Jewish New Teacher Project Receives $1.8 million from Major Foundations

New grants from Jim Joseph, AVI CHAI foundations designed to help JNTP reach sustainability

SAN FRANCISCO — To further support Jewish day school teachers and to retain them in the field, the Jim Joseph Foundation and The AVI CHAI Foundation today announced combined grants of nearly $1.8 million to the New Teacher Center (NTC) for its Jewish New Teacher Project (JNTP), an initiative that offers teacher induction, ongoing support and training, and mentorship opportunities for day school teachers. The grants are a significant vote of confidence for the twelve-year-old organization following an intensive business planning process with Wellspring Consulting that charts a path to sustainability.

“For more than ten years, JNTP has accelerated the effectiveness of new teachers and promoted the growth of school leadership,” says Nina Bruder, JNTP’s director. “After a substantial business planning process, and with the stamp of approval of these grants, we are positioned to expand this work and strengthen teachers and day schools even more deeply. Our induction process brings together beginning teachers, veteran teacher mentors and principals, all of whom play critical roles in teaching our children.” 

JNTP focuses exclusively on providing induction support to new teachers in Jewish day schools, regardless of their school’s network or movement affiliation or the teacher’s previous training. It has worked with 664 new teachers, 232 mentors and 96 schools in 10 states plus Canada. Within a short timeframe, JNTP’s support helps novice teachers teach at the level of an educator with 4-5 years in the field, enhancing the instruction and student experience. JNTP’s training and induction support work is done under the umbrella of NTC, a national nonprofit recognized as the “gold standard” for teacher induction programs in the secular education world.

A ten-year impact study of JNTP demonstrates that the induction program is especially effective at strengthening teacher retention, accelerating teacher improvement, and influencing the schools’ cultures around professional teaching standards and collaboration among teachers. More than 86 percent of past JNTP participants continue to work in Jewish education, with 80 percent still in Jewish day schools. For schools, less teacher turnover means that administrators and faculty can focus more on student learning.

“JNTP has a proven strategy both for inducting day school teachers and, at the same time, for helping day schools provide effective, ongoing support to teachers through mentorship programs,” says Chip Edelsberg, executive director of the Jim Joseph Foundation. “Given our significant investment in teacher training, supporting new teachers at day schools builds on this investment and is a core element of our strategic priority to increase the number and quality of Jewish educators. We are confident JNTP now has a sustainable and scalable model, and we are very pleased to partner with The AVI CHAI Foundation to pursue this vision.”

The Jim Joseph Foundation’s grant to JNTP is a reallocation of up to $646,395 of the Foundation’s original 2008 grant to JNTP for $1,719,622. The Foundation currently supports eight different organizations that support preparation and/or professional development for Jewish day school and high school teachers. The new grant, which goes through December 2016, also requires matching funds from foundations, federations, or individuals.

The AVI CHAI Foundation created JNTP in 2003 in partnership with the New Teacher Center. Its renewal grant for JNTP is for up to $1,132,000.

“Investing in JNTP, which can reach dozens of schools and scores of new teachers every year, is good for the field of day school education – and is the best kind of strategic philanthropy,” said Yossi Prager, Executive Director – North America of The AVI CHAI Foundation. “We are pleased to be partnering with other philanthropists in a program that extends the tenure and improves the quality of new teachers who will educate children for decades.  Perhaps equally important, in training mentors, JNTP develops a next generation of day school leaders who understand the mentoring and supervision of faculty.”

Along with its induction of new teachers, JNTP also helps day schools recognize, retain, and deepen the teaching and leadership skills of their best teachers. JNTP has provided close to 100 day schools with a vision for rigorous professional development and a set of professional teaching standards. A principal at one participating school notes, “The mentoring program has had a profound impact on improving quality of instruction and teacher support at [my school].”

With demonstrated results, both foundations over the last three years encouraged JNTP to develop its sustainability plan. Under the leadership of Bruder, JNTP contracted with Wellspring Consulting and examined market research, data analysis, financial modeling and scenario planning together with JNTP and NTC leadership.

“We are very aware of the opportunity now in front of us and are excited to capitalize on this grant and build on our success,” adds Bruder. “Day schools are proven grounds for Jewish education. Research indicates that even the best teachers in the best schools need mentoring support to be successful as they begin their careers.”

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ABOUT JNTP
The Jewish New Teacher Project (JNTP) trains veteran teachers to intensively mentor beginning teachers, resulting in educators who are more effective, confident and committed to teaching long-term and who provide a better education for our children. Through its work, JNTP is transforming Jewish schools, changing the way teachers teach and the way students learn.www.jntp.org

ABOUT JIM JOSEPH FOUNDATION
By investing in promising Jewish education grant initiatives, the Jim Joseph Foundation seeks to foster compelling, effective Jewish learning experiences for young Jews in the United States. Established in 2006, the Jim Joseph Foundation has awarded $300 million in grants to engage, educate, and inspire young Jewish minds to discover the joy of living vibrant Jewish lives.www.jimjosephfoundation.org

 ABOUT THE AVI CHAI FOUNDATION
The AVI CHAI Foundation was founded in 1984 by Zalman Chaim Bernstein z”l. Since then, the foundation’s mission continues to be to further the perpetuation of the Jewish people, Judaism, and the centrality of the State of Israel to the Jewish people through its operations in North America, Israel, and the former Soviet Union. In North America, the foundation’s focus has been to foster and nurture Jewish literacy, religious purposefulness, and peoplehood/Israel at Jewish day schools and overnight summer camps. With a sunset date of 2020, AVI CHAI’s goal for its remaining years is to nurture and grow the strength and influence of institutions, people and ideas that serve the day school and overnight camp fields. www.avichai.org.