RODEPH SHOLOM SCHOOL JOURNAL
VOL. 1 NO. 3 December 2013
On the Wing is featuring messages from Dr. Jerrold I. Katz through his inaugural year as Head of School. ......................................................................
REFLECTIONS ON MY FIRST FIVE MONTHS Not surprisingly, it’s been a whirlwind fall for me, as I’ve stepped into my responsibilities as head of school. In typical style for the new leader of an organization, I’ve been putting every policy and procedure under a microscope, doing a lot of listening, asking a lot of questions, and seizing the opportunity to grab some “low hanging fruit.” My early conclusion about RSS confirms everything I heard throughout the search process. This is a wonderful school. I am impressed by the energy, passion, and character of RSS students. Every day, I see signs of their poise, their academic skills, their values, and their growing sense of joy and pride in their Jewish identity. It is a privilege to work in partnership with the faculty and staff at RSS. I have inherited an enthusiastic, thoughtful, and hard-working team of professionals, who across three campuses are united in their commitment to the School’s mission. Finally, Marti and I have felt warmly welcomed into this extraordinarily close-knit and supportive community.
It is also abundantly clear to me why RSS went out looking for an experienced independent school head at this particular point in time, as there are a number of complex strategic questions that will shape the continuing development of the teaching and learning environment here. In a “let’s not hesitate to set high expectations for our new head of school” moment, the RSS Board of Trustees has asked me to bring them specific recommendations by next spring regarding achievable strategic priorities over the next three years in each of the following areas: facilities, compensation, financial aid, enrollment management, technology, and development. Actually, I’ve already expanded these areas by adding attention to issues of calendar and communication to my “to do” list. And then, of course, there’s also what to do about the areas of school life that I’ve heard most about from current parents: snack and lunch. While I have no trouble being decisive, my initial efforts have been focused on understanding what the right questions are in each of the important areas referenced above. Here are some facts and some initial thoughts after five months “on the ground” at RSS. Facilities
It is challenging to maintain a unified identity as one school when we are spread across three campuses. Having said that, RSS has invested considerably over the past ten years to provide classroom spaces that are welcoming, safe, and supportive of excellent teaching and learning. The extensive renovation of our 84th Street building, to be completed during the summer of 2014, will create a more inviting entry, a new library, a new art studio, and brighter, refurbished elementary classrooms. Physical education and athletic space is at a premium in New York City schools. In our Middle School, offering strong programs in these areas currently requires transporting students daily to and from Chelsea Piers. • Over the course of the years ahead, can RSS identify new indoor athletic space somewhere on the Upper West Side? RODEPH SHOLOM SCHOOL JOURNAL
Dr. Jerrold I. Katz, Head of School
Our strong Athletics programs require transporting students to and from Chelsea Piers and city park venues.
Nothing is more important to the fulfillment of our mission than attracting and retaining great teachers.
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• Looking further into the future, is there a “moonshot” aspiration at RSS to build a new, integrated N-8 school? Compensation
Families whose children grow up here know that RSS is a terrific N-8 school.
More than 80% of the annual operating budget at RSS goes to compensating our faculty and staff. Nothing is more important to the fulfillment of our mission than attracting and retaining great teachers. Teachers in our society are not well compensated. Talented teachers are attracted to RSS by our mission as an academically rigorous Reform Jewish day school; many say that they stay at RSS because they value the specialness of our community. However, in an increasingly competitive environment, if we are going to be able to continue to attract, retain, motivate, and reward great teachers, I believe it will be critical to answer this key strategic question: • What is the right achievable aspiration over the next three years for RSS, in terms of how we want our salaries and benefits to compare to those offered by peer New York City independent schools? Financial Aid
Interactive devices enhance teaching and learning across the curriculum.
In 2013-14 RSS is granting over $1,100,000 in need-based financial aid. While not insignificant, this is substantially less than the support offered by many of our peer independent schools. The key strategic questions here are: • What is the right financial aid aspiration for RSS? • To what extent should the primary driver of our financial aid aspiration be: - making our school more accessible to prospective families who resonate with our mission as an academically rigorous Reform Jewish day school? - making our school more affordable for current families who are struggling to keep up with annual tuition increases? - enabling all of our students to grow up in a more economically diverse community? Enrollment Management
Families whose children grow up here know that RSS is a terrific N-8 school, but we continue to experience challenges in the form of annually fluctuating levels of new applicants and attrition. We need to “market” our program more effectively both to external and to internal constituents. The key questions: • What is optimal enrollment at RSS?
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RODEPH SHOLOM SCHOOL JOURNAL
• How can we more consistently meet our enrollment goals year after year? • How can we more effectively leverage: - The strength of our academic program? - The benefits of our N-8 structure? - The joy and pride in their Jewish identity that we nurture in our students? Technology
Throughout RSS classrooms, interactive white boards, laptop computers, and tablet devices extend and enhance teaching and learning across the curriculum. A task force of RSS administrators and teachers already is engaged in examining some of the following questions: • In a rapidly changing world, how can RSS stay aware of and keep up with best practice in elementary and middle school uses of technology? • How can we ensure that our teachers have the training and support needed to effectively utilize technology? • How can we ensure that our students have the technology learning experiences, skills, and habits of mind that will be expected by their next schools? • How can we teach our students to be responsible cyber-citizens in an increasingly complex digital world? • How can we sustain a school culture that is “nimble” and that embraces innovation and change? Development
The development program at RSS has taken great strides in recent years, achieving new levels of both total giving and parent participation. Yet, we remain a school that depends upon tuition to support more than 90% of our annual operating expenses. New revenue streams will need to be identified if RSS is to achieve new aspirations in facilities, in compensation, in financial aid, in technology, and in other areas of program development. • How can we continue to build a culture within which current parents, past parents, grandparents, and alumni find it meaningful to support RSS as it continues on a journey from “very good” to “great?” • How can we secure the resources needed to ensure the ability of RSS to educate future generations of students who excel academically, who take pride in their Jewish identity, and who are leaders in their commitment to making a difference in the world?
Calendar and Communication
Let me be straightforward here. My initial impression is that we are trying to do too many things at RSS, that we are scheduling too many events, that we are making too many demands on faculty that take them away from a focus on ongoing instruction, that we are making too many demands on parents that take them away from precious time at home, and that we are communicating too frequently about school events, policies, and deadlines with too little effectiveness. It’s no one’s “fault.” Independent schools are notorious for adding new events and programs without ever taking anything away. At RSS, this trend is further complicated by the rich menu of offerings available through parallel membership in Congregation Rodeph Sholom. At RSS, we deeply value offering families multiple opportunities to share in their children’s learning. We deeply value bringing families together in contexts that can build their bonds with one another as members of an extraordinary extended community.
Every elementary and middle school school food service director will tell you that they are committed to serving food that is fresh, nutritionally balanced, visually appealing, and that students will eat. Do we stick to our principles and work to train students to eat better, or do we give them what they want? Every day at RSS, in addition to the soup, hot entrée, and dessert that appear on the menu, students have the alternative choice of serving themselves from an appealing salad and sandwich bar. Can we do better? Sure. We’ll review menus, reconsider snack choices, or put more money in the budget, if it can help to address this concern. However, I can tell you from experience, kids can be finicky eaters, and there are many factors at play when it comes to eating that are beyond any food service program’s control. We won’t make this issue go away.
We deeply value bringing families together in contexts that can build their bonds with one another as members of an extraordinary community.
Another task force of administrators and parent leaders is looking carefully at our calendar and communication and asking: • How do want new and continuing families to experience life at RSS? • How can we simplify without compromising values that are critically important to us? • What’s the tipping point between “just enough” and “too much?” Snack and Lunch
Look: I get it. Snack and lunch are really important. We need to keep students with lifethreatening allergies safe. We need to uphold Kosher style standards as a Jewish day school. We need to provide students with the nutrition they need to be healthy, focused learners. Snack and lunch have been issues at every school I’ve led over the past 35 years. At RSS, we are serving food to approximately 750 children and adults every day. We are committed to offering an excellent food service program. Here are the variables that make a difference: • How much space do we have available for food preparation, storage, and clean-up? (Not enough) • How talented is our chef? (Chef James Fox is outstanding) • How generous is our budget in allowing for the selection of fresh, high quality food? (Very generous)
My first five months at RSS have been full, and they have been very gratifying. As I now prepare to recommend my first budget (for fiscal year ’15) to the RSS Board of Trustees, I continue to be both humbled by the privilege of leading this incredible school community and excited about its future. My door remains open to faculty, staff, students, and parents. Thank you all for your continuing confidence and support. Best wishes for a healthy, happy 2014!
- Jerrold I. Katz, Head of School
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RODEPH SHOLOM SCHOOL JOURNAL
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Our Mission
Rodeph Sholom means “pursuer of peace,” symbolized by the flying dove in our logo. When we say something is done “on the wing,” we mean that it is happening “while flying” or “while in motion.” This journal is published periodically during the school year when the RSS community is in high gear, minds soaring, bodies moving, spirits flying high.
Rodeph Sholom School, a Reform Jewish day school, fosters intellectual curiosity through a challenging independent school academic program in nursery school through 8th Grade.
Published by the RSS Office of Communications Portrait of Dr. Katz courtesy of The Park School, other photos © 2013 Rodeph Sholom School Rendering: Murphy Burnham & Buttrick Architects
The extensive renovation of our 84th Street building, to be completed during the summer of 2014, will create a more inviting entry, a new library, a new art studio, and brighter, refurbished elementary classrooms.
At the heart of RSS is a warm, vibrant community, where students are guided by Jewish knowledge, values and ethics to become selfconfident and socially responsible leaders.
Printing: Automation Graphics, Inc.
Rodeph Sholom School 168 West 79th Street New York, NY 10024