Dear Religious School Families,
It is with great enthusiasm that we share with you our education plans for the upcoming year. For 2020-2021 we will be moving to a new teaching platform, Shalom Learning, which offers a values-based curriculum designed for both onsite and virtual classroom learning for grades K-7. This innovative approach to religious school education provides a clear and consistent structure by integrating a teacher-training component, PowerPoint presentations, lesson resources, online activities, and email communications with families. This format will enable Rodeph Sholom to begin religious school on the Sunday after Labor Day, September 13th after allowing time for teachers to learn the new curriculum and for the Education Director to be in place. We plan to follow the lead of public schools, implementing virtual learning if necessary, followed by a seamless transition to onsite learning or a virtual/onsite hybrid model. Additionally, this program has the benefit of providing an option for continued virtual learning should it not be safe to resume onsite in the Fall. However, it is our hope that we will be able to hold in person classes Sunday mornings with virtual learning on Wednesday afternoons commensurate with local, State and Federal guidelines. Finally, the implementation of Shalom Learning will provide a structured curriculum for our incoming Education Director while also allowing for fluid customization.
To date, we have received applications from several well-qualified candidates for the Education Director position. We are in the process of interviewing these applicants and hope to make an announcement by September 1st. Concurrently, we are working closely with Kol Ami to fill the Kol Ami/Rodeph Sholom Youth Director position.
As we move forward, we are optimistic that these changes will enable us to meet the challenges of our times while focusing on religious education, deepening youth connections within our community, and ensuring a bright future for Congregation Rodeph Sholom.
Warm regards,
Jamie W. Fernandez, VP for Education
Marcy Baker, President
