I often have the task on this blog of commenting on topics in Jewish education that are raised as problems or failures of it in the larger community.  Today I am pleased to share with you some recent local media coverage of some positive efforts in local Jewish communal education.  I have written here in the last few months here about religious freedom issues raised by legislation being introduced in several states, including Pennsylvania, aimed at specifically isolating Muslim  Sharia law from contact with US law that could also impact the ability of Jewish law to interact with US law when appropriate.  I recently taught at a Continuing Legal Education coure on comparitive legal traditions of Sharia and Halacha for area lawyers along with Professor Haider Hamoudi of Pitt Law School aimed at raising a better common understanding of religious legal traditions.  You can read about that course here.  I also have written here about efforts to create a broader coalition among area congregations in the area of adult education as part of a vision of greater cooperation in this area of limited resources in both communities.  You can read more about that effort here.  Our community's teens are working on social action on a grand scale too along with some real success stories in Jewish education of children with special needs.  These are just a few items of note in the last month.  Overall, Pittsburgh has a lot to be proud of in Jewish education that deserves to be celebrated, and I hope to continue to feature them on this blog as the school year rolls along.