Eileen Gress, Executive Director

The educational landscape of California was forever changed this summer as TCI opened a new regional office. Thanks to a generous grant from the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, our new Palo Alto office will give TCI a permanent foothold on the west coast. Although TCI’s programs have always attracted people from across the country, this is our first permanent address outside the northeast. Our effort in northern California will be spearheaded by Maya Bernstein. Bernstein becomes Bay Area Regional Director and Curriculum Coordinator after spending two years leading our New England Regional program, which she initiated and expanded. Maya’s first California program was held at Castilleja School, where students sat spellbound as she blew the Shofar, or ram’s horn, as part of her presentation on the background of the Jewish New Year.

With Bernstein's departure for California and a growing list of school programs, TCI's New Englan will now be staffed by two outstanding educators. Regional Director Lila Kagedan and Program Coordinator Adrien Uretsky will support schools including Andover, Choate, Deerfield, Milton and Dana Hall with ethics education and Jewish student programs,

In addition to our new offices and staff, TCI maintains its flagship location on Madison Avenue in New York. Regional Director Linda Lantos is hosting TCI New York’s first citywide student conference on October 3rd, which will feature teen icon Ethan Zohn, winner of Survivor: Africa.

And TCI continues to expand. We are beginning to work with schools in New Orleans, where Metarie Country Day is preparing to use TCI’s ethics curriculum in student advisory groups.

Opportunities for You and Your School

TCI offers many unique and innovative programs for the entire independent school community. Here’s how TCI can make a difference in your school:

Students, we invite you to start a Jewish student group at your school. Join the growing list of schools including Exeter, Andover, Choate, Kew Forest, Trinity NYC, and Dana Hall, that have recently started Jewish groups, or who have greatly expanded them by working with TCI. Check out our web site and send us an email to get the process going. Log on to www.tcionline.org.

Parents, invite TCI to lead a parent program. In January, TCI will provide a parent presentation at New York’s Riverdale Country Day entitled Building an Ethical Relationship with Your Child: An Ancient Approach Made New. The workshop will show how religious and philosophy texts from various cultures can be used to enhance the parent-child relationship. We can do the same at your child’s school. Check out our parent opportunities at www.tcionline.org and call or send an email to start the discussion.

TCI can also support your child at school. We provide young, dynamic educators to support an existing Jewish Culture Club or to launch a new one. Whether visiting a school periodically or every week, a TCI Fellow can help create an opportunity for Jewish students to connect to one another and to their heritage.

Why wait? Contact us to see if a TCI Fellow is right for your child’s school.

Educators, want to improve the ethical environment of your school? Teachers from more than 200 schools have attended our outstanding summer institutes. You will connect with professionals from across the country, while learning to develop and implement text-based curricular materials in your classroom program. Next summer’s institutes on Teaching Ethics and Teaching Hebrew Bible are currently being planned in the Bay Area for the end of June.

Also, if you want a speaker on Ethics or Judaism email us at info@tcionline.org. We have experts who can make school-wide presentations on either Jewish or ethics-related topics. Such topics include: relating to strangers, the honor code, the power of words, and the modern Middle East. TCI also conducts ethics assemblies for students, including working with a school to develop an “Ethics Day.”

Contact Us

To find out more about what we do, please visit us on the web at www.tcionline.org, or contact us by phone at 646-230-1630. We look forward to hearing from you. And please stay tuned for further e-updates to learn about TCI’s continuing impact throughout the year.

Now is an exciting time for TCI. We are experiencing incredible growth and making a difference in school communities across the country. We look forward to hearing from you in the days ahead.

Best wishes for a rewarding year,

Eileen Gress