The Jewish Education Center Of Cleveland

What The Jewish Education Center Of Cleveland does

The Jewish Education Center of Cleveland (JEC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1993 through the merger of the Community's Commission on Jewish Continuity and the Bureau of Jewish Education. Operating as the central planning and service agency for Jewish education in Cleveland, JEC coordinates programming across day schools, congregational supplementary schools, early childhood centers, synagogues, and youth organizations. Its operational scope spans teacher licensure and credentialing oversight, professional development, curriculum development, teen engagement, family programming, and special education services.

JEC's core programmatic products include: Teacher Licensure Services (Ohio Department of Education credentialing oversight for chartered non-public Jewish day schools, including LPDC administration and Resident Educator mentor program), SEGULA (an approved Ohio Department of Education provider for Autism Scholarship and Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship programs), @akiva (an interdenominational teen engagement hub spanning icnext, Hebrew for Teens, Testimony Theater Cleveland, IsraelNow Cleveland, Teen Civil Rights Journey, and Foundations for the Future), the Families with Young Children portfolio (PJ Library serving 3,000+ children with 80,000+ books distributed since 2009, the Kesher Holiday Newsletter series, and the Jewish Family Engagement Guide), and A Gift of Israel (a $1,800 incentive grant for Cleveland students attending approved Israel programs). The organization's most prominent technology asset is the JEC Database, a web-based platform handling educator IPDP submissions, pre-approval forms, and license renewal tracking.

JEC's revenue model is nonprofit-community-funded. Primary operational funding flows through an annual campaign allocation from the Jewish Federation of Cleveland (approximately $1,235,000 for FY2020-2021, against an operating budget of $8.4 million), supplemented by foundation grants (notably from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation for PJ Library), private philanthropy (e.g., Mort and Iris November family), and Ohio Department of Education scholarship reimbursement through SEGULA. Most programs are delivered free to participants. Governance is provided by a Board of Trustees (36 at-large trustees plus honorary trustees). Under Dr. Seymour Kopelowitz's 22-year tenure (1999-2021), the operating budget grew from under $3 million to approximately $8.4 million; Marlon Jaffe assumed the Executive Director role in mid-2021.

Name

The Jewish Education Center Of Cleveland

Legal name

Jewish Education Center of Cleveland

Website

https://jecc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Jewish Education Center of Cleveland is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit central planning agency serving the Cleveland Jewish community through teacher licensure oversight, professional development, special education services (SEGULA), teen engagement (@akiva), family programming (PJ Library), and Israel travel grants, primarily funded by the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Jewish Education Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAAAFAB

Community Center Education Programs

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Community & Public Education Programs (Libraries, Community Centers)

SECONDARYEDAJACAF

Charter Special Education & Inclusive Programs

Education/K–12 / Primary & Secondary Education/Charter K–12 Schools

SECONDARYEDACAJAN

Standards Alignment & Curriculum Mapping Resources (State/NAEYC/Head Start)

Education/Early Childhood Education/ECE Curriculum, Assessment & Learning Materials

SECONDARYEDAMAFAK

Immigrant/Integration Language Programs (ESL/ESOL, Civics-Integrated)

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/Language Learning & Conversation Programs

Keywords

• Jewish education services
• Educator professional development
• Teacher licensure support
• Special education services
• Teen engagement programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Cleveland Heights

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Jewish Federation of Cleveland Allocation: Primary operational funding through annual campaign allocation from the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, approximately $1,235,000 for 2020-2021 fiscal year
2. PJ Library Partnership: Free book program for Jewish children ages 6 months - 8 years, funded in partnership with Jewish Federation of Cleveland and Harold Grinspoon Foundation, generously funded locally by Mort and Iris November
3. A Gift of Israel Grant Program: One-time incentive grant of $1,800 for Cleveland students to travel to Israel for Jewish educational experiences, funded by Jewish Federation of Cleveland and JEC

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Jewish Education Center of Cleveland (JEC) is a community-wide central planning and service agency for Jewish education, providing educator professional development, teacher licensure and credentialing support, special education services, teen engagement programming, family resources, and Israel travel grants. It coordinates and delivers services through affiliated Jewish day schools, synagogues, and direct family-facing programs across the Cleveland community.

Product overview

The Jewish Education Center Of Cleveland is a community planning and service agency for Jewish education that operates multiple interconnected programs rather than a single unified technology product. Its portfolio includes the Educator Awards Program (recognizing outstanding teachers with six award categories), SEGULA (special education services for children with special needs), @akiva (teen engagement programming), Teacher Licensure Services (Ohio credentialing support for day school educators), Families with Young Children Programs (including PJ Library and Kesher holiday newsletters), A Gift of Israel (financial assistance for Israel travel), Professional Development services, the Resident Educator Mentor Program, and Video Gallery content. The organization serves as the central coordinating body for Jewish education across Cleveland's day schools, congregational schools, and early childhood programs, with an operating budget of approximately $8.4 million.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SEGULA Special Education Program Special education consulting and support program providing educational opportunities for children with special needs in Cleveland's Jewish day schools. Offers intervention specialists, classroom aides, and is an approved Ohio Department of Education provider for Autism Scholarship and Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship programs.
• @akiva Teen Engagement Premier interdenominational center for Jewish teen education in Cleveland, coordinating and enhancing Jewish-themed programming across synagogues, youth organizations, day schools, and high schools. Programs include icnext, Hebrew for Teens, Testimony Theater Cleveland, IsraelNow Cleveland, Teen Civil Rights Journey, and Foundations for the Future.
• Teacher Licensure Services Ohio Department of Education licensure and credentialing support for teachers in JEC affiliated Jewish day schools, including 5-year professional licenses, 2-year Resident Educator licenses, background check coordination, and Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC) oversight for license renewal.
• Families with Young Children Programs Family engagement resources including the PJ Library program offering free Jewish books and music to children ages 6 months-8 years, the Kesher Holiday Newsletter series, and the Jewish Family Engagement Guide. Programs serve families with young children in the Cleveland Jewish community.
• A Gift of Israel Grant Program One-time incentive grant of $1,800 helping Cleveland students travel to Israel for Jewish educational experiences. Administered jointly by the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and the Jewish Education Center, available to affiliated and unaffiliated families with eligible programs costing $2,250 or more.
• Professional Development Services Ongoing professional development opportunities, workshops, and training for Jewish educators including the K'ilu Lab for Early Childhood Educators, Local Professional Development Committee coordination, and individual professional development plan (IPDP) support.
• Resident Educator Mentor Program Two-year mentorship program for newly licensed teachers required by Ohio Department of Education, pairing Resident Educator license holders with trained mentors who guide them through the Resident Educator Summative Assessment (RESA) process.
• Educator Awards Program Annual recognition program honoring outstanding Jewish educators in Cleveland with multiple award categories including the Ratner-Goldberg Israel Fellowship, Steiger Family Education Grant, Dr. Sylvia Fleck Abrams Award for Special Education, Dr. Lifsa Schachter Early Childhood Educator Award, Libbie L. Braverman Award, and S. Lee Kohrman Award in Jewish Experiential Education.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 3,000 Jewish children served through PJ Library program with 80,000+ books distributed since 2009
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Jewish Federation of ClevelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary funding and strategic partner providing annual campaign allocation of approximately $1,235,000 for 2020-2021 and supporting Israel programs including A Gift of Israel grants and I-Connect
• Harold Grinspoon FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-funding partner for PJ Library program in Cleveland alongside Jewish Federation of Cleveland
• Ohio Department of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJEC is an approved provider for Autism Scholarship and Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship; provides licensure and credentialing oversight for teachers in chartered non-public schools
• Jewish Family Service Association (JFSA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJFSA provides background check and fingerprinting services for JEC affiliated school employees
• jHUB (Interfaith of families)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership connecting interfaith families to Jewish life in Cleveland
• ElevatEdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJEC is the Cleveland community partner to ElevatEd, a groundbreaking collaborative initiative intended to transform the field of Jewish Early Childhood education
• Masa Israel JourneyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 200 study, internship and volunteer opportunities in Israel; I-Connect program provides financial aid information for Masa programs
• March of the LivingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational educational program bringing together teens, young adults and adults from around the world to Poland and Israel for Holocaust remembrance; nearly 10,000 participants annually
• HaZamir ClevelandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational Jewish Teen Choir with 35 chapters across US and Israel; offers opportunity for musically talented teens to learn and sing Jewish choral music

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Jewish Federation of Cleveland: Primary funder and strategic partner of JEC; the Federation allocates JEC's annual campaign dollars and co-funds Israel programs. Both organizations serve overlapping segments of the Greater Cleveland Jewish community across education, engagement, and continuity.
• PJ Library (Harold Grinspoon Foundation): National Jewish family-literacy program that JEC delivers locally in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Cleveland; comparable on programming (book distribution, family engagement) and on beneficiary families with young children.
• Jewish Community Centers Association (JCC Association): National umbrella for JCCs that deliver community-based Jewish educational, cultural, and youth programming; comparable in mission (community Jewish education, family engagement, early childhood, teen programming) but broader in scope (fitness, recreation, social services).

Direct peers

• Jewish Education Project: New York-based Jewish educational service agency supporting day schools, congregational schools, and families with educator training, curriculum, and teen engagement — directly analogous to JEC's community-coordinator role but at larger scale and in a different metro.
• Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools: National network supporting Jewish day schools with leadership, curriculum, and professional development — overlapping with JEC's day-school support, teacher licensure, and educator recognition programs.
• Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit: Federation and allied educational agencies in Detroit serve a similar Midwest Jewish community with analogous educational programming, day-school support, teen engagement, and Israel experiences — a strong geographic and structural peer to the Cleveland ecosystem in which JEC operates.
• Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York (JCCA/NYC): Historical regional Jewish education agency providing teacher training, curriculum, and school support in New York — operates the same kind of community-coordinator function for Jewish education as JEC does in Cleveland.
• iCenter for Israel Education: National organization providing Israel-education resources and professional development for Jewish educators; directly comparable to JEC's Israel Engagement programs (A Gift of Israel, @akiva Israel experiences, March of the Living partnerships).
• ElevatEd: National collaborative initiative to transform Jewish early childhood education, of which JEC is the Cleveland community partner; directly comparable in early-childhood educator professional development and curriculum focus.

Emerging players

• Mandel Foundation / Jewish Education Initiatives: Philanthropic and programmatic funder in Jewish education supporting educators, day schools, and experiential Jewish learning — comparable in mission and overlapping beneficiary population with JEC's educator development and Israel engagement work.

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Jewish-Education-Center-of-Cleveland/1546484445629478
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jewish-education-center-of-cleveland

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Jewish Education Center Of Cleveland