Our First Jewish Placemaking Practicum Cohort
We were excited to welcome these educators embarking on their two-year journey to learn with us and each other. At the end of this time, they will be certified Jewish Placemaking Educators and members of our growing national JPE network. We look forward to their professional growth and to seeing how they transform the Jewish spaces in which they live and work into mekomot (makoms) for themselves and the communities in which they’re rooted.
What do the two years of Practicum look like?
In the same way that an education for children and families at Makom Community is both deep and rigorous, so too will an education for a freshly minted Jewish Placemaking educator be. This will include key principles of Jewish Placemaking and be a living laboratory for what it means for us to teach Jewish Placemaking. You can see the syllabus here.
In year 1 they will:
- Kickoff the cohort experience at our Jewish Placemaking Conference in Philadelphia, PA May 27-28, 2026
- Develop deep mastery of Jewish Placemaking through monthly hour-long experiential Zoom seminars
- Support the implementation of Jewish Placemaking in their home communities through monthly coaching that is designed to support the monthly seminar
In year 2 they will:
- Implement change management and apply Jewish Placemaking
- Attend quarterly seminars
- Gain support through Makom coaching and peer coaching groups
- Receive an in-person visit by a JPE Facilitator who will provide observation and feedback on Jewish Placemaking implementation and professional development for your whole team of educators
- Participate in the text study, lesson planning, and reflection and iteration/research process
- Mentorship from Beverly Socher-Lerner and Terri Soifer, Makom’s Director of Strategy
As JPE Alumni, the network will provide:
- Quarterly JPE Network peer coaching calls
- Yearly alumni gathering
- Twice a year, JPE hosts specific learning seminars, research updates, and newly developed resources
- Opportunities to highlight your work as a thought leader in our network
- Engagement in our research partnership that entails two opportunities a year to learn about newly developed tools for Jewish Placemaking, try them out in your community, and share back with us how implementation goes