JECEI Accredited Centers and Demonstration Sites

The JECEI accreditation process is a rigorous process in which outside validators review school-level and classroom portfolios and the Center's 5-year plan (to continue their journey as a constructivist Jewish Early Childhood Center). After carefully studying and scoring the portfolios, the validators visit the Center where they review each classroom and conduct focus groups with parents, educators and the leadership teams. They submit a report to JECEI stating whether or not they recommend accreditation for the Center.

JECEI is an organization that has created an accreditation process that, to date, has resulted in shaping and accrediting seven centers of excellence. During 2010-2011, JECEI commissioned a study that identified the major models used by Early Childhood Centers that have become demonstration sites of excellence that can share their best practices with other Jewish early childhood centers and the entire field of early childhood education.

JECEI Accredited Centers

Our Early Childhood program has the best of everything: staff, facilities, curriculum and education. Combine this with our love of children and an enriching Jewish environment, and you've got everything you need for your young child to grow to his or her highest potential!

The Akiba Early Childhood program is designed to meet the most rigorous standards in the classroom in terms of teacher qualification, teacher/child ratios, safety and education. Akiba Academy is one of the 7 accredited schools nationwide chosen to be part of the Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative (JECEI), ensuring that our education is among the most progressive programming in the country. Our teaching staff works as partners with parents, offering opportunities for experiential learning based on the developmental level of each child. The result is an arousal of each child's curiosity and imagination, encouragement of independent thinking, and promotion of positive interactions with other children.

At Akiba Academy, our children are taught to live and celebrate their Jewishness. Our Jewish environment, like our academic environment, is carefully planned to promote positive spiritual development. The children are surrounded by colorful Jewish symbols.

The Saul and Carole Zabar Nursery School at The JCC in Manhattan is a progressive preschool that embraces families from all backgrounds and cultivates a connection to Jewish values and tradition. Teachers work collaboratively to create environments and experiences that spark wonder and creativity, build confidence and skills, allow children to explore materials, and encourage a questioning mind. Families are partners in the work that we do, joining with children and teachers to celebrate Jewish life and learning. We are caretakers of each other, our school community, our city, and our planet.

At Gan Ami, dedicated early childhood educators are continually enhancing our rich program of excellence inspired by Jewish tradition and values, strengthened by active parent involvement. We build trusting relationships that support each child's individuality, creativity, and potential.

We believe the foundation of excellence emanates from the creation of a learning community of teachers, parents and children. Everyone is committed to learning and implementing the best practices in early childhood for the sake of our children and our families. The Reggio Emilia philosophy, in conjunction with meaningful Judaic content encompasses the philosophies which our school stands behind. At Gan Ami we believe in a strong image of the child and respect their individuality and their potential.

Ohr Kodesh Early Childhood Center is a synagogue-based preschool engaging children, families, and teachers on a journey of Jewish and secular learning. We instill pride in our Jewish identity through religious, familial, cultural, and Jewish values. We are a community of caring where each individual is accepted for his or her uniqueness, seen as an equal and active partner within the school community, and empowered to be a life-long learner alongside teachers and parents.

We will continue on our journey of providing a school of excellence where our families are nurtured in a community that provides the best practices of Jewish early childhood education.

At the Osher Marin JCC, dedicated early childhood educators are continually enhancing our rich program of excellence inspired by Jewish tradition and values, strengthened by active parent partnership. We build trusting relationships that support each child's individuality, creativity, and potential. Our ECE program provides a sacred place of intentionality where wonder and curiosity fill the environment; teachers and children collaborate to explore big ideas and possibilities. In parallel, the ECE creates opportunities for parents and teachers to grow and learn, building an inclusive community with connections that enrich our everyday living and learning.

As the first school in the nation to be accredited by JECEI (Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative, pronounced 'Jessie'), we are among a group of exemplary vanguard schools modeling excellence in programs for young children and their families. For more information, please contact the Osher Marin JCC Early Childhood Education Services at 415-444-8046.

T'enna Preschool's primary goals are to develop each child's self-esteem, promote a positive attitude toward learning and encourage social interaction within a Jewish preschool setting. Our trained, professional staff creates child-centered curriculums and activities to give our students rich experiences in our beautiful, well-equipped and stimulating environment.

T'enna incorporates the An Ethical Start curriculum to integrate values into our children's experiences. This program focuses on responsibility, dignity, kindness, community, tradition and respect.

At T'enna, we believe a partnership between the school and the family is necessary to foster healthy, happy children. Parent involvement and parent education are essential, and we offer many exciting and informative family activities throughout the year.

The SWFS Balfour Brickner Early Childhood Center (ECC) carries on Stephen Wise Free Synagogue's long tradition of educating young children. In 1949, the Synagogue opened what was then called the Nursery School and Kindergarten, where children learned through creative play in a Jewish environment. Now, over 60 years later, the ECC continues to educate and inspire the youngest members of the Stephen Wise community. One of the most respected and desired pre-schools in Manhattan, the ECC maintains a close family tradition, providing children from eighteen months through four years with a nurturing, welcoming and stimulating environment.

The ECC is a member of the Independent Schools Administration Association of Greater New York and the Education Records Bureau, and is accredited by JECEI - Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative. Through an integrated approach, its highly regarded curriculum provides for all areas of a child's development-physical, emotional, social, and cognitive. There is a strong Jewish component to the curriculum. Children begin to develop their Jewish identity by observing Sabbath with our Clergy, learning traditional holiday blessings, songs and rituals.