There are 20,000 Jews in Kansas City, a population large enough to support a day school (K-12) and in general, to be a full functioning community. At the same time they are also small enough that the spirit of cooperation and mutual respect prevails most of the time.

The Mini-School was opened in Overland Park to answer the community’s need for a serious adult education program.

"The Florence Melton Adult Mini-School has become a part of the fabric of Jewish life in our Center,” says Cary Minkoff, Executive Director of the JCC. “It has created a community of literate life-long Jewish learners who continue to thirst for more. As a result we have created more graduate classes to quench this desire for continuing education. The group interaction has helped create a more respectful Jewish community. No longer do we talk about our differences as Jews, instead we celebrate our similarities."

Dr. Amy Wallk Katz has been the director of the Mini-School for the past eight years. As a hands-on director she teaches nine hours per week. She has a doctorate in Education and has participated in many education programs. “In general, I devote myself to creating a thoroughly engaging department of Adult Jewish learning which offers something for everyone,” she says. “We go out of our way to offer a wide range of learning opportunities.” In addition to the regular classes, they offer a five year long Hebrew class, two Great Books Groups and four graduate classes yearly.

Overland Park has experimented with many different kinds of programs, including a video-conference class with Wichita, Kansas. This year they have a class for Day School Administrators and educators. Nearly all the Mini-School faculty are rabbis.

Extra curricular activities that the Mini-School provides are a Melave Malke at Amy’s house one Saturday night in the winter, and a field trip to the Jewish Funeral Home and Mikvah.

“I love having the chance to work with members of all the congregations,” says Amy. “At present, no matter which congregation I attend, I meet people who have graduated from Melton and who are serious about adult Jewish learning. I feel lucky to work with people who have chosen to immerse themselves in a serious two year program of adult Jewish learning.”

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