Celebrating 20 Years of the Jewish New Teacher Project

“Over the last ten years we’ve seen the quality of our teaching rise because of the impact JNTP has had on teachers and mentors. We believe this has had a direct impact on the learning and experiences that our students have every single day!”
– Rabbi Avi Greene, Director of Curriculum & Instruction, Scheck Hillel Community School

As the Jewish New Teacher Project of New Teacher Center celebrates its 20th anniversary, the organization looks back at its impact and ahead at new opportunities. In its 20 years, JNTP has supported more than 2,200 educators in over 200 Jewish day schools across North America, teaching and modeling the skills they need to become great educators, both in and out of the classroom. Through partnerships with schools, communal agencies, and donors, JNTP promotes excellence in teaching and leadership so that the next generation of Jewish day school students are engaged, inspired, and knowledgeable—and prepared to have active roles in their Jewish communities and beyond.

“The training and mentorship that I received through JNTP directly informs my work as a school administrator. I apply their methodologies every time I visit a classroom, facilitate a conversation with a student or colleague, lead professional learning for our staff, and design school systems that promote our educational vision. I am grateful to JNTP for providing me with this skill set, and I see the impact on student learning every day.”
– Yael Cortell, General Studies Principal, Yeshiva of Greater Washington

JNTP offers two core programs—drawn from New Teacher Center’s research-based and field-tested work—that strengthen teaching, learning, and educational leadership. Its intensive Teacher Induction Program pairs new teachers with veteran teacher mentors for weekly mentoring conversations and classroom observations, utilizing a research-based and field-tested mentoring methodology and tools developed to improve teacher growth. JNTP’s Administrator Support Program helps early-career school leaders grow into their leadership roles through cohort-based learning and individualized coaching focused on leadership, culture, and supervision. Program participants develop into effective, quality teachers and school administrators with skills and support to create “Optimal Learning Environments,” in which students thrive through learning and social-emotional growth. 

I will forever be grateful for my experience as a participant in the first cohort of JNTP. When I entered this brand new program, I honestly had no idea what to expect. The framework that I was exposed to gave me a new way to listen, to think about language, to communicate, and to grow. My own teaching was transformed, and I learned how to empower others through mentoring.”
– Shira Schiowitz, Founding JNTP Mentor, Current Mentor and Educator, SAR High School

Supporting teaching, learning, leadership, and culture in schools has been the heart of JNTP’s innovative work since 2003, when it received seed funding from The AVI CHAI Foundation to launch as an offering of the New Teacher Center in Santa Cruz, CA. Back then, 12 mentors in 7 schools, and 21 new teachers, formed the original Teacher Induction program. Today, JNTP’s offerings include that national induction program, the program for new school administrators, a pilot early childhood education (ECE) program in Chicago, professional learning communities in Brooklyn, and more. In total, 160 administrators, 690 mentors, and 1,609 new teachers will positively influence more than 40,000 students in North America this year.

JNTP is poised to continue to elevate the field of Jewish day school and early childhood education. With support from a range of funders, JNTP is building on past achievements to scale and expand its offerings to reach all teachers in Jewish day schools and early childhood centers, so that more students engage in meaningful education with talented, highly-trained teachers to build the Jewish community of the future.

Learn more at jntp.org/20th-anniversary. The Jim Joseph Foundation is a supporter of the Jewish New Teacher Project.