Comprehensive educational agency in American Jewish life, founded in 1938. JESNA aims to advance instructional and professional standards, engage in research and experimentation, stimulate communal responsibility, certify teachers, provide supervisory and administrative personnel conduct local surveys, supply educational materials, and assist other national agencies. It publishes newsletters, bulletins, curricula programs, and the widely distributed Pedagogic Reporter and Jewish Audio-Visual Review; and it sponsors the National Council of Jewish Audio-Materials. The Association organizes local and national conferences on Jewish education, and sponsors the National Curriculum Research Institute.