August 21 2026
At Summer's End
Dear Friends,
For weeks, the Alpert JCC has been filled with the sounds of summer. Children running down hallways. Camp songs. Laughter from the pool. Friendships.
And now, almost suddenly, summer begins to give way to what comes next.
As I think about the end of camp, I find myself thinking less about everything our campers did this summer and more about who they are becoming. Camp at its best helps build a moral compass.
Jewish tradition has always understood this. We teach our children not simply to know more, but to understand their responsibility to one another. These ideas are not just learned at camp; they are lived at camp, whether at lunch, playing Gaga ball, in swimming pools, during disagreements between friends, and in the moments when a counselor asks a camper to think about how their actions affected someone else.
Camp educates differently. And our responsibility to young people cannot end when camp ends.
This week, we were privileged to welcome Long Beach Unified School District Superintendent David Zaid and Deputy Superintendent Tiffany Brown to the Alpert JCC for a community conversation about the future of education in Long Beach.
Superintendent Zaid and Deputy Superintendent Brown spoke candidly about the challenges facing the district as enrollment has declined and the resulting impact of funding cuts on the district’s educational mission. The conversation also addressed campus climate, including the specific challenges Jewish students face when confronted with antisemitism.
Superintendent Zaid met the concerns and experiences shared by those in attendance with empathy, openness, and a genuine desire to do better. I was particularly encouraged by the commitment to strengthening a school environment where Jewish students, and all students, feel safe, included, and able to fully participate in their school communities. Resources to respond to antisemitism and bullying are available through LBCSchools.net, which has also launched the anonymous reporting system, Say Something. School leadership emphasized that reporting matters. It helps ensure concerns are documented, addressed, and followed through.
Jewish Long Beach is committed to supporting the district in this work through education, resources, and partnership. In addition to meeting with Long Beach Unified School District leadership, we have worked directly with principals and educators to deepen their understanding of how anti-Jewish bias can show up in the classroom and across campus, and how they can better recognize and respond to it.
We also want parents and students to know that we are here for you.
If an issue arises on campus, please be in touch with Elisha Breton, our JCRC Director, at [email protected]. We are here to listen, help navigate concerns, and work with families and the district when appropriate.
For me, this week's conversation also represents something larger about how Jewish Long Beach operates as a place where Jewish wisdom encounters the broader community. We are a civic gathering place and a convener, where educators, parents, leaders, neighbors, and young people can come together to listen, learn, and imagine what comes next.
Our children's future is not only our schools' responsibility.
As summer comes to an end and another school year begins, perhaps that is our charge. To help our children develop not only the knowledge they need to navigate the world, but the moral compass they need to help shape it.
As we begin a new school year and prepare to welcome a new Jewish year, please consider making a gift to the Annual Community Campaign to help us build and strengthen Jewish life. We are your Center for Jewish Philanthropy.
Thank you for living generously and Shabbat Shalom,
Erik Ludwig, PhD
Chief Executive Officer