!EDUCATION I

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Tel-Twelve Mall • 12 Mile & Telegraph • Southfield
Daily 10-9 • Sunday 12-5 • 354-9060

FOR HEALTHY
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Inside

Emile Salon

31409 Southfield Road

642-3315

FOR THE SWEET TIMES OF YOUR LIFE

Custom Baked Dessert Trays

build a strong
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• Father's Day
• Graduation
• Confirmation
• Sweet 16
• All Occasion Parties

Sweet 71re4td,

626-0493

Linda

50

FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 1989

626-0107

Enid

THIS SPACE CONTRIBUTED BY THE PUBLISHER

Cincinnati — The youngest
students on the Cincinnati
and Jerusalem campuses of
Hebrew Union College-
Jewish Institute of Religion
are not enrolled in its profes-
sional or graduate schools,
but are the infants, toddlers,
and other small children who
attend the Jewish Early Lear-
ning Cooperative (JELC), a
day care center in Cincinnati,
and an early learning
childhood center in Israel.
JELC was founded in 1979
by Rabbi Susan A. Talve, who
was ordained at HUC in
1981. A precipitating factor
was the increased number of
women rabbinic students,
making an on-site location for
their babies attractive. The
college has provided rent-free
space and utilities. In addi-
tion to the fee paid by par-
ticipating families, funding
has come from the National
Federation of Temple Sister-
hoods and the Cincinnati Sec-
tion of the National Council
of Jewish Women.
JELC accommodates chil-
dren, currently numbering
14, from three months
through three years. While
priority is extended to offspr-
ing of students, faculty, and
staff of HUC-JIR, nonaf-
filiated children also attend.
Word-of-mouth has spread
about JELC which, in 1983
was rated by Cincinnati
Magazine as the best day care
center in the city.
According to Margaret
Brockhage, director of the
center, both JELC's small size
and parental involvement
contribute to its uniqueness.
In keeping with its co-
operative nature, a parent of
each child must work at
JELC a number of hours a
week. In addition to Ms.
Brockhage, the staff consists
of a head teacher, a part-time
teacher and substitutes.
The children are divided ac-
cording to age; developmental
activities are geared to each
category. A special center for
infants guarantees stimula-
tion and individualized care
for the youngest attendees.
Art work, puppet shows, and
field trips to places such as
the zoo are just some of the ac-
tivities available to the older
children.
Shabbat and the Jewish
holidays are celebrated with
the assistance of an educator,
who most recently was Rabbi
David Fine, ordained this
June at HUC's Cincinnati
School. According to Rabbi
Fine, the celebrations are
geared to providing positive

Jewish experiences. Rabbi
Fine also cited the convenient
location, which affords
parents the opportunity to
visit their children during the
day.
The college campus in
Jerusalem is likewise the
host for an innovative pro-
gram for children. An early
childhood learning center on
the campus of HUC and the
World Union for Progressive
Judaism (WUPJ) was organiz-
ed by the Progressive Move-
ment in Israel. Members of
the college administration,
such as Rabbi Shaul R.
Feinberg, associate dean, sit
with other professional and
lay persons on the school's
steering committee, headed
by Rabbi Joel Oseran,
WUPJ's education director.
They share responsibility for
guiding the expanding pro-

The children are
divided according
to age;
developmental
activities are
geared to each
category. A special
center for infants
guarantees
stimulation.

grams, including a summer
camp, based on the Jerusalem
campus.
Now in its second full year
of operation, the school
enrolls 72 cildren, with 57 in
three separate kindergaten
classes and 15 in the first
grade. It is slated to open next
year with an expanded enroll-
ment of 100 children, in-
cluding 20 second grade
pupils. Families come from all
sectors of the professional,
academic, and commercial
community of Jerusalem.
Sabras compose 75 percent of
the pupils, while 25 percent
are new immigrants.
Virtually all the children
remain for a full-day
program.
As in Cincinnati, children
celebrate holidays and
observe Shabbat in ways that
are integral to their other
educational activities.
Students of the college have
taken an active part in the
life of the learning center.
Israeli rabbinic students have
demonstrated particular ex-
pertise in the areas of infor-
mal teaching of festivals, the
Sabbath, prayer and custom.
Presently, several students
are researching and editing