Innovation.

It’s the spark that can ignite new discoveries, new industries and, when it comes to schools, new and exciting ways to connect with student minds and imagination.

It’s also the reason JUF has launched the Day School Innovation Fund, a program to kickstart creative new programs and techniques at Chicago-area Jewish day schools. Up to $90,000 will be awarded each year to advance school priorities, enhance education, support teacher development and strengthen student and family experiences.

“The real magic of this effort isn’t just that it bolsters new ideas at the schools receiving the grants,” said Jane Cadden Lederman, co-chair of JUF’s Community Building & Jewish Continuity Commission. “It also spurs innovative thinking and approaches throughout Chicago’s vibrant day school community.”

This year’s just-announced inaugural grants will help energize creative efforts at four schools and, in the process, help build and refine model efforts that can be adapted at other schools, as well.

One grant will help Ida Crown Jewish Academy expand its “Student to Student” program, a project piloted last year in which Ida Crown students introduce their peers at predominantly non-Jewish schools to the basics of Judaism, breaking down stereotypes and combating antisemitism in the process.

Bais Yaakov Girls High School will use its grant to align the 7th and 8th grade general studies curriculum at Joan Dachs Bais Yaakov with the high school’s 9th and 10th grade curriculum, ensuring a smooth and successful transition from middle school.

Chicago Jewish Day School will provide intensive professional development to help staff introduce inquiry learning, a teaching approach that helps students with a variety of learning styles and needs.

And Solomon Schechter Day School will use its grant to research innovative middle-school learning.