1. Yachad Profile • 1
Better Together.
COLLABORATION & INNOVATION
IN JEWISH EDUCATION

2. 2 • Yachad Profile
Bringing together over 250 students from the local Modern
Orthodox, Reform and Conservative congregations, Yachad is the
future of post b’nai mitzvah education in Minneapolis. Yachad’s
educational approach takes proven best practices currently
employed in leading private and public schools and adapts them
to Jewish learning in a diverse and pluralistic
environment. Yachad is open to students from all
denominations of Jewish life and actively seeks
and welcomes students whose families are not
affiliated with a synagogue.
The Minneapolis Jewish community has a rich tradition
of supporting lifelong Jewish learning. For teens, our local
congregations and institutions have passionately delivered a
range of educational opportunities including classes for college
credit. Recognizing the high quality of education being provided,
numerous initiatives have emerged over the years with the goal
of providing a community-wide approach to teen education.
Nearly five years ago, the Minneapolis Jewish community did something
unprecedented: the local Conservative, Reform and Modern Orthodox congregations
and their corresponding supplemental schools, including Talmud Torah, committed
to merge all educational programming for teens in grades 9-12 through a collaborative
program called Yachad. Collectively, the representatives from these organizations have
worked diligently for more than five years
and are referred to as the “Brit Signers” -
literally the signers of an official contract
(brit).
Through Yachad, the Minneapolis
community is reinventing supplemental
Jewish education for teens by combining
traditional methods and content with
innovative best-practice educational
methods. Yachad’s personalized program
empowers teens to be accountable for
their own Jewish journey and provides
them with the skills and coaching that
success requires. With a diverse set of
course offerings rooted in Jewish values,
Yachad strengthens critical thinking
skills, supports and enables leadership
opportunities, and
provides growing
intellectual
challenges.
Most importantly,
teens socialize
and learn together
within Yachad’s
pluralistic
community. There
are currently over
800 teens affiliated
with our partner
synagogues,
with 280 (roughly
1/3) of them
currently participating in some type of
formal, post b’nai-mitzvah education. A
community study has identified another
500-800 unaffiliated teens in this same
demographic.
The Minneapolis
Jewish community has
committed to something
unprecedented: merging all
educational programming
for teens in grades 9-12.
YACHAD BRIT SIGNERS
Congregations Schools With Support From

3. Yachad Profile • 3
BETTER TOGETHER – WHY YACHAD
Yachad’s mission is to provide the next generation with the knowledge,
connection and confidence to engage in Judaism over the course of their
lifetime. We believe our innovative approach will be important as teens
transition from high school to college and eventually to independent
adulthood. Yachad’s model will recreate and enrich existing educational
offerings through:
Curriculum Variety and Options
With more than twenty courses offered each term, students have a wide range of
subjects and course structures to accommodate individual interests, varying depths
of subject matter and variations in frequency of class meetings (twice a week, once a
week, twice monthly and once a month). Additionally, offerings for college credit are
delivered through the University of MN College in the Schools (CIS) program and Gratz
College in Philadelphia.
Educational Best Practices
Bringing today’s proven educational best practices into the realm of supplemental
Jewish education is clearly the most significant benefit in bringing teen education under
one roof. These methodologies help to engage students while both deepening and
accelerating learning – they have the ability to take what has historically been a good
product and make it exceptional.
Yachad celebrates the
diversity of Jewish life,
belief and practice and
encourages respect for
one another.

4. 4 • Yachad Profile
Core to Yachad’s Educational Strategy are
method and platform best practices like
• Project-based learning
• City as a classroom
• Online learning platforms
• College credit options
Yachad aims to utilize as much capacity
as possible from existing teachers,
however, this approach will require
substantial ongoing professional
development and commitment on the
part of our educators in order to deliver
these best practice learning experiences.
Everyone is Welcome
As a pluralistic community endeavor,
Yachad does not default to any single
denomination’s views, but instead
celebrates the diversity of Jewish life,
belief and practice and encourages
respect for one another.
Smaller Class Sizes
By combining resources,
Yachad is able to:
• Allow smaller class sizes
• Include the curriculum variety
described above
• Support students with special needs
Community
Bringing together teens from across
Minneapolis creates a new social
context: The expanded opportunities
allow teens to stay connected to their
Jewish friends, to make new friends from
different synagogues and programs,
and to connect with those who have no
affiliation at all.
Self–Determined Jewish Educational Journeys
Numerous studies show that engagement and commitment are more lasting when
teens help set their own path. Yachad’s personalized program empowers teens to
be accountable for their own Jewish journey and provides them with the skills and
coaching that success requires. Yachad’s approach makes learning personal, relevant,
and applicable.
Teens will frame their experiences around three primary essential questions, allowing
for cross-disciplinary collaborations and discussions.
• Identify: Who am I?
• Connect: How does this experience connect to myself and to others?
• Take Responsibility: What will I offer to the world?

5. Yachad Profile • 5
YACHAD
LEADERSHIP, STAFF
& FACULTY
Yachad’s leadership team has benefited
from rabbinic and/or executive
representation from all Brit Signer
organizations, ably led by Rabbi
Alexander Davis (Beth El Synagogue)
and Rabbi David Locketz (Bet Shalom
Congregation). With lay leadership and
business development assistance from
Jed Stillman (Yachad Interim President),
the initiative took a significant step
forward in 2014 by bringing in Dana
Prottas to be Yachad’s first Executive
Director.
Yachad Director Dana Prottas brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Yachad.
Dana is a dynamic Jewish educational leader with advanced degrees in education and
Jewish studies from the University of Minnesota, the Jewish Theological Seminary of
America and Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. Most recently she
completed a masters degree in Educational Leadership and Administration with a focus
on innovation in education.
Dana is committed to providing holistic teen education through a combination of
social, academic, cognitive, and spiritual developmental experiences. Her unique
skills will allow Yachad to stretch learning beyond the traditional classroom to provide
our students with the opportunity to experience modern global society through a
Jewish lens.
Yachad will be staffed
by professional Jewish
educators, inspiring
local and national
subject experts and
young adult mentors.
Yachad continues to develop its staff and
leadership. This fall Yachad hired two
additional professionals. Yachad will also
formalize and broaden our governance
model to include greater community
representation -- including a traditional
committee structure and parent and
teen advisory groups. During the start-
up phase, the Minneapolis Jewish
Federation will serve as the fiduciary
agent.
Yachad is staffed by professional Jewish
educators, inspiring local and national
subject experts and young adult mentors.
Yachad educators reflect the diversity
of the participating organizations. Our
educators are sensitive to the breadth
of different approaches to Jewish life
present in our classrooms. They have a
depth of knowledge about the various
Jewish traditions of our stakeholders’
institutions and they are models of active
Jewish living -- inspiring participants to
grow as Jews. The faculty will provide
small classes (between 15-18 students/
per class) within a wide range of
selections for teens. Some Yachad faculty
will also serve as advocates for our teens
with special needs.

6. 6 • Yachad Profile
TRANSITION AND LAUNCH
Yachad began an initial year of limited programming for the 2014-15 school year to
begin the transition from separate supplemental schools into Yachad. Beginning
with the 2015-16 school year, all of the synagogues and Talmud Torah merged their
programming for teens in grades nine through twelve.
Yachad is raising funds now to assist with:
• Scholarships
• Expanded program hours = more class variety & smaller class sizes
• Keeping Jewish education affordable for all families
• Providing unique pathways for teens’ Jewish journeys
“I enjoyed tonight’s
Yachad program because
I got to share my story
and people were really
accepting.”

7. Yachad Profile • 7
YACHAD PROGRESS TO DATE
2008 Discussions initiated by the congregations, schools and
community partners begin.
December 2010 Formal signing of the Brit (contract) by community
partners with Rabbi Alexander Davis and Rabbi David
Locketz taking leadership roles within the group.
2010-2011 JESNA (Jewish Educational Service of North
America) hired, conducted researched, & made
recommendations.
2011-2013 Business plan development begins– community-wide
surveys, information gathering, and preliminary field
research.
September 2013 Jed Stillman joins Brit Signers group as first
independent lay leader.
January 2014 Yachad Brit Signers (informal Board) approves formal
launch for the 2014-15 school year.
February 2014 Yachad Director Dana Prottas hired.
July 2014 Social media begins with web site launch and Herzl
recruitment visit.
September 2014 Full programming integration approved by Brit Signers,
Yachad has raised $122K against an initial minimum
goal of $117K.
October 2014 Initial launch: grades 8-12, six community programs
(beginning in October and running through April) occur
at a centralized location with teen participation from
every partner synagogue.
December 2014 Yachad begins looking at long term governance model;
and acceleration of full programming model.
September 2015 Yachad Launched.
CURRENT FUNDING SOURCES
• Minneapolis Jewish Federation
• Educational funding formula
• Federation Community
Initiatives
• Directed Giving/Supplemental
Gifts
• Student tuition from participating
synagogues
• In-kind support from participating
synagogues
• Grants from local foundations
LONG-TERM FUNDING
Long-term program funding will rely
primarily on:
• Student tuition
• Minneapolis Jewish Federation
Education funding
To meet key objectives, Yachad will also
seek incremental funding from a limited
set of foundations, individual donors and
profitable incremental programming.

8. Areyvut — Mitzvah Clowning
Chidon Ha’Tanach — Bible Quiz
HaZamir: The International Jewish High School Choir
The inHEIRitance Project: The Genesis Plays
Israel Center of the Minneapolis Jewish Federation
Jewish Community Action (JCA)
Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota
and the Dakotas (JCRC)
Sabes Jewish Community Center (JCC)
Jewish Family and Children’s Service (JFCS)
National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW)
National Council for Jewish Youth (NCSY)
Rimon: The Minnesota Jewish Arts Council
Sha’arim: Gateways to Learning
University of MN College in the Schools Program (CIS Hebrew)
Gratz College
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
UNIQUE COLLABORATIONS
For more information, please contact Yachad Executive Director
Dana Prottas at 952-491-0720 / dprottas@yachadmn.org
Visit us at www.yachadmn.org