Temple Beth Shalom’s Director of Jewish Education will help our congregation to imagine and bring to life a compelling vision for Jewish education in the 21st century American synagogue.

About the Position
Temple Beth Shalom’s Director of Jewish Education will help our congregation to imagine and bring to life a compelling vision for Jewish education in the 21st century American synagogue.

Who We Are
Temple Beth Shalom is a dynamic, creative, engaged Jewish congregation of 400+ households in the Rivertowns of Westchester, New York, affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism.

Our location in the Rivertowns – a collection of four villages (Hastings-on-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Ardsley, and Irvington) a short distance north of New York City – is a core aspect of our identity. The Rivertowns are home to artists, writers, scientists, entrepreneurs, activists, teachers, doctors, and other professionals who believe in the power of ideas and stories. This community of interesting, talented, and passionate people is the life-force that makes our synagogue strong.

At Temple Beth Shalom, we believe that synagogues matter and that Jewish life is meaningful. We believe in the power of ideas, stories, and conversation. We believe that all hands are needed to make our community strong – that every person has talents and passions that will enrich the life of our congregation. We believe that the Jewish tradition – our religious heritage, our belief in social justice, and also our vast and rich cultural heritage – is ripe with wisdom. We believe that synagogues, at their core, are about community, and at their best, are about ideas.

About our Religious School and Teen Program
We are entering a new era at Temple Beth Shalom, and with it comes growth and change. Enrollment in our Religious School and Teen program have increased significantly since 2021 and can be attributed to many factors, including: (1) the end of COVID; (2) the arrival of a new rabbi; and (3) the rapid growth in the Jewish population of the Rivertowns, with young Jewish families leaving New York City and finding themselves attracted to our area – a population surge that, according to our local JCC, makes the Rivertowns “the fastest growing Jewish population in the country.” We are looking for a Jewish educator who can help us to harness this growth by creating a Jewish educational model that is exciting, innovative, and excellent.

With a current religious school population of approximately 200 students, there is a need and opportunity for change to both our religious school curriculum and format.

Who We’re Looking For
Someone who believes in joyful Jewish learning. Someone who values the role of games, music, the arts, food, and field trips in Jewish learning. Someone who believes in the power of project-based learning, outdoor education, experiential education, and family education.

Someone who is relatable, approachable, and fun-loving. Someone who our youths, families, teens, and college students want to spend time with and value their relationship with. Someone who is a good listener. Someone who embraces pluralism and the values of Reform Judaism.

Someone who believes that Jewish learning is a life-long commitment, who believes that Jewish learning is not something that you grow out of, but rather, something that you grow into. Someone who thinks “beyond the BMitzvah.”

Someone who will be a good mentor and supervisor to our teaching faculty. Someone who can provide our teachers with positive reinforcement, helpful feedback, and skill-building opportunities. Someone who will help us to attract and retain talented teachers.

Someone who is highly organized and motivated, with an eye for details, and great follow-through skills. Someone who is a strong communicator. Someone who is a team player.

Someone who is a life-long learner – both in areas of Jewish learning and otherwise.

Portfolio of Responsibilities
Our Director of Jewish Education will help our congregation to imagine and bring to life a compelling vision for Jewish education. They will do so by taking ownership of:
Envisioning and Implementing Lifelong Jewish Learning
K-12 Jewish Learning
Curriculum Development: Helping us to articulate what success looks like, by imagining what a 12th grader (and an 8th grader, and a 5th grader) who has grown up at TBS should ideally “know, do, believe, and belong” – and help us to map out a set of pathways towards achieving that vision
Ideate new possible ways to utilize our physical space, teaching talent, weekly calendar, and use of technology
Partner with our Cantor, Rabbi, and BMitzvah Tutoring Team to support the pathway to BMitzvah and beyond
K-12 Family Engagement:
Helping our K-12 parents and families connect to Jewish life through the congregation – especially in partnership with our Family Engagement Committee
Teen Life:
Strengthening our Teaching Assistant program and “Tikkun Olam” teen program, and helping us to imagine and create other ways for our teens to connect to Jewish life through the congregation – possibly including (but not limited to) building a traditional NFTY (or other) Youth Group and/or Junior Youth Group, Teen Leadership Council, Hebrew High School, Confirmation Program, Teen Mitzvah Corps, Senior Seminar, and/or other ideas.
Jewish Summer Camp:
Continuing to build our congregation’s participation in URJ (and other) Jewish summer camps, and helping our families to see that camp and the synagogue are extensions of one another
Adult Learning:
In coordination with the Rabbi and Cantor, help us to grow and deepen our adult educational engagement – including opportunities for formal learning (like our existing Torah Study group and Bible as Literature group) and for informal conversation (like our existing Gather initiative and Senior Lunch Group)
Bridge from Early Childhood Center (ECC) to Religious School:
Partnering with our ECC Director to help families in our ECC smoothly make the transition from the ECC to the Religious School and broader congregation
Administration
Communications:
In partnership with our Executive Director, Teaching Faculty, and Rabbi, maintaining regular communication (email, text messaging, social media, and others) with K-12 families, teens, and college students about goings-on in the congregation and beyond of which they should be aware
Database Management
In partnership with our Executive Director, oversee and streamline enrollment processes, and the tracking of student participation and progress
Budget
Following the lead of our Executive Director, Board Treasurer, Financial Administrator, and Board Liaison to the Director of Jewish Education, manage a complex budget that includes teacher salaries, program expenditures, enrollment tuitions, and other sources of revenue and expense
Supervision:
Mentor and supervise our Teaching Faculty; recruit and retain talented faculty
Direct reports:
Religious School Teachers
Teen Teaching Assistants
Various specialists (when we have them): eg. shinshin/it (Israeli teenager spending a year in the US, and serving as a member of our teaching team), art specialist, music specialist, Hebrew specialist
Work in close collaboration with the Cantor and the Rabbi to support the pathway to BMitzvah and beyond

This position is supervised by and reports to the Rabbi, is a member of the Senior Staff, and works in close collaboration with a Board liaison.

Schedule
Workdays: Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays
Days off: Tuesdays and Saturdays – with the exception of any Religious School, Teen, or Family Engagement programs that occur on days off as required.
Hours:
All times when Religious School, Teen Programs, and Family Engagement initiatives are in session, including early arrival for set-up and preparation and staying after for break-down
Approximately 40 hours/week
This is an in-person (non-remote, non-work from home) position (with reasonable flexibility)

Relevant Training and Experience
We are seeking a candidates with a Masters Degree in Jewish Education, or with significant professional experience in the field of Jewish education

Position Start Date
July 1, 2024

Salary and Benefits
Compensation Range, commensurate with experience and qualifications: $75,000-$95,000 annually
Employee Group Health Insurance
Opportunity to participate in The Reform Pension Board 403(b) Plan
Membership to the Association of Reform Jewish Educators (ARJE)
Participation in Professional Development opportunities and conferences
Membership to Temple Beth Shalom

Applications Due By
February 29, 2024

Contact Information
Please email or send all resumes and information to our dedicated email address for the Religious Educator Search:
RESearch [at] tbshastings.org

Statement of Equal Opportunity
Temple Beth Shalom is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status.