About
PJA Afterschool Programs offers free-choice play, structured activities, homework completion time, active gross-motor games, enrichment projects, and fun and educational field trips. Children take part in on-site theme days and use well-equipped indoor areas for arts and crafts, drawing, science discovery, dramatic and imaginative play, board games, sewing, knitting, crocheting, and building and construction. The program also includes Service Learning projects such as donating to the school auction, raising money for a special cause by selling child-made crafts, and making badges of honor and thank-you cards for teachers and school staff.
• Ages: 5–12 years old
• Schedule: Full-Day Care offered on most No-School Days; during Winter Break PJA Afterschool is only open in SW and SE Portland
PJA Afterschool Programs offers supervised afterschool care for children in Kindergarten through 6th grade at Portland Jewish Academy and the Odyssey Program, and before- and afterschool care at Forest Park Elementary and Glencoe Elementary. The program includes Kidscorner at Portland Jewish Academy serving K–6 after school, Kidspace at Forest Park Elementary serving K–5 before and after school, Kidzone at Glencoe Elementary serving K–5 before and after school, and care at the Odyssey Program at East Sylvan serving K–6 before and after school. Vacation Care Programs include Full-Day Care on most No-School Days, with full-day vacation care featuring fun, educational themes or field trips, and site locations for full-day care depend on enrollment for each individual day, with care typically offered in three locations across NW, SW, and SE Portland.
PJA Afterschool Programs uses unique themes introduced on a weekly or monthly basis, including “Grossology: Fun with science!”, “Artstravaganza: Exploring the Arts!”, and “Culinary Adventures!”. Programs are enrichment-driven and choice-based with a balance of teacher-directed, hands-on activities and child-initiated, creative free play, and they include a balance of free-choice play, structured activities, homework time, active gross-motor games, enrichment projects, and nutritious snacks. The program offers opportunities for resting, relaxing, homework, and reading, and uses large outdoor play areas for gross-motor development. Service Learning is a key component of monthly programming and is integrated into monthly themes, and the program focuses on life skills such as tying shoelaces, making healthy food choices, managing money, planning, organizing, setting goals, empathy, leadership, conflict resolution, stress management, etiquette, and good communication.
All PJA Afterschool teachers are registered with the State of Oregon as required by law and go through background checks. Every afterschool teacher holds multiple health and safety certifications, including CPR/First Aid, Food Handling, and Recognizing/Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect. Portland Jewish Academy is accredited by the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS). The leadership team connected to PJA includes Carly Landau (Director of Afterschool Programs), Beth Germain (PJA’s CFO), Sarah Glass (Director of Admission, Retention, & Engagement), Merrill Hendin (Lower & Middle School Principal), Amy Katz (Director of Jewish Life & Learning), Kate Dickinson-Villaseñor (Director of Learning & Teaching K–8), Colleen Morrissey (Director of Student Support), Erika Saiers (Director of Early Childhood Education), Richard Boyd (School Registrar), Miriam Stroud (Human Resources Director), Steve Albert (Executive Director), Lisa Katon (Donor Relations & Grants Specialist), Bess Butterworth (Development Events + Community Programs Manager), and Becky Ewer (Marketing & Creative Director).
PJA Afterschool Programs states that its mission is to create, build, and maintain programs dedicated to the care, education, and positive development of school-age children during their out-of-school time. The mission emphasizes life skills through community service and enrichment-based programming, a commitment to offering high-quality care for families, and providing experiences that will strengthen each participating child’s cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and creative development. The mission also states that the program gives children’s needs first priority, respects the family as the primary and most important care provider, and views parents, school, and afterschool as partners in each child’s care, education, and success.
PJA Afterschool service learning projects encourage children to take part in their community, to learn about caring for one another, and to connect to the greater needs of humanity, with examples such as donating to the school auction, raising money for a special cause by selling child-made crafts, and making badges of honor and thank-you cards for teachers and school staff. PJA is a community day school that welcomes students and families of all backgrounds and engages in community service, and the Afterschool Program includes onsite after school enrichment programs at PJA and at three nearby public schools. PJA Afterschool offers need-based tuition support and accepts DHS child care subsidy payments, with DHS/ERDC Subsidy Numbers listed as PJA - Kidscorner: OOM0008, PJA - Glencoe (Kidzone): RVC00012, PJA - Forest Park (Kidspace): CSQ00013, and PJA - Odyssey: MIG00016.
Snacks in PJA Afterschool Programs include at least two of the following options: juice, fruit, vegetables, dairy such as milk, yogurt, or cheese, non-meat protein such as beans or nut or seed butter, or a grains portion such as crackers, pretzels, or bread. All snacks served are Kosher, and water is always available. All snacks are described as Kosher snacks in the program details.
PJA’s history notes that PJA was formed in 1986 when two Portland Jewish schools merged, that Hillel Academy was founded in 1961, and that the Jewish Education Association had operated an afternoon Hebrew school program since 1934. The middle school opened in the fall of 1995 with six students. Testimonials about PJA include a parent stating that the community is unparalleled and that their children feel like PJA is another home and the staff and administration are their family, and alumni describing PJA’s small, discussion-based environment, leadership opportunities, and support in forming Jewish identity and academic foundations.
Last updated April 14, 2026.
• Ages: 5–12 years old
• Schedule: Full-Day Care offered on most No-School Days; during Winter Break PJA Afterschool is only open in SW and SE Portland
PJA Afterschool Programs offers supervised afterschool care for children in Kindergarten through 6th grade at Portland Jewish Academy and the Odyssey Program, and before- and afterschool care at Forest Park Elementary and Glencoe Elementary. The program includes Kidscorner at Portland Jewish Academy serving K–6 after school, Kidspace at Forest Park Elementary serving K–5 before and after school, Kidzone at Glencoe Elementary serving K–5 before and after school, and care at the Odyssey Program at East Sylvan serving K–6 before and after school. Vacation Care Programs include Full-Day Care on most No-School Days, with full-day vacation care featuring fun, educational themes or field trips, and site locations for full-day care depend on enrollment for each individual day, with care typically offered in three locations across NW, SW, and SE Portland.
PJA Afterschool Programs uses unique themes introduced on a weekly or monthly basis, including “Grossology: Fun with science!”, “Artstravaganza: Exploring the Arts!”, and “Culinary Adventures!”. Programs are enrichment-driven and choice-based with a balance of teacher-directed, hands-on activities and child-initiated, creative free play, and they include a balance of free-choice play, structured activities, homework time, active gross-motor games, enrichment projects, and nutritious snacks. The program offers opportunities for resting, relaxing, homework, and reading, and uses large outdoor play areas for gross-motor development. Service Learning is a key component of monthly programming and is integrated into monthly themes, and the program focuses on life skills such as tying shoelaces, making healthy food choices, managing money, planning, organizing, setting goals, empathy, leadership, conflict resolution, stress management, etiquette, and good communication.
All PJA Afterschool teachers are registered with the State of Oregon as required by law and go through background checks. Every afterschool teacher holds multiple health and safety certifications, including CPR/First Aid, Food Handling, and Recognizing/Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect. Portland Jewish Academy is accredited by the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS). The leadership team connected to PJA includes Carly Landau (Director of Afterschool Programs), Beth Germain (PJA’s CFO), Sarah Glass (Director of Admission, Retention, & Engagement), Merrill Hendin (Lower & Middle School Principal), Amy Katz (Director of Jewish Life & Learning), Kate Dickinson-Villaseñor (Director of Learning & Teaching K–8), Colleen Morrissey (Director of Student Support), Erika Saiers (Director of Early Childhood Education), Richard Boyd (School Registrar), Miriam Stroud (Human Resources Director), Steve Albert (Executive Director), Lisa Katon (Donor Relations & Grants Specialist), Bess Butterworth (Development Events + Community Programs Manager), and Becky Ewer (Marketing & Creative Director).
PJA Afterschool Programs states that its mission is to create, build, and maintain programs dedicated to the care, education, and positive development of school-age children during their out-of-school time. The mission emphasizes life skills through community service and enrichment-based programming, a commitment to offering high-quality care for families, and providing experiences that will strengthen each participating child’s cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and creative development. The mission also states that the program gives children’s needs first priority, respects the family as the primary and most important care provider, and views parents, school, and afterschool as partners in each child’s care, education, and success.
PJA Afterschool service learning projects encourage children to take part in their community, to learn about caring for one another, and to connect to the greater needs of humanity, with examples such as donating to the school auction, raising money for a special cause by selling child-made crafts, and making badges of honor and thank-you cards for teachers and school staff. PJA is a community day school that welcomes students and families of all backgrounds and engages in community service, and the Afterschool Program includes onsite after school enrichment programs at PJA and at three nearby public schools. PJA Afterschool offers need-based tuition support and accepts DHS child care subsidy payments, with DHS/ERDC Subsidy Numbers listed as PJA - Kidscorner: OOM0008, PJA - Glencoe (Kidzone): RVC00012, PJA - Forest Park (Kidspace): CSQ00013, and PJA - Odyssey: MIG00016.
Snacks in PJA Afterschool Programs include at least two of the following options: juice, fruit, vegetables, dairy such as milk, yogurt, or cheese, non-meat protein such as beans or nut or seed butter, or a grains portion such as crackers, pretzels, or bread. All snacks served are Kosher, and water is always available. All snacks are described as Kosher snacks in the program details.
PJA’s history notes that PJA was formed in 1986 when two Portland Jewish schools merged, that Hillel Academy was founded in 1961, and that the Jewish Education Association had operated an afternoon Hebrew school program since 1934. The middle school opened in the fall of 1995 with six students. Testimonials about PJA include a parent stating that the community is unparalleled and that their children feel like PJA is another home and the staff and administration are their family, and alumni describing PJA’s small, discussion-based environment, leadership opportunities, and support in forming Jewish identity and academic foundations.
Last updated April 14, 2026.
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