JkidLA and Concierges for Jewish Education

JkidLA is a web resource of BJE and funded by a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation.  JkidLA provides one place where families can get a comprehensive listing of the myriad of Jewish educational opportunities and resources in Los Angeles.

By visiting JkidLA, you can use the interactive features to find the ideal school or educational program for your child.  And if you need additional help, or prefer a personal touch, you can contact our Concierge service.  Concierges Debra Markovic and Rachel Donitz Kaplan can help you navigate the wealth of opportunities available and help you find the right match for your family.  Call one of them today and take advantage of this complimentary resource.  Whatever your child's age, our Concierge service can help you make the Jewish community connections that best suits your family.

Concierges for Jewish Education
Debra Markovic (City)
(323) 761-8616 or dmarkovic@bjela.org

Rachel Donitz Kaplan (Valley)
(818) 464-3391 or RKaplan@bjela.org

Concierge services are funded by a grant from the
Jewish Community Foundation

Jewish Schools in the Los Angeles Area

To help you find schools in your area that suit your needs, BJE has a comprehensive listing. You can also find information about BJE “affiliated” and “accredited” schools – as well as listings of each – here.  Don’t forget to use JkidLA.com to assist you.

There are two very important ways the BJE partners with school to help insure they are meeting the highest educational standards.

Schools affiliated with the BJE are eligible to receive a wide range of services including but not limited to professional development for teachers; workshops and seminars for staff and lay leaders on topics related to best practices in governance; student scholarships; school improvement grants; and individualized consultation.

School accreditation is a process of self-examination and evaluation leading to school improvement.  All BJE schools, including Early Childhood Centers, are required to undertake BJE School Accreditation in order to qualify for communal financial support.  The process includes a comprehensive self-study, on-site visitation, and review by a Commission on School Accreditation.  To date, there are more than 150 BJE Accredited schools in the Greater Los Angeles area.

For more information, as well as a listing of affiliated and/or accredited schools click here.

Early Childhood Education

BJE has a wealth of resources for parents looking for information and options for their pre-school age children.

BJE's Early Childhood Education Department provides educational services, in-service training, accreditation, professional development, and networking opportunities for 65 preschools and childcare centers in the greater Los Angeles area.  Click here to read about some of the ways BJE’s ECE Department informs Jewish childhood education programs about cutting-edge advancements in the field.

In addition, through our JkidLA program, you can search for information on pre-school or childcare options in your area.  Or, link directly to JkidLA’s listing of pre-school and childcare centers. 

Further assistance is available by contacting one of our Concierges: In the city at (323) 761-8616 or via email to dmarkovic@bjela.org; in the valley at (818) 464-3391 or via email to RKaplan@bjela.org.

Additionally, a printable listing of Jewish schools is available by clicking here.

Day Schools

In addition to using the resources of JkidLA or our Concierges to locate a Jewish day school in your area, there are a number of questions parents might want answered about Jewish day schools and yeshivas.  BJE suggests considering the following questions when looking into day school options in Los Angeles.  Click here.

Additionally, a printable listing of Jewish schools is available by clicking here.

Religious Schools

Parents seeking information about religious schools in their area may also utilize the services of JkidLA to locate the school that best suits their needs.  Additionally, questions to consider such as availability of bar/bat mitzvah programs or specific subject matter taught are listed here.  Of course, our Concierges can also help you: In the city at (323) 761-8616 or via email to dmarkovic@bjela.org; in the valley at (818) 464-3391 or via email to RKaplan@bjela.org.

Additionally, a printable listing of Jewish schools is available by clicking here.

Hebrew Language Acquisition

BJE is at the forefront of a pioneering approach to second language acquisition via L’shoneinu.  L'shoneinu provides direction and assistance, starting in the early years and immersing the young learner in spoken Hebrew.  L'shoneinu targets early childhood and elementary age children attending BJE affiliated early childhood centers, day schools, and religious schools.  Read more about this innovative program here.

Special Education

Information for parents regarding education for their special needs child is available by contacting Jewish Family Service.  They will help you and your child find individualized attention and provide you with the tools you need to find the appropriate program. Please click here for further information.  

Information for teachers is available by contacting the BJE's Terri Barach at 323-761-8622.   Terri facilitates a group of educators and specialists (Communities of Practice) working in this field in both our day and religious schools to share resources, best practices and provide support for one another .

Additional Resources for Parents

There are a number of online resources for parents.  Here is a partial list of useful sites:

• www.parenting.com
• www.iVillage.com

Israel Education

The Tel Aviv/Los Angeles Partnership

BJE is about partnerships – collaborating with a variety of groups, institutions and individuals to achieve the goal of enhancing quality, increasing access, and encouraging participation in Jewish education.  It is also about informing the community of its religious and cultural heritage and enduring connection with Israel.

Among the many ways BJE seeks to achieve its goal is to bring educational communities together, be they across town or across the world.  For example, when the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles established its Tel Aviv/Los Angeles Partnership in 1997, BJE recognized an opportunity to collaborate with the Federation and its Israel and Overseas Department.

The Tel Aviv/Los Angeles Partnership seeks to foster and create mutually beneficial relationships between the citizens and institutions of Tel Aviv and Los Angeles and to strengthen shared Jewish identities and destinies.  Among the Partnership’s activities is a School ‘Twinning’ Program (STP).  The STP began with six paired schools in Tel Aviv and Los Angeles.  Today there are 36 participating schools (18 in each country).  The school partnerships consist of everything from the simple exchange of holiday greetings and emails between classes, to video conferences, and from jointly prepared curricula to travel exchanges of students and parents between the two schools.  The purpose of the program is to create a sense of shared community and common goals between the students, parents and faculty.

One of the STP’s key activities in which BJE plays a major role is a Joint Teachers Seminar.  The annual seminar promotes wide-ranging debate, discussion, and reflection about the land, state, and people of Israel.  It is a critical “greenhouse” for incubating new ideas and perspectives and tries to challenge teachers conceptually, as well as help them connect broad themes and ideas to practical classroom activities.

The seminar is held annually in December and brings together representative faculty from all the participating school for ten days of collaborative study.  It is an opportunity for faculty to share best practices, develop a shared language and examine significant Jewish themes pertinent to the School Twinning Program.

The seminars have explored a wide variety of subject matter - the concept of “Peoplehood” and its relationship to Jewish self-perception; the idea of “Homeland” and how American and Israeli Jews may view it differently; the proposition “To Be a Jew” and ways that idea has been expressed in Jewish life; the image of the “educated Jew;” the affective and spiritual elements of Judaism (titled, “With All Your Heart”); the concept of Tikkun Olam and the Jewish view of engagement in the world; and the idea of belonging to a community and how we act on the precept of “Kol Yisrael Areivim Zeh LaZeh,” (All Israel is Obligated to One Another).  For additional information on the Tel Aviv/LA Partnership, please contact Associate Director Phil Liff-Grieff.