Comprehensive Program Proposal Abstract

Raising Children in an At Risk World:
Three Pillars of Jewish Education for our Changing Times.

It is natural, as parents and community leaders, to see the world through the paradigm that we developed as children. Even presented with evidence of widespread at- risk behavior such as the rejection of Judaism, drugs and promiscuity, we often dismiss the notion of an at -risk epidemic by recalling that we may have known a few children that we grew up with, who were also involved in such behaviors. We dismiss the notion of a communal problem by expressing that the reality has not changed. We believe that we are simply more aware of the problem than we were twenty years ago.

Although this argument may be comforting as we go about our daily lives, it is hardly justified. Even presuming the truth of the argument that things truly have not changed and that we are simply more aware of long festering problems, wouldn’t that new realization necessitate that we now take action? Lives literally hang in the balance. Even if the gravity of the situation remains unchanged, newfound awareness MUST spawn effective solutions to save the lives of our children.

Although increased awareness in and of itself does require increased vigilance and action, the reality we face today is not even similar to the reality we faced as children. Yes, many of us can point to limited examples of a few friends who had their issues when we were young, but there has never been such a widespread rejection of Torah values and embracing of at-risk behaviors at any time in our history. Current estimates presume between 5% and 20% of Yeshiva students are at-risk for failing or falling out of the Yeshiva system. And once students fall out of the Yeshiva system, there is an entire cultural structure of already at-risk children ready and willing to initiate new members into their underworld.

Try walking around the major street of any large Frum population center on a Saturday night. You will be shocked, not only by the sheer numbers of children from frum families wandering around aimlessly and engaging in self destructive behavior, but also by the intricacies and depth of the culture they have developed for themselves. Instead of finding a safety net provided by our community for children who are at- risk, they are embraced by a welcoming complex web of underworld culture.

If you still are not convinced of the dangers we face, go to a Jewish singles chat room on a Saturday night and watch how many children self identify as attending various Yeshivas. We have a problem unlike any problem we have every faced before. The paradigms we grew up with are not equipped to deal with an at-risk population at crises proportions. Nothing short of a true paradigm shift that acknowledges and seeks solutions to the crises our communities face will begin to alleviate the problem.

We need to see the world differently than we did just a few short years ago. We need to understand the new reality that surround us, and we need to learn how to confront the crises that is tearing our community apart.

Project 18 has been in the forefront of the response to the crises facing our children. From providing resources to parents and educators and presenting workshops to highlight the problems, to providing real life solutions such as its alternative high school program, Project 18* has been a leader in attacking the problem head on and offering reality based, implementable solutions.

It is in that spirit that Project 18 announces a new proposal that both acknowledges our new reality AND intervenes multi- modally, "Raising Children in an At-Risk World: Three Pillars of Jewish Education for our Changing Times."

Each pillar represents a self sufficient, efficacious Project 18 program proposal that acknowledge our new reality and provides practical school and community based solutions to the at-risk phenomenon. Combined, these programs represent an aggressive, localized response to the at-risk phenomenon that maximizes the ability of ALL community stakeholders.
The first pillar focuses on our teachers and educators. An adequately and appropriately prepared Yeshiva system is our best communal defense against the proliferation of at-risk behavior. The Teacher Training Initiative provides the knowledge and skills our educators need to teach in the new reality.

The second pillar focuses on the parents themselves. Our Yeshivas can only do so much. The foundation that parents lay for their children at home is the single most important determinate of their eventual spiritual and physical health and well-being. Project 18's Parent Training Workshops will prepare parents for child rearing in the modern world. Parents will learn practical skills and techniques to help them make the appropriate child rearing decisions that are integral for the healthy development of our children.

The third pillar builds on the momentum of the Teacher Training Initiative and the Parent Training Workshops and stresses the importance of a communal response to the problems we face. Collaboration and communicating between skilled parents, professional teachers, involved community leaders and responsible students increases the positive impact of each exponentially. Project 18's Community Empowerment Project maximizes the skills of the disparate groups that construct our schools, and ensures they work as the team for the betterment of the community as a whole.

Each project, alone, fulfills a need in our community. Each project, alone, can be the impetus for change in the current Yeshiva system. Taken together, as a comprehensive, coordinated effort, "Raising Children in an At Risk World: Three Pillars of Jewish Education for our Changing Times" has the potential to not only initiate the community paradigm shift we need to start recognizing the modern problems we face, but to provide the vehicle for that change as well

* Organization name changed