Early childhood

When people ask how I found myself at CAJE, I usually smile and say, “It was the natural next step.” But the truth is, this journey began long before job titles, consulting work, or doctoral programs. It began in a public high school classroom in Tampa - with bagels, orange juice, and a lot of heart. I was raised in a family of six by traditional Jewish South African parents who instilled in us a deep sense of pride in our Jewish identity. We didn’t attend Jewish day school, but Judaism was part of everything - Shabbat dinners, Hebrew school, Israel bonds tucked into birthday cards. In high school, I became president of the Jewish Awareness Club. Every meeting came with “bagels and Jews” - a playful misprint that stuck, and one that reflected the joy and authenticity of our gatherings.

While most teachers were starting their summer vacations in Florida, Lee Levy-Friedman, a beloved Early Childhood teacher at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach, packed her bags and flew to Israel — to volunteer as the war continued and amid the unexpected escalation with Iran. Lee traveled to Israel at the end of June as part of a grassroots effort led by Livnot U’Lehibanot ("To Build and To Be Built"), an Israeli nonprofit that’s been combining service, spirituality, and Jewish learning for over 45 years. Since October 7th, Livnot has restored more than 300 homes and public buildings in the Gaza Envelope and northern border communities.

When people ask what brought me to CAJE, I smile — because the real answer started decades ago and thousands of miles away. I was born and raised in Montreal, Canada, the daughter of Moroccan immigrants who came to North America as teenagers — my father at 12, my mother at 14. They met on a Federation-led Israel trip and built a home deeply rooted in Jewish values, culture, and community. My parents were, and still are, “community people” — always opening their hearts and home to others, always making sure Jewish life thrived around them. My mother, in particular, is a fierce believer in the power of education, especially Jewish education.

In January of this year, Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools released a report about Jewish day school alumni on campus. It shows in numbers just what a difference attending Jewish day school makes in the lives of young Jewish college students. This data provides us with more concrete evidence of what those of us in the field already know-- compared to peers who did not attend Jewish day school, Jewish day school alumni consistently report stronger ties to their Jewish identity, a deeper connection to Israel, and greater participation in Jewish life during their college years. Simply put, these are the building blocks of our Jewish future, and Jewish day school is where these students learn to build.

Last month Scheck Hillel Community School once again played host to a vibrant and inspiring event: the 8th Annual CAJE Jewish Day School Robotics Festival, supported by the Eleanor M. and Herbert D. Katz Foundation. Over 230 students from 12 Jewish day schools across South Florida gathered to showcase their creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration skills in a fun and friendly robotics competition. The festival marks the culmination of a year of hands-on STEM learning through CAJE’s Jewish Day School Robotics Program — a flagship initiative that introduces robotics, coding, and engineering into Jewish day schools across the tri-county area.

50% of all new teachers drop out of teaching within their first five years. Since 2008, CAJE has partnered with the Jewish New Teacher Project (JNTP) to increase teacher retention and reduce teacher dropout. Through the two-year JNTP training, new teachers are paired with veteran teachers so they can better handle the school culture and challenges of the classroom. Simultaneously, JNTP shows experienced teachers how to serve as mentors to new teachers. Mentor-mentee pairs meet regularly to focus on classroom management, instructional planning, and pedagogy. This collaboration is a win-win because it not only enhances the new teachers’ practices and satisfaction but also encourages the reflective growth of the mentors. This week, the CAJE Miami - Jewish New Teacher Project (JNTP) program concluded Year 1 of the two-year training.

This year, CAJE launched an exciting new initiative with Pedagogy of Partnership (PoP) powered by Hadar. Pedagogy of Partnership (PoP) is a comprehensive Jewish educational model for teaching and learning that fosters wonder, empathy, and responsibility toward fellow learners and Torah. Drawing on our Jewish learning tradition of chavruta - learning in pairs, PoP combines it with 21st century learning science to create joyful and impactful student-centered learning that has proven successful in day schools across the country.

Parents of school-aged children are among the most underserved when it comes to Jewish educational programming, despite their vital role in shaping the next generation’s identity. While there are countless learning opportunities for students, young professionals, and retirees, few programs address the unique challenges parents face — like raising Jewish children in an increasingly secular world or integrating Jewish values into daily life. Learn what CAJE is doing to remedy this!

Last week, CAJE’s Miami Leo Martin March of the Living hosted An Evening of Legacy — a gathering created with one powerful goal: to raise the necessary funds to bring Holocaust Survivors to Poland so they can share their testimonies directly with community teens. More than just a fundraiser, the event highlighted the power of memory, testimony, and generational responsibility, reminding us all why this mission matters now more than ever. Central to the evening was a stunning visual exhibition by Laszlo Selly, both a Holocaust Survivor and photographer, who captured intimate portraits of fellow Survivors.

This past Sunday, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation’s BeWell Miami Initiative, in proud partnership with the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE) and Jewish Community Services (JCS), hosted its Second Annual BeWell Youth Mental Health Summit, bringing together parents, caregivers, professionals, and community members for a powerful day centered on adolescent mental health and well-being. Attendees engaged in meaningful discussions, practical workshops, and hands-on sessions designed to equip them with the tools, language, and strategies needed to better support the youth in their lives — at home, in schools, and across the broader Jewish community.

This past week, CAJE’s Executive Director, Rabbi Efrat Zarren-Zohar, and Senior Director of Strategic and Teen Initiatives, Carly Orshan, had the privilege of meeting with the COYO delegation, an esteemed group of top leaders from Israel’s foremost youth organizations. COYO: the Israeli Council for Youth Organizations, an umbrella organization that represents a diverse network of 21 different initiatives that empower young people across Israeli society, including both Jewish and Arab communities.

CAJE is excited to announce that Rabbi Efrat Zarren-Zohar, CAJE’s Executive Director, has been appointed to the Miami-Dade County Public School system’s Task Force on Antisemitism. In response to rising hate, the school system created a task force led by Ines Meras, District Director of FACE- Family and Community Engagement, a program of Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS).

This past week Rabbi Efrat Zarren-Zohar, CAJE’s Executive Director, Valerie Mitrani, CAJE’s Director of Day School Professional Development and Audrey Maman Bensoussan, CAJE’s Director of Day School Programs and Services attended the national organization Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools conference in Boston where Audrey presented her initiative in creating CAJE’s Day School Mental Health Network of school counselors along with co-presenters Zahava Garber of the Hebrew Academy, and Dr. Oshra Cohen Prizmah’s Director of Mental Health and Wellness.

The Cognia Impact Conference brings together educators, administrators, and thought leaders to discuss innovative strategies, share best practices, and explore the latest research in education. Craig Carpentieri, Chief Academic Officer at Scheck Hillel Community School in Miami, one of the 12 Federation-funded schools, was a featured presenter at the Cognia Impact Conference in Orlando on Jan 29-30. Cognia is a globally recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing educational excellence through accreditation, assessment, and continuous improvement services.

The Robert Russell Early Childhood Department of CAJE is excited to introduce you to the CAJE Israel Corner, a new initiative dedicated to deepening young families’ and teachers’ connections to Israel in meaningful and engaging ways. Each month beginning in November, we have been sharing a thought-provoking article designed to help parents and educators bring Israel into their classrooms and homes in developmentally appropriate ways.

Traditionally, Jewish day school admissions in South Florida were characterized by isolation and competition, with each school independently managing its own processes. The Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE) in Miami has fundamentally reshaped this landscape by fostering a culture of collaboration, transforming what was once a fragmented system into a cohesive network of schools working together. This shift has not only streamlined admissions but also strengthened the entire Jewish educational community, making the process more equitable and transparent for families and schools alike.

This past month, Yehudis Smith, Director of CAJE’s Robert Russell Early Childhood Department, traveled to the Capital Retreat Center in Waynesboro, PA, to attend The Paradigm Project’s annual early childhood education conference, a leading gathering of Jewish early childhood educators from across the country.

Did you know that 1 out of 2 new educators will drop out of teaching within their first five years? That’s a statistic that applies to every educational setting, including Jewish day schools, unless the new teacher receives coaching and mentoring. In September, CAJE launched its 7th new cohort of the Jewish New Teacher Project (JNTP), which drastically reduces new teacher burnout because it successfully supports the next generation of educators in Jewish day schools.