Why Community?

At synagogue recently, someone not yet connected with the school asked me about the community here at Schechter. He wanted to know whether that “special feeling” exists, how we help foster it, and why we do it at all. As you can imagine, we had a great conversation. Since then, I’ve been thinking more and more about what makes a community, or a kehillah as we call it here at Schechter, and also the last part of his question -- why.

The first part of his question about whether community exists here is obvious. Yes, definitely yes. I’ve written in the past on this blog about how my family has been welcomed and how at home we already feel after just eight months.

At a meeting of the Parent Ambassadors this week, the group was asked what brought them to Schechter and what has kept them here. I was blown away by some of the stories they shared about how the community was there for them. They used words like warm, caring, and nurturing to describe their experiences.

So then how do we make sure parents continue to have these sorts of stories? What’s the recipe? It first calls for one cup of volunteer engagement. Over the past month, parents have come together to bake hamantaschen for Mishloach Manot, Purim gift bags. Several parents have commented that they met people with whom they never would have interacted but for programs like this. They had the chance to chat about children, work, and life while rolling out the dough. Others choose to serve on board committees, others like to plan communal dinners, and still others like to make calls to solicit donations for our Annual Fund.

The recipe then calls for another cup of chesed (kindness) for those in times of need. Often our community gets to celebrate births and weddings. Sometimes we mourn losses together too. And other times people just need a little help. For those of you who are on the Schechter Parents Social Facebook page, you may remember seeing offers of seats in cars during a recent delayed opening. Parents were willing to pick up other people’s children and bring them to school so that working parents could get to their offices. Small kindnesses that have big meaning.

The recipe also includes pinches of things that happen outside our doors such as play dates in your homes, Shabbat meals, and gatherings at the playground (once the snow melts). If you haven’t had dinner with a Schechter family recently, maybe consider inviting someone to join you. It is a great way to get to know people and build that connectivity. Offer a playdate to your child’s classmate. Come into the building during pick-up or drop-off and join the schmoozing that happens in our lobby.

So that brings us to why. Why do we want all of these things to happen? Because they feel good. Because being part of a community means that we have to work at it a little (and sometimes a lot) so that every member feels our warmth. Because we are much stronger as a whole than as individual parts.

How would you answer the questions? What do you love about our community? What makes you keep coming back?

Shabbat Shalom,

Dr. Ari Yares

Head of School

P.S. Another great way to experience the Schechter community is to come to the Purim Bash.Order your tickets here.

P.P.S. Don’t forget about your volunteer engagement hours. Lots of options exists and we’re always looking for a variety of help from development to supporting teachers to planning terrific programs. 

Sights, Sounds and Smells

Since it’s Adar and our joy is supposed to increase throughout the month (really two, this year), I walked around the hallways this week to let my senses take in what was happening. I had the pleasure of seeing, hearing, and smelling a lot of wonderful things. The only way for me to share them with you is to describe a few and hope that you can let them embrace you the way they did for me.

I saw President Abraham Lincoln. Upon investigation, the person under that beard was a third grader doing a presentation about the great president. When I looked around the room, I saw that the room was filled with presidents...President Jefferson, President Wilson, and President Reagan, just to name a few.

I heard preschool students laughing and yelling for joy about finally being outside for recess. I was reminded that while I may be tired of the snow -- driving in it, shoveling it, seeing it falling from the sky -- our kids still love playing in it.

I smelled hamantaschen baking on Thursday night. Oh, they were heavenly, strawberry-filled deliciousness. Parent volunteers have excitedly come in to bake more than 2,000 hamantaschen for Mishloach Manot many nights over the past month. This Sunday morning is the final time to get yourself into the kitchen to bake (and taste one - yes I did) before Purim rolls around.

I heard the cheers of friends and family during the Girls’ game against Fuchs Mizrachi. We won, but it didn’t matter. The students were having fun.

I smelled the tasty lunch that our incredible kitchen staff put together despite the short morning on Tuesday. I am always amazed that they can make lunch for more than 330 people each day, and even more so with fewer minutes to do it.

I saw prospective parents looking excited about joining Schechter as they toured the building with Parent and Student Ambassadors. Help us grow our school by referring new families to Schechter. Wear Schechter and talk Schechter as you move through the Cleveland Jewish community. Don’t forget about the $1,000 tuition incentive for new recruits!

I heard the melodious tunes of Ma Tovu as our Lower School students davened together. Our first graders are eagerly preparing for their Kabbalat Siddur program and their excitement is building.

I smelled (and then tasted) delicious treats prepared by our ECC students. Our kindergarten students invited officers from the Pepper Pike Police Department and presented them with cupcakes to take back to the station as a thank you for all that they do to keep us safe.

At the end of last week, I heard the applause of our students as I put gold, silver, and bronze medals over the heads of our champion readers in each grade level. With over 1300 books read, it was clear that everyone went for the gold in our Read for Life program. Thank you to the incredible staff who gave of their time to make sure that this program was a success.

I will go into Shabbat “sensing” that it was another wonderful week here at Schechter.

Shabbat Shalom

Dr. Ari Yares

Out of the Comfort Zone

Put yourself in your child’s shoes. Think about teaching her to ride a bike (or if you haven’t had the pleasure of this yet, harken back to you as a child with your own parent). She allows you to let go because she knows that if she starts to fall, you will catch her, or at least pick her up and kiss the scrapes. You will encourage her to try again and to find the joy in riding that bike. She is safe.

All learning involves some form of risk. After all, you are attempting something new that you have never done before (otherwise it would not be learning). As teachers, it is our job to create an environment where students are willing to engage in risks. This means showing our support through appropriate encouragement and making sure that the risk falls within an acceptable range. The steps between learning concepts and skills need be just far enough apart that students stretch, but not so much that they fall on their faces.

As the educational leader of Schechter, I strive to enhance and develop this sort of environment. Every educator in the building shares the responsibility to provide our students with the opportunity to build positive relationships with adults who are supportive, have high expectations, and regularly communicate with them. Without these underpinnings, it becomes difficult to encourage student to make the right choices when it comes to making educational risks.

In the last few weeks, I have seen in our hallways and classrooms an abundance of this kind of healthy educational risk. Our seventh graders proudly and capably stood by their science fair projects while judges (in some cases, complete strangers to the students) asked them probing questions about their hypothesis, procedures, and conclusions. Yesterday morning, three fourth graders stood up in front of their classmates, teachers, and relatives to read directly from the Torah for the first time. And all week, the physical education staff have been trying out new team “sports”, including indoor bobsled teams and group cross country skiing (all on one pair of giant skis!). None seem easy even for the most athletically gifted children.

These are just a few examples of the way that the supportive environment at Schechter encourages students to take risks and step out of their comfort zone just a little bit more each time. Our educators are setting the stage for this learning to occur and will keep pushing our students to grow.

When I came to Schechter, it was already a warm, supportive environment. Having seen countless examples of our students’ development this year, I am incredibly excited and proud to be a part of continuing to help us thrive. The core of the risk-taking happens within our classrooms and I want to ensure that the teachers themselves have the support they need to facilitate our children's growth. Therefore, one of our next steps on this path is the creation of a new staff position for Schechter, the Director of Teaching and Learning. We are beginning a national search to find just the right candidate. As the search progresses, we will update you.

Make sure to check out this week’s Cleveland Jewish News’ Education Section for more great things going on at Schechter.

Shabbat Shalom,

Dr. Ari Yares

The First 100

The phrase “The First 100 Days” was coined by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. He was referring to a session of Congress. Since then, the phrase has been co-opted by schools, government administrations, and business leaders to reflect on the first several months of a new period.

With a few extra days off for cold, the 100th day of Schechter has been a moving target. Barring any major snowfall, we will get there on Tuesday. That means that the year is more than half done. It means that our incredible 8th grade class will “soon” be leaving for their trip to Israel and then graduating. It means that our kindergarteners will fill the hallways with their wonderful projects. It also means that I have now passed the six month mark at Schechter.

As you know from talking with me and reading my other blog posts, one of my personal goals is to make the school more transparent. Parents and board members should have a solid understanding of where the school is and where we are headed.

So I want to share with you some of my goals for the year, and highlights of the progress that’s been made so far.

1. Develop a strategic vision for our school’s future. 

• Along with an ad hoc committee, we are building an initial school vision and capacity building proposals that will be vetted by the board of directors in the near future.
• We are working to build the school’s presence in the community by meeting and working collaboratively with area rabbis, school heads, and other agency executives.

2. Support a school culture that values accountability, professionalism, innovation, transparency, collaboration, and is positive.

• Weekly staff meetings are being held to collaborate on programming and building space use, for staff trainings, and division planning.
• A school-wide project map has been developed to track and organize work on programs and processes.
• A group of staff have begun training in design thinking, through the Day School Collaboration Network, to enable problem solving in a unique way on school-wide issues.
• Orli Rabkin (Schechter Class of 1991) is now our school’s alumni coordinator, working to maintain relationships with our alumni.
• Through the Shavuon and Tuesday update, we are keeping you informed about the incredible things happening here each week.
• Schechter is excited to now be partnering with JFSA to provide the school’s health services for a stronger program.

3. Fiscally strengthen our school.

• Enrollment for this year is now at 271, almost a 5% increase over last year.
• Next year, we are creating a five days per week, full-day program for two year olds.
• We have already raised more than 70% of the funds towards our fundraising goal of $1,000,000!
• Our Development Department is rolling out a corporate sponsorship plan, has plans for expanding designated giving, and is working with anonymous donors on the Parent Match (will you help us get to 85%?), and other programs.
• With the help of our new Coordinator of Special Projects, Purim Bash planning is well underway, honoring Michael Diamant and Cari Marderstein. Invitations have arrived in your mailboxes and we’re looking forward to an exciting night!
• We regularly meet with constituents to hear their ideas, learn their passions, and answer their questions.
• We requested, and received, a grant of $305,000 from the Federation’s Emergency Reserve Fund to assist with eliminating previously accumulated debt. Federation’s partnership and vote of confidence in the school is incredibly important.

4. Support and enhance our academic program.

• Each day, the administration connects with our students and teachers through classroom visits so we can better understand teaching and learning at Schechter.
• Implementation of the Common Core math curriculum has begun.
• The Middle School has implemented monthly Tikkun Olam Programs.
• The Reading Week program was expanded to the Read for Life - Go of the Gold program to encourage students to read more.
• Our school’s social-emotional curriculum has been updated to better support the needs of our students and to help them live a life of derech eretz (path of good living).

It’s been a busy 100 days (well, really six months) and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s important for me that you -- current parents, board members, alumni parents, donors, friends -- know where the school is headed. There are many details that make up each day as I try to reach and exceed my goals. But having them out there in a transparent way means that you can help me meet them.

Being that you’re getting this via email or reading it on a website, we’ve come a long way since FDR’s radio address of the first 100 days. May we continue to grow and develop.

Shabbat Shalom,

Dr. Ari Yares