Investing in the Educators Who Guide Our Youngest Learners
April 10, 2026
Each morning in Jewish preschools across Atlanta, teachers welcome young children into classrooms filled with songs, stories, and discovery. It’s often where a child first hears a Shabbat blessing, learns about kindness through play, or begins to understand what it means to be part of a Jewish community.
The educators guiding those moments play a powerful role in shaping the earliest Jewish experiences for our community’s youngest learners. That’s why 330 early childhood educators from across Atlanta’s Jewish preschool network recently gathered for Kallah: Open Hands, Open Hearts — Cultivating Kindness in Our Classrooms, a day of professional learning, connection, and inspiration supported by the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta.
The conference reflects Federation’s investment in strengthening Jewish early childhood education across the community. By bringing together teachers, directors, and specialists from multiple preschools, Kallah helps educators build new skills, share ideas, and deepen their ability to create meaningful Jewish learning environments for young children.
Throughout the day, participants explored practical strategies for cultivating empathy, kindness, and strong relationships in early childhood classrooms — values that sit at the heart of both child development and Jewish learning.
The program featured sessions led by educators and community leaders including Federation’s Director of Family Engagement Pam Cohen, who facilitated two workshops—one focused on using PJ Library books to teach Jewish values in the classroom, and another exploring strategies to strengthen connections between teachers and families. Federation’s Shelley Fogelson facilitated a session that highlighted teacher expertise, creating space for educators to lead mini-presentations and share their own classroom practices with peers.
Peer teaching is a powerful model of professional development. For many presenters, this was their first opportunity to share their expertise with an audience, and the experience proved both energizing and empowering. Teachers in attendance valued the practical, proven strategies they gained—tools they could readily transfer to their own classrooms.
Angelena May, Federation’s Early Childhood Jewish Education Manager, says “Kallah reflects our community’s commitment to investing in the educators who shape Jewish life from the very beginning. By bringing teachers together for meaningful professional learning, we strengthen the quality of Jewish early childhood education across Atlanta and support the educators who care for our youngest learners every day.”
For many participants, the opportunity to learn alongside colleagues from across Atlanta’s Jewish preschool network was just as impactful as the sessions themselves.
Charlotte, a teacher at Alefbet Preschool at Congregation Beth Shalom returns to Kallah year after year. “I always look forward to Kallah. It’s a great opportunity to reconnect with teacher friends from other schools and feel part of a larger community. One of my favorite moments was a puppet workshop where a colleague of mine, who usually avoids the spotlight, ended up participating in a scene and had a great time.”
Federation’s support for initiatives like Kallah helps build the capacity of both Jewish and non-Jewish educators working in Jewish preschools. By investing in professional development, Federation helps ensure that classrooms across the community are equipped to provide high-quality Jewish education to the next generation.
Those lessons extend far beyond a single day of learning.
When educators return to their classrooms, they bring new ideas, tools, and inspiration that shape daily experiences for hundreds of young children across Atlanta.
“After attending the session ‘Trust the Children’ we started giving students the option of eating snack or playing and dividing the time how they prefer. We also began bringing clay onto the classroom after attending the ‘Molding Clay into Daily Jewish Learning’ session.” – Maayan, Atlanta Jewish Academy.
Through programs like Kallah, Federation continues strengthening the educators who guide our youngest learners — helping create classrooms filled with curiosity, kindness, and connection, where Jewish life begins.