Federation offering JTEN grants, planning workshop for educators

The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando has announced the fifth year of the Jewish Teen Education grant program and is accepting grant requests for the 2018-19 academic year.

Through its JTEN (Jewish Teen Education Network) program, the Federation offers grants to synagogues and community agencies that provide Jewish educational opportunities for middle school and high school students in Central Florida. JTEN also sponsors Community-wide Teen Education Days and provides resources and networking opportunities for Jewish educators.

The previous round of JTEN grants, totaling $6,500 and covering the 2017-18 academic year, went to four Central Florida congregations: Congregation Ohev Shalom, Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation, Congregation Beth Am and Chabad Lubavitch of Greater Orlando.

Grant applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. July 5. The JTEN Grant Committee will review all proposals, and grants will be announced on or before Aug. 1. Go to http://www.jfgo.org/jten to apply.

The engine that keeps JTEN running is the JTEN Educators Committee, which convenes monthly to plan community-wide educational programming. Members of the Educators Committee are: Amy Geboff, Rabbi Joshua Neely, Cantor Kim Singer, Rabbi Hillel Skolnik, Dr. Sheryl Sacharoff, Cantor Nina Fine and the Federation’s Jennifer Cohen. The educators represent six synagogues: Congregation Ohev Shalom, Temple Israel, Temple Shir Shalom, Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation, Congregation of Reform Judaism and Congregation Beth Am.

The educators have been busy planning the second Religious School Teachers’ Workshop, set for 8:45 a.m. Aug. 12 at Congregation Ohev Shalom, 613 Concourse Pkwy S., Maitland. The workshop, “Building Your Teacher’s Toolkit,” will focus on a variety of practical “tools” educators can use to deal with challenges faced in the classroom. In addition, teachers will share some of their most valuable lessons learned on the job.

Religious school educators interested in attending the Aug. 12 workshop can find out more at http://www.jfgo.org/workshop.