May 2019

Whoooooose Conference? Ouuuuuuuur Conference!

We love welcoming everyone to our Annual ISJL Education Conference. For 48 hours we invade the Hilton Jackson Hotel and Conference Center to learn, play, and sing together. We do everything from eat meals together to learn how to best use the ISJL Curriculum with your religious school. We also invite speakers from around the nation to give us enormous insights into improving our congregational life and learning environments. We always change up some of our topics for each of the different elective sessions—Wild Card, Tracks, and Study Halls. Be on the lookout for descriptions that we’ll email to those that will be attending a little closer to Conference. But while I have you, I want to let you know about two big pieces.

Each year, we invite a keynote presenter to work with all conference attendees. This year we are ebullient that we will welcome Brad Cohen. He is an out-of-the-box, innovative Jewish Educator who currently serves as the Director of Education at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation. He holds a master’s degree in Jewish Education from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion as well as a certificate in Jewish Education specializing in adolescents and emerging adults. His ever-evolving Youth Education program at BHC is known for being creative, project-oriented, intentional, and flexible. Brad is currently serving in a volunteer capacity as the professional learning co-chair for the Association of Reform Jewish Educators. When he is not working, Brad loves spending time outdoors hiking with his three kids and incredible wife Claire.

Additionally, a memorable moment of the ISJL Education Conference is almost always our Monday night entertainment. Our Cultural Programming department brings us the best and most enjoyable performers, and this year us no exception. We are blessed to embrace the Bible Players, a Torah Comedy team based in New York City that are teaching Jewish values and sweeping the nation! Andrew Davies and Aaron Friedman use theater and improv to infuse comedy and laughs into tales from the Torah and beyond. Since founding The Bible Players in 2011, Andrew and Aaron have toured America from NY to Texas to California, bringing their unique show to thousands of people of all backgrounds and ages, from Pre-K through adults. They perform in 25 states, and do over 100 programs a year, all while remaining handsome and humble. Prepare your gut, because they’re going to try and bust it with belly laughs!

We’ll be sending more information and descriptions along your way, but before then we wanted to clue you in on a couple of things:

• See what goes on behind the scenes in our preparation process
• We talk all the time about how meals are different at our event
• Sh’tick is a fun element, and this year you can vote on it!
• Read some of what we want you to get out of attending as well as previous conference goers’ comments
• We made a survival guide with some tips and tricks for newbies and returners alike!

 
Of course, if you’d like a glimpse at what the ISJL Education Conference looks like, you can always watch our slideshow from last year. Maybe you’ll recognize someone you know!