Jewish education in the United States “is the largest single endeavor of the Jewish community,” Philip H. Lown, president of the American Association for Jewish Education, declared at a press conference here today. At the same time, he announced detailed plans for the World Assembly for Jewish Education, to be held for six days in Jerusalem, beginning August 12.
A survey by the American association, Mr. Lown disclosed, showed there are now more than 600,000 children in American Jewish schools, staffed by 17,000 teachers, having an aggregate annual budget of more than $60,000,000. In the last 20 years, he said, 30 Jewish communities have increased their support of central Jewish educational services by more than five times. During the period, the survey showed, the number of students attending Jewish Sunday schools, afternoon classes and all-day schools has doubled.
The American survey, said Mr. Lown, will be part of an inventory of Jewish education in all countries outside Israel, to be presented to the World Assembly in Jerusalem. Among the vital items on the World Assembly agenda, he said, will be:
1) Problem of teacher shortage and teacher education; 2) community responsibility for Jewish education; 3) the place of the Jewish all-day school in intensified Jewish education; 4) the quality and content of the curriculum for elementary and secondary education; 5) education, both formal and informal, for adolescents; 6) Jewish studies in institutions of higher learning; and 7) a program for adult Jewish education.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
