Amidst above ground cemeteries, riverboat casinos, beignets, and the irresistible appeal of French Quarter street performers, New Orleans has a new offering for its youthful inhabitants. The Curriculum Initiative (TCI) has begun working with Benjamin Franklin High School to facilitate a Jewish culture club. Although work has only recently begun, TCI’s unique brand of engagement has taken to Cajun country like a fresh dose of Southern charm.

TCI’s work at Ben Franklin is being done through its Fellows program, where dynamic, young Jewish educators visit the school to work with students in the Jewish culture club. Beth Baron, herself a graduate of Ben Franklin, serves as TCI’s fellow. “Beth has been really helpful,” says Sarah Weil, a Franklin senior who is involved in the school’s Hebrew Culture Club. “We didn’t really know where to start or what to do. She helps us get everything.” Baron is originally from New Orleans. She graduated from Tulane University, lived in Israel, and received a Masters in Jewish Education from Hebrew Union College. “I consider myself a freelance Jewish educator,” she said, commenting on the fact that in addition to being a TCI Fellow she works with other Jewish organizations.

Baron’s work started in October when she held a kick off meeting of the Hebrew Culture Club. Lee Kansas, faculty advisor to the club, was also in attendance. About twenty students attended the meeting. In recent years the club had not been very active, which led to frustration on the part of some. “I always wanted to participate in the club. It had been left to upperclassmen, but it never got anywhere. Now that I’m a senior I’m going to do it,” said Sarah Weil, who is emerging as one of the leaders. To celebrate Chanukah, they are having a potluck lunch to raise money for the club. They are also selling candy grams for a Chanukah tzedakah project.

The club’s first event was to bring documentary filmmaker Alice Eliot to the school. Eliot’s film The Collector of Bedford Street tells the story of a Jewish handicapped man who does good deeds. The film was shown to different groups of students at the school, including many non-Jewish students, and also educators and administrators. Eliot’s goal in making the film was to open people’s eyes about mental retardation, and to show that being handicapped is not a barrier to do mitzvot and tikkun olam, or deeds of loving kindness.

Baron and the Hebrew Culture Club have an ambitious agenda planned. They hope to develop a student board, and are looking to take a trip to New York to get a glimpse into how America’s largest Jewish community works. They would like to attend TCI’s highly successful annual Jewbilee, which brings Jewish students together for a weekend in New England.

Franklin students may also have an opportunity to visit Washington D.C.A number of students hope to join other New Orleans Jewish teens through the Jewish Teen Initiative, which will support their attendance at Panim-el-Panim, the highly successful program that brings Jewish students to Washington DC.

When asked about her goals for the Hebrew Culture Club, Sarah Weil said “I would like all Jewish students to be aware of each other and to have different denominations represented in the club. I want non-Jews to be aware of the holidays and to understand a little bit about Judaism.” Hand in hand with TCI, Weil and the other Jewish students at Ben Franklin are well on their way to accomplishing that goal.