Thursday, March 18, 2010

Jewish Early Childhood Educators
Take the Lead in Their Own Growth:
A Leadership Intensive
*10th Annual ECE-RJ Conference*

Recently, forty-nine educators from URJ congregations across the United States came together for the tenth annual conference of Early Childhood Educators of Reform Judaism, Take the Lead In Your Own Growth: A Leadership Intensive, held March 7-9, 2010 in Dallas Texas.

For two and a half inspiring days, the group focused on how early childhood centers within the Reform movement discover and express their core ideals and values in many areas of early childhood administration, from building a vision of community to the importance of the budget process. The conference scholar-in-residence was Lyndall Miller, Director of Jewish Early Childhood Education and the Legacy Heritage Institute for Jewish Early Childhood Educators, at Gratz College in Elkins Park, PA. We participated in a variety of discussions exploring issues and challenges facing all of us in Jewish early childhood education, as well as learning about innovative program ideas.

The conference began on Sunday afternoon with a gathering to welcome Panim Chadoshot (new faces) after which we jumped right into our topic by beginning to think, both generally and personally, about leadership. Prior to dinner, incredible words to challenge and inspire us were provided by Nancy Bossov, RJE Vice President of Professional Development, followed by ruach, havdallah and the installation of the 2010 Board of ECE-RJ.

Two congregations in the Dallas area were our hosts: Temple Emanu-El and Temple Shalom. On Monday, Bonnie Rubinstein, the early childhood director at Temple Shalom welcomed us for conversations surrounding school visions and leadership. The inspiring discussion began with thinking about “directing the light of the Jewish image of the child.” We spent time considering how to educate children based on their own paths. That afternoon, we toured the beautiful classrooms at Temple Shalom’s Preschool and then reconvened to think about topics including the impact of the environment and involvement of parents in our programs.

On Tuesday, Temple Emanu-El and its early childhood director, Shelley Sender, welcomed us. In the morning we engaged in discussions about developing as directors, teaming with teachers, planning staff meetings. We also had the opportunity to tour the wonderful Pre-School facility. We heard some inspiring closing remarks from Lyndall Miller and enjoyed a festive “Texas Round-Up” lunch provided by Temple Emanu-El’s Pre-School. The closing ceremony gave us an opportunity to connect with colleagues in our field and to reflect on the wealth of information and introspection we had obtained in the previous two and a half days.

We are very fortunate to be members of the Early Childhood Educators of Reform Judaism (ECE-RJ), the youngest professional affiliate of the Union for Reform Judaism, and to be able to attend the worthwhile conferences ECE-RJ sponsors each year. ECE-RJ represents professionals in all fields of Reform Jewish early childhood education, serving as a voice for educators, providing synagogue leadership with current information about the benefits of early childhood education for congregations and young families, as well as useful guidelines for its members and their extended communities about salaries, contracts, and benefits, as well as in cultivating opportunities for lifelong learning and continuing education.

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