The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah announced this week a restructuring of its educational offerings for children and youth.
Shelley Hedrick, who has served as the congregation’s religious school director for the last 12 years, is to become its interim preschool director. Hedrick will direct the congregation’s preschool and be responsible for its early childhood programming, including monthly Young Family Shabbat, its partnership with PJ Library, Messy Mornings, Pajama Havdalah, High Holiday Family Services, and new offerings being contemplated.
Due to that change, two other changes in staff occurred. Dayna Gershon, who has served as Machane Jehudah director, will become the director of formal and informal Jewish education. Emily Williams will assume the new position of assistant director, to assist Gershon.
Gershon will have direct responsibility for Sunday Religious School, Hebrew School, Machane Jehudah, Kesher, Confirmation, 11th-12th grade programming, and will oversee the congregation’s informal engagement opportunities. Williams will focus on Machane Jehudah and direct the informal youth programming for the congregation, including serving as the advisor for PBnJ, its senior NFTY youth group. She will also be responsible for JYG (middle school youth group), NFTY 6 and the congregation’s social programming for children in third through sixth grades.
Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff, B’nai Jehudah’s senior rabbi, explained how all these changes happened and why at this juncture.
“Two weeks ago, we announced to our families that Sue Boxer has decided to retire at the end of June, as director of our preschool and early childhood education. Under Sue’s leadership, the program has grown significantly, our preschool families are very satisfied with the educational and social interactions their children receive, and our younger families are increasingly integrated into the life of the congregation.”
Rabbi Nemitoff also stated that “our goal was to continue Sue’s success with little interruption to the program. Thus, we turned to Shelley Hedrick.”
Hedrick has a background in preschool, having served as a lead teacher for Congregation Beth Shalom for seven years prior to joining B’nai Jehudah’s staff. Combined with her 12 years as religious school director, Rabbi Nemitoff and Donna Thalblum, the congregation’s president, felt she was the perfect person to shepherd this coming interim year while they did a thorough and thoughtful search for a permanent director. As they said in the letter to the congregation: “We believe that her personality — one that loves children, families, and teachers — will serve our children and families well for the coming year. She knows our program. She knows many of our families. She knows our teachers. And she will guide our program in the coming year with love and a strong sense of commitment to making it the best Jewish early childhood program in our community.“
As Thalblum and Rabbi Nemitoff explained, this presented them with an unexpected opportunity to realign their youth programs, bringing them all together under one department. Dayna Gershon was their choice to implement these changes. They described her work efforts with Machane Jehudah as “remarkable,” bringing the program from the idea-stage to fruition. They spoke of her creativity, sensitivity and understanding of Jewish informal learning.
Open to any child in the Jewish community, Machane Jehudah is a two-week camp session, followed by monthly family education units. Beginning its fifth year, it has received numerous accolades and been the recipient of the Jewish Federation Program-of-the-Year Award.
Gershon has had previous experiences as an educator at Congregation Beth Shalom, as the director of Jewish life and learning at the Jewish Community Center of Louisville, Kentucky, and a local and regional youth group director for United Synagogue Youth. With a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a concentration in Judaic studies, Gershon has just begun an executive master’s program in Jewish Education through Hebrew Union College — Jewish Institute of Religion.
Gershon expressed her excitement at this opportunity, saying, “I am very excited about the possibilities of what can be accomplished by combining formal and informal, traditional and experiential programming. I look forward to creating and implementing such a vision here at B’nai Jehudah.”
Williams, the new assistant director, grew up in the congregation and in the last few years has been their JYG (middle school youth) advisor, has accompanied their PBnJ (high school) youth group to out-of-town events, has taught fifth and sixth grade Religious School and their seventh- through 11th-grade Kesher program, and served as an assistant to Gershon in Machane Jehudah. Williams holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education, has been the program director and director of Barney Goodman Camp at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City, and worked as the technical director for the Theatre Department at Blue Valley West. She, too, is delighted to become part of B’nai Jehudah’s educational team.
“I believe that education is the heart and core of Judaism. As one who was confirmed at B’nai Jehudah, I look forward to the opportunity of sharing what I received with the next generation, continuing to build our young adult community for success, with positive Jewish ideals and with engagement opportunities that speak to the 21st century,” Williams said.
All the staff changes will be effective July 1.