Shabbat and holidays, for families of children attending a Jewish school in Tula, Russia; and seventeen Hillel Centers throughout the FSU, which were opened with Pincus Fund support. Beyond the FSU, the Fund has pioneered work in small communities, previously isolated from the mainstream of Jewish education and Jewish life. Its projects bring Jewish education to individuals and families living in remote communities. These projects have included fostering Jewish youth activities and initiating parent-youth dialogue sessions in small Jewish communities throughout Ontario, Canada; developing a regional structure to provide youth group programming to small Jewish communities around Hamburg, Germany; supporting the revival of Jewish life in Croatia through a Jewish Educational Center in Zagreb; publishing a magazine in Poland as a resource for teaching Jewish history and culture to Polish-speaking children; conducting pre-holiday seminars, Shabbatonim, and study sessions in Ljubljana, Slovenia; and creating a Jewish educational and social forum for Jewish students in Scandinavia. The past quarter century has witnessed tremendous growth and expansion in the Jewish day school system throughout the world, both in newly reviving, and in long established communities. The Fund has participated in this expansion by providing allocations to promote the establishment and development of over 70 kindergartens, and 93 primary and high schools on six continents, including those mentioned above. Tens of thousands of Jewish children have laid claim to their heritage in these classrooms. The principal of one school supported by the Pincus Fund commented, "We give these children their past. But we also are giving them the future." To appreciate the scope of the expansion of the Jewish school system in Western countries, one may turn to France, which in 1945 had three Jewish day schools. Today there are more than 220 day schools, many of which have received Pincus Fund support. 17 Fund projects established and developed Jewish schools in Britain. Jewish schools throughout Western Europe and Central Europe, Latin America, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa, also have benefited. Believing that the Jewish educator is central to the educational process, the Fund always has placed high priority on the training of educational personnel. Over the years, more than 27% of Pincus Fund allocations have supported training programs and in-service training programs for educators. While some of these projects have established new teacher training seminaries and university teacher training programs, others have provided in-service instruction on new teaching methodologies and new curricular materials. Three projects in Argentina and Brazil have trained teachers in fifteen Jewish day schools to implement "Hora'a Mutemet", a holistic, innovative, child-centered approach to teaching, developed by the Matach Institute in Tel Aviv. Projects in London have trained teaching staff to identify and respond to children with special needs, enrolled in regular classes. Indeed, a small but very significant portion of the growth in enrollment in Jewish schools during the past twenty-five years, has resulted from a move to make classrooms more inclusive of children with special needs. Pincus Fund projects in Australia, France, and Mexico also have provided Special Education services and training for staff. The past quarter century has witnessed a revolution in technology and telecommunications. The Fund is keenly aware that developments in technology present new opportunities for Jewish education, and has carefully considered how to proceed in this area. Technology overcomes the problem of distance between learners, educators, and resources; and also facilitates adjustment of educational programs to the pace and level of the learner. While many areas of Jewish education can be enhanced by use of technology, the Fund recognizes that direct contact between teacher and learner remains central to Jewish education. The Fund has supported numerous projects which utilize multimedia technology in diverse and creative ways. These projects have developed learning programs (including distance learning courses) in Hebrew, English, Russian, French, Dutch, Finnish, Swedish, German, and Portuguese, to serve schools, communities, and individuals throughout the world. Multimedia projects include "Judaism Worldwide", which offers distance learning courses in Russian, guided by skilled educators, on Jewish religion, culture, and history. "Lerhaus, An Internet Center for Jewish Adult Education", based in Sao Paolo, Brazil, is establishing an on-line center for Jewish learning in Portuguese. Instructors have regular "office hours" during which they are available to respond to students on-line. "Merkaz i.t. Le'Morim", based in Canada, provides accredited on-line in-service courses for teachers, as well as an on-line resource center. An on-line project based in Sydney, Australia, offers courses for children in isolated communities and an on-line curriculum bank for teachers. Another project is establishing an interactive website for children, parents, and teachers in Jewish supplementary schools in Holland, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland; the site will include material in Dutch, German, Swedish, and Finnish. Several projects utilize multimedia technology to develop curricular materials on CD-Roms and DVDs. This format allows the student to adapt the curriculum to his own level and pace, and offers an abundant variety of material to enrich the basic curriculum. In its work throughout the past quarter century, the Fund always has considered changing profiles and needs in the Jewish world, as well as new ideas and advances in education and in technology. Yet the Pincus Fund has not taken merely a reactive approach to Jewish education. It anticipates and addresses future needs, thus becoming pro-active. Its support for research about Jewish education, and on-going evaluations of its projects, demonstrate this modus operandi, as do the staff's year-round visits to and meetings with representatives of Jewish communities, to discuss their current and future needs. When the Pincus Fund was established in 1977, its support for Jewish education was a pioneering endeavor shared by only a handful of foundations in the world. Much has changed during the past quarter century, but the Fund has maintained its pioneering spirit. It continues to support innovation and to foster creativity. It approaches its work with professionalism, and idealism, and with the certainty that Jewish education is the bridge to the Jewish future. | ||
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