The Westchester Workers Circle School
The Westchester Workers Circle School is a Jewish school and community that welcomes everyone interested in Jewish cultural learning, joyous holiday celebrations, and social justice activism.
Our program provides project-based Jewish education for children and families. Our goal is to encourage students and families to become hands-on producers of Jewish culture.
We meet on Sunday afternoons, 4:00–6:00 PM ET, twice per month for classes. Our home base is in White Plains, NY. This spacious location has ample room for kids to learn by exploring their world through music, dance, text study, art, and other active means.
To learn more about this school and/or schedule a free class please contact Lori Cohen, Education Coordinator at LCohen@circle.org.
Get To KNOW The WestChester COMMUNITY:
From one-time local events to more permanent learning programs, the Workers Circle Westchester School is open to all kinds of families to create community in order to forma better and more beautiful world for all — a shenere un besere velt far ale in Yiddish.
The Westchester program builds a strong Jewish identity through innovative, meaningful, and child-centered curricula that are designed to engage our students as active participants in their Jewish education.
Curriculum
Our professionally-designed curriculum features a four-year cycle of progressively higher levels of knowledge and understanding. Topics include Jewish and cultural holidays, Jewish heroes and values, Jewish lifecycle events, Jewish culture around the world, and Jewish history and immigration. Each year also includes literature, art, music, food, languages, and more.
Social Justice
Unlike any other Jewish education program, the Workers Circle puts learning into action immediately through social justice activism to advance issues important to the organization and the Westchester community (e.g., the Dobbs Ferry Food Bank). We weave this commitment into every layer of the community, including our holiday rituals, arts and culture programming, and our children’s school. We encourage students and families to find their own ways to become world-changers.
Another remarkable characteristic of the Westchester learning program is that it is adaptable to the needs, cultural diversity, and communal desires of our community. The Westchester Workers Circle School is a cooperative effort of parents, teachers, and an education coordinator who work together to ensure all families have an excellent and energizing experience. Parents always have a voice and actively participate in the life of the community.
Lori Cohen, Education Coordinator, Teacher
Lori expands young minds and generates a love of Jewish life and learning for students through hands-on experiential learning that is immediately relevant to their lives. In addition to her work at the Workers Circle, Lori currently teaches children of all ages at several area synagogues. Prior to this, Lori enjoyed twenty years’ experience working with children as a teacher, early childhood center director, youth director, music teacher, and artist. Her master’s degree in social work helps Lori draw out each learner’s strengths so they feel valued and important in the learning environment. This emphasis, as well as the feeling of mishpocha in the classroom, increases each student’s desire to learn and helps them feel they are part of a bigger picture.
