Rabbi Jim: Still Learning

The Duty of Care - An Opportunity for Improvement Back in the month of June, as happens every year, stories went around about the “transitions” of Jewish professionals such as Rabbis, heads of school, and organization staff.  Hearing these stories is difficult, even for those of us who have great positions and work with wonderful people.     Some of my fellow professionals were “Went  Away’s ” - They may have been looking for a bigger/better position, seeking new challenges, moving because of a spouse’s employment needs, or escaping a difficult situation in their current job.       Others were “Sent  Away’s ” - Some didn’t have the skills for the position for which they were hired, or there wasn’t a good “fit.” Perhaps the financial realities of their organizations led to downsizing.       Sadly, some of these Jewish professionals fell victim to unclear goals and/or inadequate supervision by their boss and/or board. And yet others, in spite of yea...

The Time to Plan is Now Rabbi Jim Rogozen   The last few weeks have been extremely demanding for everyone, including those of us who work in Jewish Education. Educators have had to go into high gear to create mechanisms for maintaining learning and a sense of community in schools. I am in awe of what you, my colleagues, have accomplished in the past two weeks. It is no surprise, then, that teachers and administrators are counting the minutes until “Pesach Break” begins!   Sadly, we know that schools may not re-open this spring; there may even be delayed openings in the fall. Even if our schools do open in August, there could be a mid-year return of Covid-19. This lack of certainty has convinced some of us that it is too soon to do any long-term planning. Many of us are, after all, still in the midst of a modified version of the Kubler-Ross stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. We are rushing about, trying to f...

How to Avoid Failure to Launch Rabbi Jim Rogozen Recent articles and gatherings (including Prizmah’s wonderful Mental Health Summit ) have addressed a growing concern about mental health issues in our schools.  If you are a mental health professional, school administrator, or Head of School who wants to initiate programs to address these concerns, this article is for you.   While creating initiatives to address the mental health needs in our school communities is necessary, the long-term success of these efforts is not guaranteed. What often happens in schools is that an identified problem, or even an opportunity to improve something, leads to initiatives (or innovations) that are poorly or incompletely implemented, or dropped entirely. In some cases, the problem was misdiagnosed, the solution did not match the problem, the initiative was not well thought out, or even needed.  It can also happen that the process of engaging the faculty was too “top down” and, as a r...