The Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore recently announced it will provide day-to-day management, professional development and marketing services for Baltimore Hebrew Congregation’s E.B. Hirsh Early Childhood Center.
The two-year agreement takes effect July 1.
“We are confident that the combined talents of the JCC’s and BHC’s professional staff and our proven track record in delivering Jewish early childhood education will enable us to enrich an already strong preschool environment at the E.B. Hirsh Early Childhood Center at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation,” said Barak Hermann, the JCC’s chief executive officer. “We are always committed to partnering opportunities where children can learn, explore, and grow.”
Established in 1988 and named in honor of Eleanor Betty Rosenthal Hirsh, an educator and Jewish community lay leader and philanthropist, the EBHECC offers infant care starting at 10 weeks old, a toddler program for children ages 18-24 months old, and a preschool program for children between the ages of 2 and 4.
The Park Heights JCC has offered preschool programming since opening in 1960, and the Owings Mills JCC since its opening in 1978. (Due to the pandemic, the JCC temporarily consolidated its program to the Owings Mills location.)
Over the past five years, more than 1,500 families have sent their youngsters to the JCC for family engagement and early childhood education. JCC leaders hope the expanded early childhood education program will connect BHC families to other JCC signature programs, such as J Camps.
The JCC plans to repurpose the Meyerhoff Early Learning Center space at the Park Heights JCC into a family engagement hub, with the support of the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds. The space will be used for drop-in play, Jewish programming, enrichment classes, birthday parties and more. Like the center’s previous Downtown Baltimore JCC model, there will be a membership or pay-as-you-go option.
“As two historic Baltimore Jewish organizations, we are excited to work together for the benefit of our youngest generation,” said BHC’s Rabbi Andrew Busch. “The enhanced professional development opportunities will only strengthen the already wonderful staff of the E. B. Hirsh Early Childhood Center and provide opportunities to deepen their skills and perspective, in a meaningful and ongoing manner.
“Our families and children will not experience a change in our warm and innovative early childhood program,” he said. “Rather, this collaboration will allow us to flesh out the depth and breadth of our offerings and enable us to weave further together our Jewish and general curricula, while enhancing the fun and challenging day of our students.”
Through this collaboration, the EBHECC’s professional staff will benefit from the JCC’s established consulting relationships with the JCC Association of North America. The partnership will provide expertise from the Sheva Center: Innovation in Early Jewish Childhood Education and Engagement, a signature program of The JCC Association of North America.
The Sheva Center empowers and supports teachers and directors through its framework of seven core elements that outlines roles and priorities within early learning communities, and its faculty members provide on-site and virtual consultations tailored to the specific needs of each school.
“We are delighted to welcome the team from the E.B. Hirsh Early Childhood Center to the Sheva Center family and to offer them the same ever-growing array of professional development and support services available to others in our network of vibrant early learning centers across the continent,” said Mark Horowitz, a vice president of program and talent at JCCA.
Said Doron Krakow, president and CEO of JCCA: “We can all take enormous pride in this collaboration between two leading Jewish institutions in the great Jewish community of Baltimore. BHC and the JCC are joining hands to strengthen the engagement of families with young children, placing them on the path to a lifetime of participation in Jewish community. Its success will be a beacon to others from coast to coast.”
Brett Cohen, a EBHECC parent and vice president of BHC’s board of electors, said of the collaboration, “I could think of no greater synergy than a partnership between these two organizations. The JCC brings an incredible record of early childhood education and community development that can only enhance an already thriving and wonderful community at the E.B. Hirsh Early Childhood Center. This will not only be a great thing for BHC and E.B. Hirsh Early Childhood Center, but we hope it will become a model for JCC/Synagogue partnerships throughout the country.”
For information about the JCC and BHC programs, visit: jcc.org/elc or baltimorehebrew.org/ebhirshearlychildhoodcenter/our-program/
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