The Transparency Files: The OJCS 2018-2019 Faculty

It is amazing to note that we have reached June and the final three weeks of school are in front of us!  It is hard to believe how much we have accomplished and how much we have planned for next year.  I can certainly understand that no one wants to wish their summer away – including me – but we are so excited about what next year has in store at OJCS that we really almost cannot wait to begin again!  Speaking of next year…

As you hopefully have already heard, we are saying goodbye to Marlène Colbourne and Rachel Kugler who will be retiring at the end of this school year after long and distinguished careers at OJCS.  [Hopefully you are planning on attending their “Retirement Tea” on Sunday, June 24th at 2:00 PM here at the school.  Email the office to RSVP.]  We are also saying goodbye to two additional longstanding teachers – Stacy Sargeant and Rabbi David Rotenberg – and we wish them all the best in their new endeavors.  These four faculty members have contributed much to our school and each will be missed.  The search process to fill existing and new positions has already begun and we will update you periodically as we make hires.

You will see below that we are looking to hire a significant number of positions – more than the four alluded to above.  Let’s talk about why that is true…

…the first reason is pretty simple: we are a growing school!  With attrition down and recruitment up, we will need more teachers.  With 26 students enrolled for Kindergarten (and more prospects expressing interest), we will have two Kindergartens next year, and they each require not only a lead teacher, but an assistant teacher in order for us to deliver on our promise of personalization.

…speaking of delivering on promises, the second reason is due to the increase in contact time for French next year.  We will need two additional French teachers to join our French Department to ensure that the commitment to increased rigor comes along with the increased time.

…the third reason is a direct response to both our own lived experience and the feedback we heard loud and clear from the Annual Parent Survey.  With all the transition that took place from last year to this, our ability to meet the needs of our current special needs population requires more support. We are actively looking for a Director of Special Education who will work under our Vice Principal and with our Resource Teachers to ensure that our communication will be as clear and proactive as our accommodations.  We are also looking for a part-time Music Teacher to help clarify and streamline music education at OJCS.

One more point to make before we make the big reveal…

You will note a few structural changes as well.  The first is the aforementioned creation of a Department of Special Education.  The second is the formation of an Education Leadership Team (ELT) that will bring together members of the faculty who have been given “Coordinator” portfolios, signifying additional quasi-administrative responsibilities, and members of the administration to help move the innovation agenda forward, preparing us to take that next great leap forward.  The third is that we will be sharing out soon a revamped Middle School Jewish Studies Curriculum that may better explain the way we have described the positions below.

OK, I think I have given a lengthy enough preamble.  Let’s get excited about this gifted and loving group of teachers and administrators who will partner with our parents in the sacred work of educating our children.  I know I am!

The 2018-2019 OJCS Faculty & Staff

Lower School General Studies Faculty

• Kindergarten: Janet Darwish, a French Teacher & 2 Educational Assistants
• Grade One: Ann-Lynn Rapoport, Lianna Krantzberg & a French Teacher
• Grade Two: Ann-Lynn Rapoport & a French Teacher
• Grade Three: Julie Bennett & Aaron Polowin (French)
• Grade Four: Julie Bennett, a French Teacher (Core) & Aaron Polowin (Extended)
• Grade Five: Melissa Thompson, Aaron Polowin (Core) & a French Teacher (Extended)

Lower School Jewish Studies Faculty

• Kitah Gan: Shira Waldman
• Kitah Alef: Ada Aizenberg & Lianna Krantzberg
• Kitah Bet: Bethany Goldstein
• Kitah Gimmel: A Jewish Studies Teacher
• Kitah Dalet: Ada Aizenberg
• Kitah Hay: Bethany Goldstein (Core) & Ruthie Lebovich (Extended)

[Please recall that this will be the last year of “Core” and “Extended” in Jewish Studies.]

Middle School Faculty

• Science: Josh Ray
• Mathematics: Chelsea Cleveland
• Language Arts: A Teacher
• Social Studies: Deanna Bertrend
• Extended French: Stéphane Cinanni
• Core French: Aaron Polowin (Grade 6) & a French Teacher (Grades 7 & 8)
• Hebrew: Noga Reiss  (Level I) & Ruthie Lebovich (Level II)
• Bible: A Bible Teacher
• Rabbinics: Rabbi Howard Finkelstein

Specialists

• Art: Shira Waldman
• Music: A Music Teacher
• PE: Josh Ray & Shira Waldman (Girls 7 & 8)
• Library: Brigitte Ruel

Department of Special Education

• Keren Gordon, Vice Principal
• Director of Special Needs
• Linda Signer, Resource Teacher
• Brian Kom, Resource Teacher
• Chelsea Cleveland, Math Resource

Education Leadership Team

• Melissa Thompson, Teaching & Learning Coordinator
• Deanna Bertrend, Student Life Coordinator

Administration

• Josh Max – IT & Technology Support
• Ellie Kamil – Executive Assistant to the Head of School
• Rabbi Howard Finkelstein – Dean of Judaic Studies
• Jennifer Greenberg – Director of Recruitment
• Keren Gordon – Vice-Principal
• Dr. Jon Mitzmacher – Head of School

We are moving full steam ahead with candidates for all the above positions and between our extraordinary returning teachers and the quality of the candidates we have met thus far for new teachers, we know that the future is bright at OJCS.