Jobs Board

Kehilla School Director

Join us in loving our kids into their most authentic selves

Who We Are

At Kehilla, we’re co-creating a community that reaches for joy, shared liberation, and justice, rooted in Jewish spiritual teachings and practice, and sustained by interdependence and mutual care, in the Lisjan Ohlone territory of Huchiun.

We are several years into a community-wide process to decenter whiteness and to make Kehilla a Jewish community where people of color, and especially children and youth of color, increasingly feel a sense of safety and belonging. Our orientation toward shared liberation is also manifest in our growth around disability justice, class awareness, and our embrace of queer/trans/nonbinary people of all ages.

Kehilla is affiliated with Aleph / Jewish Renewal practicing joy, embodied spirituality, and cultivating awe, humility, and attentiveness to the mysterious source of Life. We have a supportive staff culture and are attentive to staff wellness.

Job Title: Kehilla School Director

Start Date: July 1, 2023 – with possible training in May

Reports to: Senior Rabbi and Executive Director

Type: Full time, exempt

Application Deadline:  April 3, 2023

Job Summary

We’re looking for a passionate Jewish educator who is inspired to lead and shape a progressive Jewish religious school that is committed to values of inclusivity, community, and joyful celebration.

The Kehilla School Director directs and administers a supplemental religious school program providing lively Jewish education to students from Kindergarten through 6th grade. Kehilla School meets weekly and serves about 90 students and their families. Our B’Mitzvah program is under separate direction.

Duties and Essential Job Functions

1. Run a creative, student-centered religious school program for a lively, growing progressive Jewish spiritual community

• Hire and supervise school staff, including teachers, teen aides, and a half-time administrator. This includes actively working to recruit and retain staff and teachers that are reflective of the full diversity of the Jewish community, including staff and teachers of color
• Support, nurture, and provide opportunities for professional development for the school staff including around inclusive and culturally responsive teaching practices
• Develop, implement, support and evaluate school curriculum
• Bottom-line school operations including the school budget, calendar, and registration
• Develop strong relationships with school parents and families
• Guide spiritual practice, learning and community building for children in large groups, small groups and one-on-one
• Facilitate relationships between the school community and wider synagogue community. ● Oversee an annual off-site 6th grade weekend retreat
• Collaborate with the staff of the B’Mitzvah program (7th and 8th grade) to facilitate continuity between programs
• Maintain and develop policies and procedures for the school, including emergency procedures
• Develop a volunteer Youth Education Committee made up of school stakeholders

2. Honor the Learning Experience of a Wide Range of Learners

• Commit to student-centered pedagogy and liberatory educational practices
• Train and implement restorative practices, rather than punitive discipline
• Supervise the implementation of curriculum that offers a multilayered conceptualization of Jewish identity through exploration of an intersectional understanding of self and community
• Engage difficult issues with compassionate listening and other community-building tools
• Foster a learning environment that supports the flourishing of students with diverse neurotypes, learning styles, and access needs

3. Be part of the Kehilla Team

• Work in collaboration with spiritual leaders and executive and administrative staff to implement and support the wider congregation, offering the lens of School Director
• Collaborate with relevant stakeholders and volunteers
• Engage in regular staff meetings

What We’re Looking for in Candidates

Required Qualifications

• Experience working in education
• Deep familiarity with Judaism and Jewish practice
• Understanding of systemic and institutional racism and skills for decentering whiteness/centering the needs of students of color in educational contexts
• Robust practice in anti-racism, including understanding and experience with dismantling systemic and institutional racism, and skills for creating experiences that are all-inclusive, while decentering whiteness and centering the needs of students of color in educational contexts; willingness to continue on-going professional growth in this domain
• Skills to lead small and large groups of students in learning, ritual, exploration of spirituality and justice, and prayer
• Strong relationship, organizational, communication and administrative skills
• Experience with staff collaboration and parent, student and teacher relationship-building
• Commitment to uphold Kehilla’s communal values and activist orientation (please spend some time on our website, and especially check out our work on Israel/Palestine, immigration, economic justice and our Belonging & Allyship Racial Justice Initiative)

Other, Desirable Qualifications

• Three years experience in Jewish education and steeped in Jewish learning and practice, including language, text and spirituality.
• Masters degree or equivalent experience (e.g. Masters in Jewish Education, Masters in Education, Masters in Jewish Studies, rabbinic ordination/Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters, or similar professional experience.)
• Leadership experience including program leadership and staff supervision.
• Demonstrated engagement in equity and inclusion in Jewish and/or educational settings

Note: We know it is unlikely for someone to meet all our desired qualifications. If most of the qualifications describe you, we encourage you to apply.

Compensation: Salary: $70,000 – $74,000 DOE

Benefits include health and dental insurance, vacation, holidays and retirement/403(b). Mentorship, supervision and professional development will be provided.

Hiring Non-Discrimination Policy

Kehilla Synagogue does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, ability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status. People of Color, Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews, & Trans, Gender Non-Conforming and queer people are encouraged to apply.

To Apply:  Use the subject line “Kehilla School Director ” and send a PDF version of a cover letter and resume to schooldirector@kehillasynagogue.org.