Jewish Student Connection (JSC) aims to serve as a catalyst for Jewish teens to take ownership of their Jewish future by creating in-school educational experiences in public and private high schools. JSC’s student-run clubs provide opportunities for teens to build community, learn about Jewish history and Israel, and gain access to the Jewish community outside their high school.

In 2010, three national and regional funders engaged Informing Change to assess the programmatic and organizational growth of JSC in four regions: Chicago, South Florida, Westchester/Connecticut and Denver.  This work included collaborating with JSC and its funders to develop a theory of change and set benchmarks for JSC’s expansion.

This evaluation summary shares findings about JSC clubs, characteristics of teen participants, and the influence of JSC on those participants. The evaluation indicates that over three-quarters of participants attend meetings regularly, and that these high levels of participation are related to measurable growth outcomes for the teens (e.g., understanding of Judaism and Jewish life, knowledge about and comfort discussing Israel, participation in Jewish activities).