EDUCATION
Best day school
They grow up so fast, don’t they? One minute they are learning how to walk, and the next they are running up cell phone bills.
Somewhere in between all that growing up, there is school. For lots of families, a Jewish day school education is seen as the best way of teaching children Jewish values as well as providing a general studies education. Tehiyah Day School in El Cerrito accomplishes this balancing act, and it receives a gold star from our readers (and, with it, the top slot in our poll).
“The values-based education we provide at Tehiyah instills our students with a love of learning and a deep understanding of the importance of helping others and of creating community,” said Suzanne Levi, director of development.
First:
Tehiyah Day School
2603 Tassajara Ave., El Cerrito
(510) 233-3013
Second:
Oakland Hebrew Day School
5500 Redwood Road, Oakland
(510) 531-8686
Best childhood program
Gan Mah Tov is the kind of place where parents feel confident dropping off their kids for the day.
“The Gan” — as it’s known in the prepubescent circles — is located at Oakland’s Beth Jacob Congregation and features nine instructors for about 40 students. Director Cheryl Schwarz aims to keep around a 5-1 student-teacher ratio, except with 2-year-olds, where she likes it to be 4-1.”We like children to learn more socializing skills, how to be little menches and treat each other well,” she said.
“We really focus on that kind of thing: doing good deeds, helping others. We really try to teach children to use their words to sort things out.”
The kids have plenty of time to build with blocks, ride tricycles and swing on the play structure as well as receive a Jewish education and attend weekly Shabbat services. And, in the pre-kindergarten classes, 4- and 5-year-olds are taught”zoophonics,” the recognition of distinct letters.
First:
Gan Mah Tov
3778 Park Blvd., Oakland
(510) 530-2146
Second:
Temple Beth Jacob Preschool
1550 Alameda de las Pulgas, Redwood City
(650) 366-8481 ext. 337
http://templebethjacob.org/preschool.html
Best Jewish educator
For years, George Rubin served as a director of education at Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills. Then, he decided he wanted to be self-employed and went out on his own as a freelance Jewish educator.
And apparently, he’s doing something right, since he came in first place for best Jewish educator.
“One of my favorite experiences is being able to teach someone who is afraid that they’re not going to be able to learn it,” said Rubin, who mainly trains b’nai mitzvah students, working out of his Palo Alto home.
“I love to see the expression on their face when they realize they can do it.”
Rabbi Tsipora Gabai, an administrator and Jewish studies teacher at Tehiyah Day School in El Cerrito, came in second place. Gabai also works with students independently for b’nai mitzvah.
First:
George Rubin
(650) 424-1940
Second:
Rabbi Tsipora Gabai
Tehiyah Day School
2603 Tassajara Ave., El Cerrito
(510) 233-3013
CAMPS & PROGRAMS
Best Jewish camp
OK, so the Bay Area probably doesn’t stand a chance of bringing home a World Series trophy this year. And we haven’t fully recovered from the dot-com bust. But, baruch HaShem, we do have some of the best Jewish summer camps on the planet.
Overnight camps Tawonga near Yosemite, Swig in Saratoga and Newman in Santa Rosa, day camp Kee Tov in Berkeley — all are fabulous for learning about Jewish faith and culture (and some for tree-climbing and knee-scraping).
Day camps, sleepover camps and family camps all play a role in Jewish continuity. Competition among camps, spokespersons said, isn’t what it’s about; cooperation is.
In fact, virtually every camp in Northern California — whether a big operation like Tawonga or a smaller, synagogue-affiliated day camp — received votes from our readers. Impossible to pick? Seems that way. So, no winners, no losers — not in this category.
Best youth program
The National Coalition of Synagogue Youth: It’s not just for Los Angeles anymore.
In its first year in the East Bay, the local branch of the worldwide youth organization of the Orthodox Union quintupled its membership (from 20 to more than 100), and has branched out from Oakland’s Beth Jacob Congregation to nearby Temple Beth Abraham and Congregation Beth Israel. Obviously it’s the Beths of… (and, regardless of the bad pun, that’s the way j. readers voted).
“The goal of our program is to provide a positive Jewish atmosphere for Jewish teens,” said Ahron Glazer, NCSY’s East Bay chapter director who noted that activities range from karaoke to social action projects and weekend retreats.
Participants go from grades six to 12.
While NCSY is affiliated with OU, Glazer said that participants of any religious stream — or even unaffiliated Jews — will feel comfortable at its events. The food is always kosher and, in religious situations, an alternative to Orthodox liturgy is always offered.
First:
NCSY-East Bay
Ahron Glazer, regional director
(917) 575-5683
Second:
Club 18, Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
3200 California St.
(415) 292-1281