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Congregation Neve Shalom, Metuchen, hosted the first of what organizers expect to be an annual Conference on Synagogue Education June 10. The conference, sponsored by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism's Commission on Jewish Education, brought teachers, rabbis, and synagogue lay leaders together to learn new, engaging, and effective teaching methods.

"We in the New Jersey region are fortunate that our cos is a cos revaya, an overflowing cup," said USCJ Education and Youth Activities Director Michelle Rich. "Cos" is "cup" in Hebrew and is a play on the acronym for Conference on Synagogue Education.

Neve Shalom, itself a "framework of excellence" school according to the Jewish Educator's Association under United Synagogue, and the USCJ brought in more than 70 attendees from 54 synagogues spanning three USCJ regions -- New Jersey, Mid-Atlantic, and METNY -- to address challenges and opportunities in Jewish education and synagogue life.

COSE featured three groups of sessions with a choice of sessions in each. They covered topics such as nursery school programming, training in teaching methods, interactive siddurim (prayer books), budget management in the current economic climate, responsibilities of education chairs and presidents, and running an effective Hebrew High program.

Caryn Bruckheimer, an early childhood consultant and trainer, ran three sessions on Jewish preschools and their effect on early childhood.

"The Jewish nursery school is the direct pipeline to further Jewish education," Bruckheimer emphasized during her first session, "Our Congregational Nursery Schools: The Gateway to a Jewish Experience."

During the session, Bruckheimer stressed that the main goal of a synagogue preschool is to provide quality care.

"When parents have a good experience with a quality early childhood program, they're likely to continue with the experience," Bruckheimer said. "Our job is to provide quality education with a heavy emphasis of Jewish identity."

Although Bruckheimer noted some challenges, such as teacher training and not knowing where the students come from, she pointed out that a Jewish program is known for its commitment to education, a reputation so widespread that it attracts business from concerned parents from all walks of life.

"Education is something valued in the Asian culture like it is in the Jewish culture, so it's not uncommon to see them come to Jewish early childhood programs," Bruckheimer said.

Lisa Harris Glass, executive director of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism's New Jersey region, ran a session titled "Tightening the Religious School Budget Belt," in which she explained 13 tips on how to trim a school's budget and maximize available resources in the current economic climate. Besides for more traditional money techniques like fundraising or sponsorship, Glass' seminar became a place for participants to discuss what they could purchase in bulk for discounts and to swap materials with other synagogues' education programs.

Rabbi Ron Isaacs from Temple Sholom, Bridgewater, taught methods from his temple's Hebrew High program that he believes enhance student learning. The sessions, titled "Setting up a Quality Hebrew high That Your Teens Will Want to Attend" and "Experiential and Project Based Learning As an Enhancer to Student Motivation," involved using creative outlets, props, and other atypical learning tools to encourage and engage students.

"One of the things I think generates a kid's interest in something is to have a mode of activity where kids, after they learned whatever they learned, to use their knowledge in a fun way," Isaacs said.

To demonstrate, Isaacs brought different projects completed at Hebrew High in different grades that allow a student to have a creative outlet to fully absorb the material. In the classroom, students perform a mock trial to learn the story of the forefathers and have a mock marriage to finish their lessons on the Jewish life cycle. Isaacs has accumulated more than 400 of these projects so far.

"I have figured out that if you give kids a task, you will be amazed with what they come up with," Isaacs said. "These kids devote hours of their spare time to these projects."

Most of the kids opt to make movies for their creative end-of-the-year projects, a few of which Isaacs played during the session. Other projects include original CDs, original stories, or PowerPoint presentations.

"Usually, teenagers don't need to do anything -- they are only required to show up," Isaacs said. "But we believe that this may be the only chance in their whole life where they will have a chance to do their projects and show their knowledge in a creative way."