Education & Music Director

We are a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive Jewish Community in the Western suburbs of Chicago. We build a community with our students with the knowledge of the Jewish people so they can be proud of who they are, where they came from, and understand the great world. All students meet on Sundays together. In a community where students may be the only Jewish child in their school, this is powerful! Many of our teachers are parents, demonstrating care and commitment to support our families in teaching our students. We are currently engaged in a systemic review of school, and plan to role out many changes over the next 12 months – we’ve been involving our parents and community in this process and know that the changes will be very well received! Our Religious School Grades include PreK-Confirmation (9^th/10^th grade). Our B’nai Mitzvah program includes grades 8-10, culminating with Confirmation. This year, the Confirmation class was taught by our Rabbi. In addition to traditional religious school topics, this year’s class also took on a significant service project redesigning the youth lounge. In this way, the class was able to have a lasting impact on the experience of future students. We have been blessed to have a wonderful Cantor for over 30 years, who will be retiring at the end of this month. We had a planned search to fill that position, as a part-time role. Unfortunately, our community recently lost our beloved Part-time Religious School Director due to a sudden illness. Because of this, we find ourselves with two significant gaps in key leadership roles. After much discussion, we made the decision to merge these two roles in order to form a full-time position. Congregation Beth Shalom of Naperville, Illinois seeks an Education and Music Director to serve as a member of our senior leadership team. We seek someone who will bring new approaches to Jewish Education that will engage our families with content-rich, and life-relevant curriculum and approaches. The Education and Music Director is responsible for the programming and administration of educational opportunities for the CBS community. We strongly encourage and support visionary leadership and experimentation to build a dynamic program for lifelong learning. You will also be responsible for working with the Rabbi to create spiritually meaningful and rich musical experiences that help connect congregants of all ages to their Judaism, and to the beauty of our tradition. Responsibilities: Administration of Religious School, Hebrew instruction, and holiday educational programming while working with the Rabbi, the VP of Education, and the VP of Religious Practices that might include: Providing leadership to our teachers and the K-10 educational program, teen programming; Developing and maintaining, with other stakeholders, a dynamic curriculum that engages all ages, sparks an interest in Judaism, provides a wide breadth and depth of Jewish knowledge, and leads to a lifetime of Jewish learning; Preparing an annual budget, approving expenditures, and keeping financial records for the education program; Creating an environment where families feel welcome and involved in the CBS community; Working with families and teachers to create educational plans for students who need additional support in the classroom; Collaborating on communications and advertising strategies for the educational program and religious school; Partnering with the office manager, and building staff to manage facility needs for educational programming; Participating in training and educational opportunities for religious school leaders and educators; Conducting regular faculty meetings and faculty performance reviews; Maintaining regular communication with the congregation, including a newsletter for CBS religious school families &  Help to oversee school safety policies, procedures, and licensing standards. In collaboration with the Rabbi, co-lead spiritually uplifting and inspiring Kabbalat Shabbat and High Holiday services, Promote interaction with the larger Chicagoland Jewish communities, and with religious organizations of all faiths in our community. Additional Duties MAY include: Facilitating various youth tefillot opportunities throughout the school year, Partnering with the Rabbi and laity on adult education programs like Adult B’nai, Mitzvah, Conversion Courses, and other diverse adult learning opportunities, Participating, when appropriate, in congregational social events, Seeking funding and grant opportunities when relevant, Supporting religious school students in learning trope & Other music-related responsibilities as negotiated. This role is in coordination with our Music Teacher, who focuses on teaching Jewish songs to students in the younger grades. The ideal candidate will embrace all members of our diverse and inclusive community meeting each person where they are on their Jewish journeys. Fostering relationships with all members, from our littles to our oldest members, is vital. Candidates must be able to balance their attention across our entire community, while paying particular attention to those of religious school age. As for personal observances, we expect the Education & Music Director to observe the significant holidays that the synagogue observes. We expect our Education & Music Director to be cognizant of his or her position as a role model in the Jewish community. We are looking for a Music & Education Director who will understand, respect, build, lead, and partner with our member-driven community. The ideal candidate will have a background in religious education. We do not require cantorial training, but strong music performance skills are a definite plus. We expect the Education & Music Director to observe the significant holidays that the synagogue observes. We expect our Education & Music Director to be cognizant of his or her position as a role model in the Jewish community. We do expect the Music & Education Director to be an active supporter of our Interfaith members and families. We do expect the Music & Education Director to be an active supporter of our LGBTQ+ members and families. We are in the process of an intensive Education ReDesign workstream. We would expect the applicant to quickly engage with that committee and play an active role in implementing changes identified to improve the experience of our students and families. We also use Zoom to enable remote participation in services and Torah study. Education/Experience desired: Master’s degree in Education, Jewish education, Music Education, Childhood Development, or other relevant subject preferred, Knowledge of Jewish prayer and knowledge of education in Jewish Religion, Hebrew language knowledge preferred, Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access, The ability to play accompaniment on piano, guitar, or other instruments is desirable but not required & Experience in Project Based Learning. Starting Salary: $60,000-$70,000 depending on official start date. Full-time. Chair of Search Committee: Naomi Copeland, 708-945-5195, [email protected]. www.napershalom.org.      

(6/24/24)