Yachad Profile • 1

Better Together.COLLABORATION & INNOVATION

IN JEWISH EDUCATION

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Bringing together over 250 students from the local Modern Orthodox, Reform and Conservative congregations, Yachad is the future of post b’nai mitzvah education in Minneapolis. Yachad’s educational approach takes proven best practices currently employed in leading private and public schools and adapts them to Jewish learning in a diverse and pluralistic environment. Yachad is open to students from all denominations of Jewish life and actively seeks and welcomes students whose families are not affiliated with a synagogue.

The Minneapolis Jewish community has a rich tradition of supporting lifelong Jewish learning. For teens, our local congregations and institutions have passionately delivered a range of educational opportunities including classes for college credit. Recognizing the high quality of education being provided, numerous initiatives have emerged over the years with the goal of providing a community-wide approach to teen education.

Nearly five years ago, the Minneapolis Jewish community did something unprecedented: the local Conservative, Reform and Modern Orthodox congregations and their corresponding supplemental schools, including Talmud Torah, committed to merge all educational programming for teens in grades 9-12 through a collaborative program called Yachad. Collectively, the representatives from these organizations have

worked diligently for more than five years and are referred to as the “Brit Signers” - literally the signers of an official contract (brit).

Through Yachad, the Minneapolis community is reinventing supplemental Jewish education for teens by combining traditional methods and content with innovative best-practice educational methods. Yachad’s personalized program empowers teens to be accountable for their own Jewish journey and provides them with the skills and coaching that success requires. With a diverse set of course offerings rooted in Jewish values, Yachad strengthens critical thinking skills, supports and enables leadership

opportunities, and provides growing intellectual challenges.

Most importantly, teens socialize and learn together within Yachad’s pluralistic community. There are currently over 800 teens affiliated with our partner synagogues, with 280 (roughly 1/3) of them

currently participating in some type of formal, post b’nai-mitzvah education. A community study has identified another 500-800 unaffiliated teens in this same demographic.

The Minneapolis Jewish community has committed to something

unprecedented: merging all educational programming for teens in grades 9-12.

YACHAD BRIT SIGNERS Congregations Schools With Support From

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BETTER TOGETHER – WHY YACHADYachad’s mission is to provide the next generation with the knowledge, connection and confidence to engage in Judaism over the course of their lifetime. We believe our innovative approach will be important as teens transition from high school to college and eventually to independent adulthood. Yachad’s model will recreate and enrich existing educational offerings through:

Curriculum Variety and OptionsWith more than twenty courses offered each term, students have a wide range of subjects and course structures to accommodate individual interests, varying depths of subject matter and variations in frequency of class meetings (twice a week, once a week, twice monthly and once a month). Additionally, offerings for college credit are delivered through the University of MN College in the Schools (CIS) program and Gratz College in Philadelphia.

Educational Best PracticesBringing today’s proven educational best practices into the realm of supplemental Jewish education is clearly the most significant benefit in bringing teen education under one roof. These methodologies help to engage students while both deepening and accelerating learning – they have the ability to take what has historically been a good product and make it exceptional.

Yachad celebrates the diversity of Jewish life, belief and practice and encourages respect for

one another.

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Core to Yachad’s Educational Strategy are method and platform best practices like• Project-based learning• City as a classroom• Online learning platforms• College credit options

Yachad aims to utilize as much capacity as possible from existing teachers, however, this approach will require substantial ongoing professional development and commitment on the part of our educators in order to deliver these best practice learning experiences.

Everyone is WelcomeAs a pluralistic community endeavor, Yachad does not default to any single denomination’s views, but instead celebrates the diversity of Jewish life, belief and practice and encourages respect for one another.

Smaller Class Sizes By combining resources, Yachad is able to: • Allow smaller class sizes • Include the curriculum variety

described above • Support students with special needs

Community Bringing together teens from across Minneapolis creates a new social context: The expanded opportunities allow teens to stay connected to their Jewish friends, to make new friends from different synagogues and programs, and to connect with those who have no affiliation at all.

Self–Determined Jewish Educational Journeys

Numerous studies show that engagement and commitment are more lasting when teens help set their own path. Yachad’s personalized program empowers teens to be accountable for their own Jewish journey and provides them with the skills and coaching that success requires. Yachad’s approach makes learning personal, relevant, and applicable.

Teens will frame their experiences around three primary essential questions, allowing for cross-disciplinary collaborations and discussions.• Identify: Who am I?• Connect: How does this experience connect to myself and to others?• Take Responsibility: What will I offer to the world?

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YACHAD LEADERSHIP, STAFF & FACULTYYachad’s leadership team has benefited from rabbinic and/or executive representation from all Brit Signer organizations, ably led by Rabbi Alexander Davis (Beth El Synagogue) and Rabbi David Locketz (Bet Shalom Congregation). With lay leadership and business development assistance from Jed Stillman (Yachad Interim President), the initiative took a significant step forward in 2014 by bringing in Dana Prottas to be Yachad’s first Executive Director.

Yachad Director Dana Prottas brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Yachad. Dana is a dynamic Jewish educational leader with advanced degrees in education and Jewish studies from the University of Minnesota, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. Most recently she completed a masters degree in Educational Leadership and Administration with a focus on innovation in education.

Dana is committed to providing holistic teen education through a combination of social, academic, cognitive, and spiritual developmental experiences. Her unique skills will allow Yachad to stretch learning beyond the traditional classroom to provide our students with the opportunity to experience modern global society through a Jewish lens.

Yachad will be staffed by professional Jewish educators, inspiring local and national

subject experts and young adult mentors.

Yachad continues to develop its staff and leadership. This fall Yachad hired two additional professionals. Yachad will also formalize and broaden our governance model to include greater community representation -- including a traditional committee structure and parent and teen advisory groups. During the start-up phase, the Minneapolis Jewish Federation will serve as the fiduciary agent.

Yachad is staffed by professional Jewish educators, inspiring local and national subject experts and young adult mentors.

Yachad educators reflect the diversity of the participating organizations. Our educators are sensitive to the breadth of different approaches to Jewish life present in our classrooms. They have a depth of knowledge about the various Jewish traditions of our stakeholders’ institutions and they are models of active Jewish living -- inspiring participants to grow as Jews. The faculty will provide small classes (between 15-18 students/per class) within a wide range of selections for teens. Some Yachad faculty will also serve as advocates for our teens with special needs.

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TRANSITION AND LAUNCH

Yachad began an initial year of limited programming for the 2014-15 school year to begin the transition from separate supplemental schools into Yachad. Beginning with the 2015-16 school year, all of the synagogues and Talmud Torah merged their programming for teens in grades nine through twelve.

Yachad is raising funds now to assist with:• Scholarships• Expanded program hours = more class variety & smaller class sizes• Keeping Jewish education affordable for all families• Providing unique pathways for teens’ Jewish journeys

“I enjoyed tonight’s Yachad program because I got to share my story and people were really

accepting.”

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YACHAD PROGRESS TO DATE

2008 Discussions initiated by the congregations, schools and community partners begin.

December 2010 Formal signing of the Brit (contract) by community partners with Rabbi Alexander Davis and Rabbi David Locketz taking leadership roles within the group.

2010-2011 JESNA (Jewish Educational Service of North America) hired, conducted researched, & made recommendations.

2011-2013 Business plan development begins– community-wide surveys, information gathering, and preliminary field research.

September 2013 Jed Stillman joins Brit Signers group as first independent lay leader.

January 2014 Yachad Brit Signers (informal Board) approves formal launch for the 2014-15 school year.

February 2014 Yachad Director Dana Prottas hired.

July 2014 Social media begins with web site launch and Herzl recruitment visit.

September 2014 Full programming integration approved by Brit Signers, Yachad has raised $122K against an initial minimum goal of $117K.

October 2014 Initial launch: grades 8-12, six community programs (beginning in October and running through April) occur at a centralized location with teen participation from every partner synagogue.

December 2014 Yachad begins looking at long term governance model; and acceleration of full programming model.

September 2015 Yachad Launched.

CURRENT FUNDING SOURCES

• Minneapolis Jewish Federation• Educational funding formula• Federation Community

Initiatives• Directed Giving/Supplemental

Gifts• Student tuition from participating

synagogues • In-kind support from participating

synagogues• Grants from local foundations

LONG-TERM FUNDING

Long-term program funding will rely primarily on:• Student tuition • Minneapolis Jewish Federation

Education fundingTo meet key objectives, Yachad will also seek incremental funding from a limited set of foundations, individual donors and profitable incremental programming.

Areyvut — Mitzvah ClowningChidon Ha’Tanach — Bible QuizHaZamir: The International Jewish High School ChoirThe inHEIRitance Project: The Genesis PlaysIsrael Center of the Minneapolis Jewish FederationJewish Community Action (JCA)Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas (JCRC)

Sabes Jewish Community Center (JCC)Jewish Family and Children’s Service (JFCS)National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW)National Council for Jewish Youth (NCSY)Rimon: The Minnesota Jewish Arts CouncilSha’arim: Gateways to LearningUniversity of MN College in the Schools Program (CIS Hebrew)Gratz College

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

UNIQUE COLLABORATIONS

For more information, please contact Yachad Executive Director Dana Prottas at 952-491-0720 / dprottas@yachadmn.org

Visit us at www.yachadmn.org