JCC of The East Bay

Baz loves the Nitzanim program facilitated by Stacia Biltekoff. Stacia is warm, intuitive and flexible, and I feel very connected to the other parents in the group. I look forward each week to our Thursday meetings and am happy to continue to the next session. I also plan to enroll him in Perachim when the time comes and am definitely keeping the JCC preschool on my radar as well. Well done!

Directly related to the Perachim program:
I honestly can’t imagine anyone more intuitively wired to interact with young toddlers than Monika. Under her guidance, the Berkeley JCC’s Perachim program has been a truly exhilarating experience for our daughter — and her parents. Monika creates a warm, playful environment and is extraordinarily skilled at connecting with all children in the class — no matter their particular disposition. Children respond best to love and authenticity, and Monika brings an abundance of both to every class. She has an uncanny ability to balance being silly (which makes the kids instantly at ease) with providing gentle but clear boundaries about class expectations — being respectful to one another, cleaning up when finished with a project, and so on. And when it’s time to make the challah together, or to explain the various components of Shabbat, Monika makes Judaism extremely fun for the kids. She’s careful to involve them equally, never plays favorites, and makes all of them feel like they have a valued role to play in the rituals. Simply put, Monika was born to work with kids — and it shows.

I wanted to write a review about the preschool. My daughter is graduating from it this year, and it has been an incredible experience for us. The teachers and staff exude love and support. From potty training to birth of a sibling, to death of a grandparent, there is so much effort to make sure each kid feels safe, comfortable and supported. It’s been a great community of parents/​families, too. The art projects are incredibly creative and the exploration of the natural world has been very impressive (the garden, watching tadpoles come frogs and caterpillars become butterflies, etc.). There’s a strong emphasis on being kind to each other, taking care of each other, etc. She’s learned some great strategies for using words when feeling upset, angry, frustrated, etc. THANK YOU JCC FOR EVERYTHING!!!

For the past year, JCC East Bay has been a safe and nurturing environment for our daughter. The teachers have supported her and her classmates’ emerging interests, while still providing the structure that they need to feel secure. We recommend the school and its program to everyone. Sadly, a new job in a different town requires us to leave Berkeley this summer, and our daughter must leave the JCC. Her departure will open up a spot in the 3-​year-​old class. Our daughter has asked us to make sure that another child takes her place, so her classmates won’t be lonely. We would be happy to talk to anyone about our experience at the JCC East Bay. It is a wonderful place.

Great community center. Kinda reminds me of my community center back home — except here it’s more organized, well-​funded, and Jewish ;)
A co-​worker recommended them for Winter-​Break camp. I was a bit nervous as I had just gone back into the work force and didn’t know quite where to start for «No School» days.
JCC has been a huge blessing. My kids, a kindergartener and a 3^rd-​grader are completely enamored with the programming and the teachers. I was impressed, for the most part, with the young folks in charge of the Winter Camps. Most seemed very engaged with the kids and glad to be there.
The beautifully maintained building is a delight, as are the extra services we come across now and again. I sampled a weight training class which was excellent. My kids still ask for fresh Challah.
Needless to say, we’re quite glad we signed up, as we’ll be sending the kids to summer, winter break, and spring break camps.
If only they offered more selection in the fitness programming department, I’d be there more often. Yoga would be great! (hint, hint) And maybe some fitness dance classes like Zumba, Hip Hop, or Hula :)

The following review is less about the JCC itself, which I have yet to fully explore, and more about the High Holiday Services they host yearly.
I appreciate that the JCC provides a space for the free High Holiday services, but they might consider asking the organizers of the event to secure another rabbi to lead in future years. The Kol Nidre service I attended this year was soured by Rabbi Jay Krause, who interrupted our services to deliver a lengthy, meandering history of the Jews from the Temple to the present, and then began a highly-​charged tirade against «our enemies» (read: Arabs in general and the Palestinians in particular), which many found so offensive and in such opposition to the spirit of the holiday that they got up and left.
Also, be advised that the makeup of the «congregation» for High Holidays services skewed towards much older and less observant (I saw lots of leather shoes and the couple behind me was necking for a majority of the service).
If you’re looking for a meaningful High Holidays experience with your peers, I’d suggest shelling out the $ to go to a proper shul, or visit Mission Minyan.

There are two threads for this JCC. This is under the original name, the other under the current name, Jewish Community Center of the East Bay, but this one was started first and Eric B’s review is on it, so here I am. As Eric says, this is an old school district building and the architecture has been beautifully preserved. I love the arches and the wooden floors and its rambling spaciousness.
We’ve been here intermittently over the years, mostly for performances. Last night we were here for the Bay Area Blues Society All Stars. They were presented by Bill Schechner, former TV newsman. I know him from his KQED News Room days, but apparently he’s been on commercial TV most recently. I read about the concert Tuesday in Leah Garchik’s column and we bought tickets for us and Nina and Larry. Tickets were $ 9, $ 7 for seniors, plus a 99¢ service charge, thanks to Brown Paper Tickets. There’s a nice, smallish auditorium. There are no permanent seats, but chairs were set up, w/​a few tables at the perimeter. A long table was set up at the back w/​snacks and drinks for sale. Because I was full from dinner I didn’t even check their wares, but other audience members did.
The music was loud and fabulous and between sets a few of the musicians were interviewed by Bill Schechner, who elicited information about the early days of music in Oakland. Lots of great stories, even greater music. People got up to dance, a few at first and eventually a crowd. By the time the evening ended I was completely filled up w/​music and very, very happy. We bought their CD and my pockets were stuffed w/​brochures and announcements of future events. March 18 Bill Schechner will be interviewing Jon Carroll. We ordered our tickets this morning.

This is one of the few JCCs in my travels that does not have an athletic facility. However, it does have an occasional empty parking spot in the lot when you need to do a short errand within this area of North Shattuck.
The building itself is an old school that has been architecturally preserved and at the same time enhanced to serve the community. It’s fun to walk around as there are many nooks and crannies to explore. Your support is always welcome as the JCC has financial fitness and ebbed and flowed over the years.
My stepdaughter attended after school care here, while my son was involved in some early childhood Jewish studies. I have also attended shul here and remember taking a great class by Ken Cohen on Jewish interpretations of the Christian Gospels. Chances are if you look within their catalog of offerings, you’ll find something that interests or moves you.

We’ve been members of the JCC of the East Bay for a couple of years now. With one kid in preschool and the other in the after school program, you could say we’re pretty much typical family members.
The preschool has been just terrific for our younger child. She’s in her second class there, and the teacher’s have been wonderful. She loves going to school every day, and sometimes has to be coaxed to leave. The teachers are very attentive to each kid, organize days with a combination of fun and developmentally focused activities, and seem really dedicated to what they do. There are all kinds of special «extras» such as dance, music, art, storytelling, and gardening. The classrooms and outside space have plenty of room for play and running around. Our daughter’s made a number of friends at school, and their parents are more than happy for play dates and other get togethers outside of school. There are classes for kids as young as 2, and all the way up to Pre-​K. The program includes extended care as early as 8am and as late as 5:30pm which is just awesome for working parents.
We’re also very happy with the after school care, Center Stage, at the same Berkeley location. Our son’s been there 2 years, and loves it. There’s transportation from local schools in multiple districts, with arrivals as early as about 12:00pm (½ day kindergarten). The program runs until 5:30pm and is for kids Kindergarten through 6^th grade. They run multiple enrichment classes including drama, music, martial arts, art, cooking, etc. There’s an option for homework time, including appropriate assistance. There’s also plenty of opportunity to forgo all the formal activities and just have free hangout time. Our son’s made several friends there, and often prefers to just hang out with them.
For both programs, and for the JCC in general, there are plenty of holiday and other events and parties that can include the whole family. There are also holiday/​vacation camps available when school’s closed during the year, and these typically include some really great field trips.
There’s also a highly-​regarded Summer camp, as well as what’s supposed to be a great after school program in Oakland as well, but we haven’t signed up for these.
For families with kids as well as everyone else in the local community, there’s a music festival every year that is a really big deal, all kinds of other performances and classes during the year, and a well-​established and very well attended seniors program.
Overall we’ve been very happy with JCC of the East Bay on all counts, and plan to be members for a very long time to come. It’s a heck of a great community center.

I stopped in on Friday for some Challah. I procured a soft, fresh loaf for $ 3. All loafs were not created equal though. The woman who took my money was so sweet and welcoming. I was completely charmed. I have lived near the JCC for years and have often run by it, but never gone in. The people I encountered inside were all so nice that I will go back whether it is for a bakesale or community event.
So glad Berkeley has places like this.

And, just when you thought it couldn’t get better than free high holiday services, the J after-​school program kicks tuchus. My son has been a student for two years and l-​l-​loves it. According to him, the best day of his life was the day he was «mensched» at the J (like receiving the sweetest kid of the week award). Every month there are FREE enrichment classes for the kids to choose from (this go around my son is taking gardening and film making) and students can go to study hall for homework twice a week, which mine is glad to do, because it means he gets to do homework under the supervision of cool college kids instead of his cranky after work parents. Tuition is reasonable, and the program offers van pick up for kids whose schools don’t offer bus service. If you’re in the market for an after school program, you really must check the J.
Oh, and they have air hockey. And foos ball.

I really like this place. The space is beautiful, they have a great community of old jewish ladies that make me feel right at home, they don’t charge for high holidays, they make awesome kosher meals that you can join for the fun of it, tons of great activities and workshops.
My only thumbs down: they always kick me off the monkey bars in the back. I guess they don’t recognize the kid at heart.
Did I mention that the high holiday services are free? Hey, I’m a jew.