Phyllis Helfand was a single mother in 1977 when she went to the old JCC in Oakland to enroll her 4-year-old daughter in preschool.
There was a waiting list. Helfand worried she’d have to look elsewhere.
Luckily, the preschool director, Janet Harris, noticed the forlorn woman and invited her into her office, and then to her home for Shabbat dinner.
Believing whole-heartedly in the importance of Jewish early childhood education, she enrolled Helfand’s daughter Jessica in her preschool.
Now, Jessica Eiselman has a 4-year-old daughter of her own, and has enrolled her in Jewish preschool at Temple Sinai in Oakland.
“Janet has grown her own children and thousands more,” said Rabbi James Brandt, acting interim director of the Jewish Community Federation of the Greater East Bay, before honoring Harris with the “Guardian of Our Tradition,” an annual award given by the Center for Jewish Living and Learning in honor of an East Bay Jewish educator.
Harris was honored for her commitment to Jewish early childhood education May 7 at EdNight, the annual educational celebration of East Bay teachers organized by the CJLL.
“Janet has had a profound impact on early childhood education,” Brandt said. “And she was an obvious candidate” for the education award.
Harris has been a champion of early childhood education for 35 years. Currently, she directs the Early Childhood Education Initiative, a partnership between the Jim Joseph Foundation, the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation, the East Bay JCF and the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley.
The initiative seeks to engage more Bay Area Jewish families with young children in meaningful Jewish life and community, since local and national studies point to Jewish preschool as a gateway to Jewish life.
The learning that happens in preschools “is something that stays with a child and their family forever,” Harris said during a speech to accept her award. “It is the embodiment of holiness.”
The initiative also seeks to make preschool teachers more qualified, respected and better paid.
In 1987, a report on preschools found that parents can’t afford to pay and teachers can’t afford to work, Harris said.
“Unfortunately, not much has changed,” she continued. For instance, teachers in Jewish preschools make half of what day school teachers make.
“We as a community have to work together and own the problem so the youngest children get the best education possible. And the impact is the greatest when the teachers are the greatest.”
Consequently, the Early Childhood Education Initiative has partnered with Gratz College in Philadelphia to pay for 10 teachers to pursue an online degree in early childhood education.
Harris “wants to elevate the role of Jewish education, and she’s a perfect spokesperson to do so,” said Helfand. “She has such a joy in what she’s doing.”
Harris has founded both an Orthodox and Conservative Jewish preschool, and has also worked as a Jewish community preschool director for many years.
Before joining the Early Childhood Education Initiative as its inaugural director, Harris directed the preschool at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center. She lives in Berkeley and is an active member of Congregation Netivot Shalom.
After she accepted her award, Harris asked all the preschool teachers in the room to stand up. About 30 educators stood as the audience applauded.
“This award is an honor for all Jewish early childhood educators,” Harris said. “I’m so proud of the investment they’re making in the Jewish future.”