JFEDLA was proud to host our inaugural Education Leaders Summit: Understanding, Embracing, and Including Jewish Students in Your School Community! We convened 50 schools, including 125 school district superintendents, heads of school, DEI directors, and other educational leaders from public and private schools throughout L.A. County to help education leaders ensure that Jewish students feel safe, included, and heard in their school communities. Leaders listened to the experiences of Jewish students and parents as they discussed how to best support them during this moment, as well as how to recognize and combat antisemitism at their schools. They also learned more about the Jewish people, Jewish history, and Israel, and took home tools and resources to make their school environments more hospitable to Jewish students.
Speakers at the summit included experts in the fields of education and curriculum development, as well as Jewish history and Israel, including: Nick Melvoin, Board Member, District 4, Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education; Senator Ben Allen; Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz, Senior Rabbi, Valley Beth Shalom; Max Samarov, Executive Director of Research & Strategy, StandWithUs; Jeff Abrams, Regional Director, Anti-Defamation League, Los Angeles; Joanna Mendelson, Senior Vice President, Community Engagement, JFEDLA; Amanda Berman, Founder & CEO, Zioness Movement; Kristen Hallahan, Western Regional Educator, Institute for Curriculum Services; Rabbi Noah Farkas, President & CEO, JFEDLA; Yoni Buckman, Education Associate, Unpacked for Educators; Kiyomi Kowalski, VP, Partnership, Project Shema; and Jaden Penhaskashi, UCLA student.
We look forward to continuing to work with educators to ensure that Jewish students feel safe and included on campus.
