Starting this fall, Jewish families have a new choice for their children’s supplemental Jewish education. The Jewish Learning Collaborative of Metrowest (JLCMW) is a unique school created as a partnership between Congregation Or Atid of Wayland and Temple Beth Sholom of Framingham that is taking the traditional concept of supplemental religious education and turning it on its head. The school registers students from kindergarten to eighth grade.

School director Orna Sonnenschein is thrilled about the new opportunities that have come out of this collaborative: “By combining these two schools, we are getting some of the best teachers that Metrowest Boston has to offer, and we are crafting a new community built within two of the strongest Conservative synagogues in the area.”

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Sonnenschein has been hard at work crafting a new type of curriculum for the new collaborative effort. Veteran teacher Jenn Marshall said, “I am so excited about the new curriculum that we are offering at JLCMW. Our students will still learn Bible, Hebrew and Jewish ethics, but rather than the typical ‘one-grade, one-classroom model’ that is in use at so many religious schools, we are having students mix with a variety of ages to make sure they are getting the learning and education that works best for their individual needs.”

“It’s almost like mixing the intimacy of the one-room schoolhouse of old with the best of modern educational and pedagogical understanding,” added Sonnenschein. “All of our teachers have their own strengths from a curricular perspective and they will be able to use those strengths to help all of our students learn.”

The presidents of both synagogues are also excited about the partnership. President Evie Kintzer from Temple Beth Sholom said, “The JLCMW really allows both of our communities the chance to enrich the education of all of our students.” Or Atid president Robin Wolk added, “Even though we still have our own strong, dedicated communities, this collaborative allows us to strengthen ourselves while showing our children they are part of a larger and even more vibrant community.”

Students will spend the first half of the year at the Wayland campus and the second half at the Framingham site. They will have access to all of the resources that both synagogues have to offer and will participate in a variety of Shabbat services at each of the congregations. Non-affiliated families are also welcome to join the collaborative without being members at either of the founding synagogues. 

For more information and to register for the Jewish Learning Collaborative of Metrowest, please visit http://gg.gg/jlcmwreg.

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