Center for STEM in Jewish Education

What is the STEM Center?  A community where educators in Jewish learning environments and others interested in STEM education can connect to ongoing events and partnerships, explore model opportunities for students to both participate in and lead STEM activities and competitions, and access consulting and educational resources for STEM integration.

 

Presentations and Lessons

Candle Chemistry
Challah Y'all
Desaliniation

What's next for the CSJE?

Webinars
Partnerships
Contacts
The mission of the CSJE is:

  1. To create a community for educators in Jewish learning environments and others interested in STEM education to learn, share ideas, access educational resources, and connect.

  2. To articulate and demonstrate that STEM and Jewish education may enrich and integrate with one another.

  3. To serve as a model for school to school, school to synagogue, school to camp, and school to community partnerships.

  4. To foster opportunities for students to both participate in and lead STEM activities and competitions.

Meet Our STEM Experts

Cassandra Batson, Upper School STEM Coordinator

Cassandra Batson joined the CESJDS team as a Middle School Science Teacher in the Spring of 2016 and is now our Upper School STEM Coordinator. She has a genuine love for teaching and a true passion for STEM education. Her goal is to make STEM accessible to both students and teachers while immersing them in authentic, innovative experiences and expanding the interdisciplinary work that is already being done at the Upper School. She strives to prepare students for a fast-paced technological world while embracing the values of Judaism and our school.

 

Alexis Soffler, MAT, PhD, Lower School STEM and Science Coordinator

Dr. Alexis Soffler joined the CESJDS team as a STEM Education Specialist in 2013. She has spearheaded the expansion of the STEM program at CESJDS, including co-developing elementary school-wide programs, events such as the STEM Challenge, and the launch of the iLab. Prior to CESJDS, she held several other STEM-related teaching positions in Colorado where her passion for the subject grew. She is excited to work with students and teachers who are invested in the exciting educational space of STEM.

 

Ginger Thornton, Director of Instructional Technology

After teaching English for nearly 30 years in both high school and college, Ginger Thornton began at CESJDS teaching high school English. A longtime user of technology in the classroom, she became the CESJDS Director of Instructional Technology in 2007 and soon thereafter her role expanded into the exciting new areas of STEM and Making. The department she leads continues to work with students and teachers to use technology wisely and well, and she oversees the CESJDS 1‐1 program in grades 1-12. She has helped to found a Tinkerspace at the CESJDS Lower School, a Makerspace at the CESJDS Upper School, and currently works with the STEM departments at both campuses, both to teach classes and lead after-school clubs.