JCEP Hebrew School

Kol Ami’s Hebrew school, called the Jewish Children’s Education Program (JCEP), provides our children with strong connections to Jewish traditions, culture, and ethics as well as prayers and the Hebrew language.

Children as young as 6 years of age are welcome to enroll in our school.  Classes meet once each week during the school year at the UUCA except when the dates coincide with Jewish holidays or school breaks.  Generally, the class time is divided into two periods:  (1) Hebrew and tefilah/prayer, and (2) Judaic subjects such as ethics, Torah, history, and culture.

Several members of our community volunteer as JCEP teachers. They are dedicated to making religious education fun and engaging. Our parent teachers create a gentle, positive atmosphere in the classroom, and encourage debate and discussion on the day’s topic. The curriculum emphasizes Jewish traditions, stories and values, and history, as well as Hebrew. We group children into small classes based on age and abilities.

If you are interested in enrolling your child, please contact the JCEP Director. We are happy to connect you with a teacher to learn more about the program. You may also schedule a time to observe a class. Families must be or become Kol Ami members before enrolling their children. The additional registration fee for JCEP is $325 for one child; $500 if you enroll two or more children.

For bios on our JCEP teachers, please see the JCEP Teachers page.

Parents receive reports from teachers about what happened in class and the homework via a Google Groups listserv which you will be added to upon enrollment of your child.

The final year of JCEP helps train students to learn the Torah service, as well as how to study a Torah portion.  For kids who choose to have a B-Mitzvah ceremony, this will serve as useful preparation.  More information on Kol Ami’s “B-Mitzvah” program can be found here.

For post-Bnai Mitzvah kids, we have a weekly Pizza and Talmud class on Sunday evenings, led by Rabbi Richard Ruth.

Children and their parents are encouraged to attend our Shabbat services, and play an integral role in our holiday celebrations.

To learn more about any of these programs,  please contact the JCEP Director.