The Southern Arizona Jewish community has been chosen by the National PJ Library to participate in a special initiative called PJ Goes to School.
Many Arizona families participate in PJ Library, a national program that mails free, high-quality Jewish books and music to families raising Jewish children. Families living near Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott or Flagstaff can sign up at pjlibrary.org.
The program in the Tucson area is coordinated by Mary Ellen Loebl of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Coalition for Jewish Education. It is funded by local donors along with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
PJ Goes to School is dedicated to “enhancing the Jewish content of the classroom through the use of PJ Library’s beautifully illustrated Jewish storybooks to enrich and extend the early childhood curriculum, strengthen bonds between home and school, and spark meaningful Jewish conversations in class, on the playground and at home,” says Loebl.
Schools receive PJ books, related resource guides, a monthly eNewsletter and professional development. PJGtS is in approximately 500 classrooms in 18 PJ Library communities, and it is growing. Lisa Litman, national director of the program, led an in-service day for the participating Tucson programs: Congregation Anshei Israel’s Esther B. Feldman Preschool and Kindergarten, and the 3- and 4-year-old classrooms in the Tucson JCC’s Early Childhood Education program.
Schools can apply to join the PJGtS at pjlibrary.org.
