The

Way,
We
Learn

DIANA LIEBERN/LAN

Staff

T

he last thing that Jewish
educators want is for par-
ents to drop off their chil-
dren at the synagogue and
go home again.
But that's been the case all too
often, says Lisa Soble Siegmann, and
she'd like to change the scenario.
Since July, when the 34-year-old
educator was named to head Detroit's
Jewish Experiences For Families
(JEFF), she's been working on ways to
get mom, dad, grandma, grandpa —
the whole mishpacha — involved with
exciting and relevant activities to .
strengthen everyone's ties to Judaism.
Siegmann has six years of experi-
ence and a newly expanded budget —
the mega-grant received recently by
the Agency for Jewish Education
(AJE) from Bill and Madeleine
Berman includes $1 million ear-
marked for family education.
"There aren't many trained family
educators in the country," said Judah
Isaacs, AJE's executive director. "She's
full of good ideas and has a lot of
energy. ,,
In an interview, Siegmann said she
envisions Jewish family education as
an ongoing series of related programs
and events aimed at specific age levels
and designed to interest parents and
grandparents as well as children. -
"It can't be a one-shot deal, with
limited access," she said. It has to
happen on a continuing basis, not an
event here and there.
One specific priority she men-
tioned: "Have a family educator in
every synagogue."
Siegmann was able to accomplish
this goal in her last job, as director of
family Jewish education for the
Columbus Commission on Jewish
Education. There, she won funding
from the local federation and private
sponsors, including the Bermans. That
grant also allowed her to gain the con-
sulting services of Harlene Appelman,
who began JEFF as a four-congrega-
tion project in 1986 and was its first
Detroit-area leader.
But before the grant, the Columbus
job was a one-person operation — one
part-time person. Unfazed by the
responsibility, Siegmann went out to
service each congregation, one at a
time.
"What I'm proudest of was being

Diana Lieberman can be reached at

(248) 354-6060, ext. 247, or by e-mail
at dlieberm@thejewishnews.com

8/13
1999

12 Detroit Jewish News

Learning Fa
The Family

Detroit's new director of family
education outlines her goals.

•

0

Lisa Soble
Siegmann in
her office at
the Agency
for Jewish
Education.

able to broaden the scope of educa-
tion," she said. "What kind of pro-
grams did we do? Retreats, fairs, ongo-
ing programs — you name it, we did
it."
Her Columbus-area programs
began with the very youngest children
and their families, including "Tot
Shabbat."
"Bet" Bible Heroes, named for the
second letter of the Hebrew alphabet,
was designed, appropriately, for sec-
ond-graders. Each child chose a
favorite biblical hero or heroine, and,
along with other family members, pre-
pared a hands-on presentation - about
that person. Every family led an activi-
ty once during the program's four-
month duration.
For older students, they and their

parents attended a series on compara-
tive religion, hearing from speakers of
different religions and from different
parts of the world.
Siegmann said another very effec-
tive program for high-schoolers and
their families was "Living in the
Bonus Round," a presentation on
HIV-AIDS. It involved singing and
personal narrative by Steve Chalchlin,
a folksinger who himself has AIDS.
The program tied in to bicur cholim,
comforting the sick, one of the major
Jewish ethical responsibilities,
Siegmann pointed out.
"The teens took it very seriously,"
she said. Its one thing to hear about
AIDS in an abstract sense, and anoth-
er to meet someone like Steve, who
has such a great attitude."

Originally from Cleveland,
Siegmann graduated from Ohio State
University with a degree in elementary
education. She spent a year working in
Israel through Project Otzma, a Jewish
leadership development program for
ages 20 24. That's where she met her
husband, Tal Siegmann, an Israeli vet-
erinary student.
After a variety of jobs at the
Columbus Jewish Community Center, ---\
Siegmann returned to Ohio State to
earn a master's degree in social work
administration/Jewish Communal
Service.
The JEFF job had been vacant for
more than a year. Appelman had tried
to interest Siegmann in it for months.
"Then my husband was offered a
residency in Detroit," Siegmann said,‹
"so I called Harlene and said, 'Is the
job still open?'"
In Detroit, Siegmann faced inter-
views with 11 people in one day. "I
was so exhausted, I could barely make
it to the plane," she recalled. "But I
met some wonderful people here, peo-
ple who really care about family edu-
cation."
She accepted the job even though
her husband decided not to take the
residency.
Among her first priorities as JEFF
coordinator is placing a family educa-
tion coordinator in every synagogue
and school.
"The community can't be rich in
experiences with only limited access,"
she said. "The rabbis and educational
directors here that I've spoken to really
want this to happen."
She also is looking to continue and
strengthen partnerships with the Fresh
Air Society, the Jewish Community
Center of Metropolitan Detroit, local
congregations and others, while
adding new partners.
Although there are few 'people in
this community specifically trained for
the job of family educator, Siegmann
said she feels that she will be able to
train them — as long as the potential
school coordinators are dedicated,
committed creative people with a
Jewish background.
"We found them in Columbus,"
she said. "We'll find them here."

-

Continuing with our newly
announced theme of "The Way
We Learn," this article and oth-
ers on Jewish education are
available on JN Online
www.detroitjewishnews.com