Community Blog Shoolman School Receives $200K Grant

Hebrew College’s Shoolman Graduate School of Jewish Education has received a generous grant from a foundation to provide scholarships to incoming students in its online and on-campus Masters of Jewish Education (MJEd) program. The grant provides Midcareer Fellowships to 12 students who are more than five years out of college and have worked in Jewish institutions for three years, so they can advance their careers through Shoolman, while continuing to working in the Jewish world.

“We are so grateful to our donors for their continued support of our program, which makes a Shoolman MJEd a more affordable investment,” said Rabbi Dr. Michael Shire, dean of the Shoolman Graduate School of Jewish Education at Hebrew College. “We are proud of all that our scholars have achieved and will continue to achieve in their careers.”

This is the seventh time Shoolman has received this grant. Over the past six years, the program has supported more than 72 Shoolman Graduate School of Jewish Education students. After graduating, Schoolman alums have been promoted from positions as administrators, coordinators and classroom teachers to directors of education at religious schools, religious school directors, summer camp supervisors, Judaic curriculum coordinators, university instructors, and rabbis.

“The program influenced my path tremendously,” said Snait Ben-Herut MJEd’17, who received a Midcareer Fellowship as a student at Shoolman. “I started as a Hebrew teacher at a Jewish day school. Today I’m teaching Hebrew at the University of South Florida, in addition to my full time job as the Hebrew teacher at the middle school. I am also responsible for the Israel Education program in my school. I can’t thank you enough for the great opportunity you gave me to grow as a Jewish educator.”

“It’s always challenging going back to school mid-career and balancing more than full-time work and family and schoolwork,” added Miriam Berkowitz-Blue MJEd’17, another Shoolman Midcareer Fellow. “Literally I could not have done this without the fellowship. I loved being part of a fellowship. It lived up to its definition of a community of people who shared a common goal.”

Shoolman’s 36-credit degree, which can be completed on-campus or online in two years as a full-time student or three-years as a part time student, allows Jewish professionals to gain an advanced degree while working fulltime. It provides a supportive digital community, two supervised field experiences, and a professional network for life. Student can complete a stand-alone MJEd degree or specialize in Early Childhood Jewish Education, Jewish Experiential Education, Jewish Special Education, and Interfaith Families Jewish Engagement.

Spots are still available in Shoolman’s Fall 2019 entering class. Learn more about earning a Masters of Jewish Education at Hebrew College.