UNIQUE COLLABORATION

CEC creates a unique space for collaboration and shared learning: camp directors responsible for developing and leading the camp’s vision and their senior camp educator (often the assistant camp director or program director) responsible for designing the educational frameworks and programs that implement this vision.
Through a joint learning experience and time to plan for integration and application at camp, CEC ensures learning is enculturated through staff partnership that primes the camp for success.

ABOUT CEC

CEC is about shaping experiences at overnight camp, providing training that illuminates the choreography, architecture and design of the summer experience.
CEC offers new ways of thinking about education, focusing on both incorporation and implementation. It helps participants deepen their educational vision and provides them with methods to actualize this vision.
CEC is multidisciplinary in its approach. It explores how neuroscience, anthropology, social work, and experiential design can enrich and expand the camp experience.
CEC is a shared learning experience with peer-led opportunities, allowing participants to explore the relationship between education and recreation, and how Jewish values can encompass all aspects of camp culture.

SEMINARS

Camp Educators Cohort is comprised of three seminars over a period of seven months.

Seminar 1

The Jewish Value Proposition
January 12 – 15, 2020 San Diego, CA

A summer at camp brings Jewish experiences to life. But what exactly is a “Jewish experience” anyway? This seminar is about values exploration. Specifically, it focuses on what makes a value Jewish. Over the course of the program we will navigate the differences between “thin” and “thick” values, and explore how through the cultivation of a camp culture and the design of specific programs these values can become a lived camp experience.

Highlights include:

⦁ Principles in values education; crafting peer-reviewed, values-based vision; integrating values into camp culture
⦁ Designing summer-long value themes; values-based program design; training staff for values exploration

Seminar 2

What Makes it Experiential:
March 30 – April 2, 2020, Greensboro, NC

What is experiential about experiential education? Turns out, ‘experiential’ is more than just a buzz word. This highly interactive seminar will provide you with frameworks for creating four types of educational experiences: abstract, metaphoric, mediated and concrete. Additionally, the seminar will introduce you to the variables that shape these experiences, the methodologies that bring them to life, and how each plays a different role and yields different outcomes.

Highlights include:
⦁ Balancing resources in camp experiences; understanding impact and outcomes, sensory engagement, typology of activities; design of space and environment; peer-based experimentation

Seminar 3

The Stories We Tell; The Stories We Create
September 13 – 16, 2020, New York

How are our campers learning from the experiences we are designing? In this seminar we will step into the shoes of our campers to consider how they are receiving and processing what they are experiencing and learning at camp. More specifically, we will explore how our campers become the protagonists of their own story. We will focus on the processes of memory formation, self-authorship and storytelling, and how these ideas can help shape the totality of the camp experience.

Highlights include:
⦁ Creating signature narratives; utilizing your camp’s “collective memory” for deepening stakeholder engagement
⦁ Developing narrative arcs for the summer and for specific programs; principles in educational processing (framing, reflecting, conceptualizing)

Eligibility

CEC targets camps, not individuals. As such, eligibility requires the participation of both the full-time camp director (or senior professional responsible for vision and design of camp) as well as the full-time person responsible for educational implementation at camp. Participating camps must be in North America.

Eligibility is limited to overnight camps only.

If your camp only has a seasonal educator or only has either a director or Jewish educator who can participate in CEC, please reach out to Michelle at michelle@ieje.org to discuss.

Cost

Thanks to the generosity of the AVI CHAI Foundation, tuition for the Camp Educators Cohort is $1,800 + $180 registration fee per person. The total cost to a camp is $3,960 for both participants.

In addition to participation in the program itself, tuition covers travel within North America (up to $400 per seminar), double occupancy hotel room and meals during seminars and additional seminar-related expenses.

Tuition does not cover transportation to/from airports or baggage fees.

TO APPLY

For more information about M² Camp Educators Cohort, complete the form below the FAQ section.

FAQs

What is the cost of the program?

Thanks to the generosity of the AVI CHAI Foundation, the tuition for Camp Educators Cohort is $1,800 + $180 registration fee per person. The total cost to a camp is $3,960 for both participants.

What are the seminar dates for Camp Educators Cohort?

January 12-15, 2020
March 30-April 2, 2020
September 13-16, 2020

How will the program impact my work at camp?

We highly value workplace integration and place a heavy emphasis on this throughout the program. As such, we have designed CEC as a double cohort with both directors and Jewish educators from a camp to ensure the most impactful application in your camp environment. Each camp will benefit from personal coaching to support the impact of CEC at camp

Is there one application for both the director and the Jewish educator?

The application is a two-step process. The director will apply and indicate who the Jewish educator is and then the Jewish educator will be sent a separate application to complete as part of the process

What if my camp only has a seasonal educator, can we still apply? And what if my camp only has a director OR a Jewish educator who can participate in CEC, can we still apply?

Please reach out to Michelle Lackie, michelle@ieje.org, to discuss.

What are the eligibility requirements for Camp Educators Cohort?

CEC targets overnight camps, not individuals. As such, eligibility requires both the full-time camp director as well as the full-time person responsible for educational vision and implementation at camp. (While M² recognizes there are many different titles for the latter – Jewish Life Director, Jewish Educator, Rosh Chinuch, etc. – we will refer to this person as Jewish educator throughout the application process.) Participating camps must be in North America.

Who are the ideal candidates?

The ideal candidates are full-time, open to learning from a diverse faculty and excited to learn in an intense cohort environment.

What is the attendance policy? Will I have to leave my home/family for the duration of the seminars?

We have a strict attendance policy and expect that our participants be present at all seminars, at all times. This includes staying at the hotel even if we are located in your home city.

Do I need a strong background in Jewish texts to apply?

No. Just an openness to learning in an inclusive and pluralistic environment.

What should I expect in terms of Jewish practice?

The educational theories and practices imparted are relevant to educators regardless of their denominational or religious background. CEC will benefit from the diverse backgrounds of all its participants. If you have further questions about the program environment, please contact us.

Who teaches CEC?

CEC is facilitated by cross-disciplinary experts, M² core faculty and with additional participant coaching support from educational psychologists. See here for faculty from other M² programs.

Are there additional requirements aside from attending the seminars?

Our program requires the completion of brief written reflections and assignments, readings before each seminar, as well as participation in coaching meetings. You should expect to designate a maximum of 4-5 hours per month to complete these requirements. We expect that our participants hand in all assignments in a timely fashion.

I don’t work in the United States, may I still apply?

Unfortunately, CEC is only open to camps in North America. If you are interested in learning about what else M² offers, please click here.

What does tuition include?

In addition to participation in the program itself, tuition covers travel within North America (up to $400 per seminar) , double occupancy hotel room and meals during seminars and additional seminar-related expenses. Tuition does not cover transportation to/from airports, or baggage fees.

Is financial aid available?

Thanks to the generosity of the AVI CHAI Foundation, M² is able to offer a very low tuition rate which represents a small portion of the actual cost of the program. There is no scholarship fund available for CEC. If you have further questions, please contact Michelle directly, here.

How can my camp apply?

To apply, please complete the form just after the CEC FAQ’s.

Interested in CEC? Complete the form below.

Camp Educators Cohort is designed to enhance the impact of Jewish experience and education in the lived Jewish space of overnight camp, where campers develop an incredible sense of meaning and belonging, embodying Jewish values and offering them knowledge, inspiration and growth.

M2 Camp Educators Cohort