Archive: November 2019

New Partner Spotlight: Congregation B’nai Israel

New Partner Spotlight: Congregation B’nai Israel

ShalomLearning asked the leadership at Congregation B’nai Israel Barry Ira Graff School for Living Judaism (CBI), in Boca Raton, Florida about using our program. The school is under the direction of Kim Beame, Director of Religious Education and Cheryl Epstein, Assistant Director of Religious Education. CBI is a Reform synagogue with over 700 families and more than 350 students in grades K-12.

ShalomLearning (SL): Why did you decide to use ShalomLearning?

Congregation B’nai Israel Barry Ira Graff School for Living Judaism (CBI): We knew our curriculum needed updating. We could either reinvent the wheel or use an existing curriculum. We chose ShalomLearning because of the ready made lesson plans. 

SL: How are you using ShalomLearning?

CBI: We started in September using ShalomLearning’s values-based curriculum in grades K-6 and Torah Aura Hebrew in grades 3-6.  We’ve even started some virtual classes for Hebrew.

SL: How would you describe your experience using the program?

CBI: Moving from textbooks to a digital curriculum has taken some getting used to, but the assets in the curriculum are well worth it! We hear from teachers that they and the students are more engaged.

I believe we’ve retained several families by offering mid-week virtual classes for Hebrew. The classes are real-time and still teacher led, but the flexibility of the online classes is attractive to many families.

SL: What advice would you give to other schools starting ShalomLearning?

CBI: Use the resources ShalomLearning offers. Encourage your teachers to prepare in advance. The ShalomLearning team is amazing. They’re always available to answer questions, work with our teachers and guide us.

ShalomLearning looks forward to a long relationship with the Congregation B’nai Israel community and their dedicated team.