Upon entering the Rose Family Early Childhood Education Center at Congregation Beth Shalom, one can immediately feel the love emanating from its director, Judy Jacks Berman.
She greets each child with a big hug, welcoming smile and cheerful comment or question.
Follow Berman into her office and it’s more of the same: Love, joy and her vivacious personality fill the room, along with dozens of photos of children of all ages. Her eyes light up in a smile as she looks over at several years’ worth of photos of happy children
After 30 years of changing children’s lives in Kansas City through her work at Beth Shalom, Berman is retiring from her position on June 10. She leaves behind a legacy of love, deep connections with students and families and a whole lot of kisses and hugs.
“Nothing’s better in the world than a really caring, warm embrace,” Berman said. “It says everything. A real hug is so meaningful. Children need to know that you love them unconditionally and a hug says all of that.”
Unconditional love is just the beginning when it comes to Berman.
“Judy has created an environment where children do much more than learn,” said Stefanie Misler Williams, executive director of Beth Shalom. “They thrive, and then, their children thrive. Starting with the youngest people in our community, Judy works with the whole family so they become self-aware and begin to explore the people they will become. Judy is a master of her trade. She leads by example, and her kindness is felt by everyone who walks through the double doorway into the Education Center.”
Current and former parents agree with Williams’ thoughts.
“Judy Jacks Berman is an amazing educator and human. She made me a better mom by reassuring me, providing sound advice and always loving my kids,” said Gwen Landever, a former preschool parent and executive director at the University of St. Mary. “It was so wonderful to see Judy hold high expectations and love every child who stepped into the preschool, and her expertise in early childhood was comforting when I came to her with questions.”
How Berman started
Berman’s work with children began at Barney Goodman Day Camp at age 15.
“Art Nemitoff and I were the youngest counselors hired by Skipper Feingold. It was a source of pride,” said Berman.
She then went on to teach at Boone County Head Start in Columbia, Missouri, during her time at the University of Missouri. She was quickly promoted to director of Head Start, then transferred to the University of Kansas, where she helped build and run Educare, a new daycare for the university.
After graduation, Berman took her knowledge of early childhood education with her to teach at and direct a variety of preschools as her husband Steve’s job took them around the United States. She was able to observe different models and styles and hone her expertise in teaching and directing these centers. When the preschool director position at Beth Shalom opened in their hometown of Kansas City, she and Steve knew it was time to move home.
Berman, who was the 2024 Jewish Federation Educator of the Year, attributes much of her success to adaptability and surrounding herself with great people. She said these key factors in navigating an evolving landscape were particularly helpful during the pandemic shutdown in 2020. During that time, she and her staff quickly developed and tested new ideas, discussed and reviewed these ideas to build upon them, and observed and carefully expanded on the ideas that proved successful in getting their students safely back to school.
“Over the years, preschool standards have changed, and Judy has found a way to incorporate it all,” Williams said. “She has brought creative learning opportunities, Hebrew speaking engagements, musical enhancements and hands-on lifelong learning opportunities. She has tirelessly applied for grants to help reach more students, provide more opportunities for her staff and increase the quality of the equipment for her students.”
“The philosophy of the school is that kids need to feel safe, secure and loved in their environment in order to learn, so first and foremost is loving and nurturing them,” Berman said. “The truth is that every single staff person here loves and cares about these kids and works hard to make each one feel special. The staff also loves and supports one another, which makes this place even more special.”
Berman brings her own values into educating her students, fostering close bonds between students and families. She keeps in touch with most — if not all — of her parents and students, and she loves hearing stories about her grown students as they enter their career paths and begin their own families.
One such example is a group of preschool friends who ended up in Chicago after college. At their first gathering, a Shabbat dinner, they toasted Beth Shalom’s preschool for bringing them together.
“Those are lifelong friendships that they can trace back to being in the ‘threes’ class together,” Berman said.
Landever is grateful for her own children’s time at the preschool, as it provided a solid foundation in their formative years and established lifelong friendships with peers. The Landever family’s friendship with Berman continues long after the preschool years.
“Judy recently attended our son Noah’s high school graduation party, and things have come full circle with our 20-year-old daughter working at the early childhood education center’s camp this summer,” Landever said. “Judy’s 30-year legacy has had a true impact on so many families.”
“Judy has helped to raise and inspire generations of our youth,” Williams said. “She has current preschool parents who were her preschoolers. She has preschool parents and students who have become preschool teachers. People come home to Judy. She remembers every face, every name, every story.”
The future of the Early Childhood Education Center
Lisa Reeves, who has taught at the Early Childhood Education Center for the last three years, will take over as director of the center upon Berman’s retirement. She and Berman are working closely to prepare for the transition.
“Lisa is second to none,” Berman said.” She’s going to just knock it out of the park as the director. The kids adore her, the parents adore her, she’s brilliant, she’s tactful. We’ve been working together all semester, and it’s just going to be such an easy, smooth transition.”
“Once Judy retires in June, she may no longer be at the double doors, but the example she set will always be the bar we try to reach,” Williams said.
“Judy is leaving the preschool in great hands with Lisa Reeves,” Landever said.
Berman’s retirement doesn’t mean she won’t be found around the school.
“I’ll be around,” she said. “This preschool has been the center of my life for 30 years. Luckily, Lisa and I are close, and she wants me to be around, which is a nice compliment.”
“I hope my legacy is that all the kids who have gone through Beth Shalom preschool will live Jewishly,” Berman said. “They will love living Jewish lives or living good lives as people who care about each other, who want to be respectful, who want the world to be a better place. If that’s what we created here, then that thrills me.
“I tell my own kids and the kids at school: I don’t care if you’re the smartest kid in your class or the best in sports,” she said. “I care if you’re kind and you make the world a better place. I truly believe that, and I think the kids here learn that. Our world needs a lot of repairing, and hopefully these kids will grow into the kind of people who will repair the world. That’s really all I can ask.”
A celebration of Judy's career will take place on Monday, June 10. Click here for more information.