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Board of Jewish Education
- Level
- Series
- ID
- Fonds 95; Series 1
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 95
- Series
- 1
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- 1954-1983
- Physical Description
- 8 cm of textual records
- 4 photographs
- Admin History/Bio
- Established in 1949 as the Bureau of Jewish Education, the Board of Jewish Education (BJE) is the central Jewish agency in Toronto whose mandate is to preserve, enrich, and promote Jewish education in the Greater Toronto area. Its primary tasks are to coordinate and provide leadership in teacher training and professional development, curriculum development, school administration, and inter-school activities, and also to allocate funds to affiliated Jewish schools raised through the annual UJA Federation fundraising campaign.
- The BJE was established following the recommendations of a 1948 study of Jewish education in Toronto undertaken by Dr. Uriah Z. Engelman of the American Association for Jewish Education, and sponsored by the United Jewish Welfare Fund and the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), Central Region. In its constitution, the bureau was described as having the dual characteristics of being an autonomous agency of the UJWF and also as acting for the UJWF in the field of Jewish education. The bureau was governed by a board of governors with representatives from affiliated schools, the UJWF, CJC Central Region, and from the community at large. The inaugural meeting of the board took place on 20 March 1950. The BJE served 21 day and supplementary schools at its founding.
- During the 1950s and early 1960s, the BJE sponsored adult education programs in Toronto through the Institute for Jewish Studies, in collaboration with the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) and CJC. The BJE also provided assistance and advice to the CJC in support of Jewish education in the smaller Jewish communities in Ontario. The BJE's role in adult education diminished significantly after its reorganization in 1968, but this again became a responsibility for the BJE in the late 1990s.
- Although its primary function is to support existing educational institutions, the BJE has also participated in establishing several new institutions in Toronto. In 1953, to meet the need for qualified teachers in affiliated schools, the BJE and CJC Central Region founded a Jewish teachers' seminary (Midrasha L'Morim) in Toronto, which was jointly funded by the BJE and CJC for many years. In 1960, the BJE and UJWF sponsored the establishment of a non-denominational Jewish high school, the Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto (CHAT), with the BJE Executive Director as its director. In 1978, the Orah School for Jewish Children from the Soviet Union was established by the BJE, to meet the special needs of the large numbers of recent immigrants from the Soviet Union.
- Dr. Alexander Brown worked for the BJE for over 20 years. His involvement began in 1957 when he became a consultant to the BJE. In the late 1960s, he became the BJE’s Associate Director, a position he held until the early 1980s. He also served as Dean of the Midrasha L’Morim and was a member of its faculty.
- Scope and Content
- Series consists of textual and graphic material documenting Dr. Alexander Brown's involvement with Toronto's Board of Jewish Education. Included are meeting notices, agendas and minutes, reports, studies, proposals, statistics, financial records, correspondence, programmes, invitations, a news release, flyers, applications, publications, booklets, a directory, lists, and photographs.
- Notes
- Photographers and photography studios are identified on the photographs.
- Related Material
- See also Fonds 48.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions