Finalists of the Jewish Education Innovation Challenge (JEIC) presented their programs at the annual “Innovators Retreat” (pictured here) in Bal Harbour, Fla. Photo: Courtesy of JEIC.

JNS.org – Two Jewish day schools have been awarded $50,000 apiece by the Jewish Education Innovation Challenge (JEIC). The schools were two of five finalists among 62 applicants who had presented proposals at JEIC’s annual “Innovators Retreat” in Bal Harbour, Fla.

JEIC is an initiative working to “disrupt complacency and encourage innovation in Jewish day school education.”

“By rewarding and collaborating with talented innovators, JEIC seeks to improve the way Jewish values, literacy, practice, and beliefs are transferred to the next generation,” said JEIC Managing Director Rabbi Shmuel Feld.

One of the winners is the Bi-Cultural Day School in Stamford, Conn., for its “Masora Program,” which offers interactive lessons relevant to students’ lives and focuses Judaic studies on major ideas relating to Jewish identity, experience, and education.

The other winning program is “Tefilla Reimagined,” from the Manhattan Day School in New York City. The program teaches students to view prayer as a psychological and personal journey in order to connect with God as well as to appreciate prayer’s meaning and power. Each participating student receives a “Personal Digital Siddur.”