A few days ago, I reached into my Temple Micah mailbox and pulled out an envelope that contained a check for $3,600. It was our initiatives in Congregational Education (i.C.E.) grant, funded by The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.

The money paid for a curriculum writing project undertaken last summer, a project that produced more than 160 lesson plans and resource materials for grades 3-6.

The goal of this grant is to provide seed money for congregational schools to take risks. The idea is that successful programs initially financed by the grant will become part of the culture of the school and eventually will be covered by the congregation itself. For a congregation like Temple Micah, where we are always looking for the next great idea, the I.C.E. grant has been the springboard for many of the things we now think of as part of the fabric of who we are.

During the eight years I've served as the education director of the Temple Micah Religious School, I've used this grant money in several different ways. Sometimes I've used it to cover the cost of materials, like our Family Minyan prayer books or art supplies.

But the times I think it's done the greatest good are when I've spent the money on our staff. Several years ago, Rabbi Zemel and I decided that our high school program needed a complete overhaul. The easiest part of that process was deciding that Rinat Manhoff, a local elementary school teacher, was the person to take that challenge on. We used our I.C.E. grant to cover her salary and, in return, she helped to create a vibrant curriculum that was worthy of our dynamic high school students.

This summer, two Temple Micah Religious School teachers--Naomi G. and Elissa F.--invested their time, energy and creativity to work with me to create the new curriculum for grades 3-6.

Writing the grant every spring provides me with the opportunity to dream big dreams for the religious school and to flesh out those ideas on paper. This spring, I expect to write our grant application about finishing the curriculum project so that we will have a written curriculum for grades K-8. And next year, who knows what new idea we'll take on?