Focus on Education

GREATER DALLAS SECTION:  EDUCATION HIGHLIGHTS

  • 1926 – first organization to hold classes and hire a teacher for the blind outside of the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) programs
  • 1930s – immigrant and refugee aid – English, health, and civics classes
  • 1937 – employed the first teacher for organized class of handicapped students at Scottish Rite Hospital
  • 1950 – worked for the establishment of a graduate school of social work in Texas and recruitment of young       people for social work careers
  • 1961 – founded LIFT (Literacy Instruction for Texas) (IMPACT: 5,000+ adult learners)
  • 1990 – received the DISD Superintendent’s Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service in Public Education
  • 1997 – Dallas HIPPY program received Celebrate Literacy Award by the Dallas County Adult Literacy Council
  • Initiated First volunteer program in Dallas Public Schools (involving the corporate community)
  • Pioneer work with the blind, including the Talking Book Program
  • Communities in Schools (CIS) – provided volunteer tutors; members served on Board when CIS began
  • Community Board Institute (CBI) – founding organizer and sponsor of this nonprofit training program (IMPACT: hundreds of volunteers in the nonprofit sector)
  • Youth Leadership – extra-curricular program in DISD introducing high school students to future career opportunities in various professions; coalition with other community groups (IMPACT: 1,000 students)
  • Created curriculum and taught DISD high school students about the Texas justice/juvenile system
  • Founded Safeguards for Seniors (1993) – education for seniors regarding proper use of medications (IMPACT: 300+ seniors)
  • Kids in Court  (since 1994) – initiated program with Dallas County District Attorney’s Office; helps children be effective courtroom witnesses (IMPACT: 450+ children and families)
  • Dallas ISD began HIPPY (parents as first teachers) as a pilot project serving 17 migrant families (1988). Richardson ISD, Irving ISD and Grand Prairie also began the HIPPY program soon thereafter. (IMPACT: thousands of pre-school youngsters and their parents have successfully gone through program; evaluation by two local universities report most students perform at or above grade level throughout school years)
  • HIPPY student and parent field trips to Dallas Museum of Art (and others) for cultural arts classes for three Dallas County school districts (IMPACT: tens of thousands of pre-school children and parents)
  • Hello Israel (since 1984) educational enrichment class introduces 6th graders in public schools to the country of Israel; started as a national NCJW program (IMPACT: 21,000+ students)
  • Food+Fit=Fun – a bilingual fitness and nutritional program to promote a healthy lifestyle for parents of pre-school children in select HIPPY programs (IMPACT: 80 families served)
  • WACHS (Women’s Access to Comprehensive Health Services) – developed curriculum; volunteers provide health education, sexuality education and healthy relationships programs for teens (IMPACT: 200 teens)
  • Vickery Meadow Learning Center – NCJW volunteers teach adult literacy, civics, pre-GED classes (VMLC IMPACT: 980 adult students per year)
  • Reba Wadel Scholarship Fund (since 1990): Texas Women’s University and University of Texas at Arlington (School of Social Work); University of North Texas (Early Childhood Education) (IMPACT: 40+ grad students)
  • Community programs (often in coalitions): voter education, parent education, substance abuse prevention
  • Advocacy: for adequate state funding of Texas public schools, including early childhood education
  • Advocacy: for accurate and adequate curriculum in social sciences and health – State Board of Education

NCJW NATIONAL AND NCJW ISRAEL:  EDUCATION HIGHLIGHTS

  • NCJW’s historical education work in Israel began before the Jewish state founded, with early efforts focused on shipping toys, games, clothing, and educational materials to children in war-torn Europe and the Middle East.
  • The NCJW Research Institute for Innovation in Education (RIFIE) at Hebrew University is a landmark project and vital component of NCJW’s overarching legacy of educational initiatives in Israel. NCJW continues to invest in the future of Israeli society by providing scholarships for study at the Hebrew University High School through the Drabkin Scholarship Fund, among other projects
  • HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters) – developed as a research and demonstration project by RIFIE to prepare immigrant children in Israel for educational success (1968). Families will continue to be our impetus into the future!