I grew up in Dollard des Ormeaux, a suburb of Montreal. Although my father was a public school teacher, my parents made the decision to send my sister and I to Jewish day school in the neighborhood. They wanted us to have strong ties to the community, to Judaism and to Israel. It worked.
I used to watch my dad grade papers. I would sit in my room with a stack of papers and a pile of red pens and pretend to be marking papers and giving feedback to my “students”. As I grew older, I knew that teaching was my trajectory. The memories of the experiences I had in the JDS classroom stuck with me. I wanted to teach and I wanted to teach in a Jewish day school. I wanted to help students build community, make connections with their families to Judaism and discover who they are as learners.
My first job was at Gesher JDS. I took a position teaching kindergarten, which I assumed would last a year or two until a different grade became available- that never happened. I spent 22 years working with 5 year olds and starting them off on their journey in Jewish education. I loved every minute.
I have been blessed to work in amazing schools and organizations who share my goals and philosophies around teaching and learning. Every moment you have with students is a moment to build connections, community and knowledge. Every moment you have with teachers is a moment to celebrate new relationships, building exciting and meaningful curricula and supporting those choosing to enter the world of chinuch.
I come from a long line of educators and I am honored to be a part of this profession working to build the next generation of educators.