By Cathy M. Rolland, founding president, ECE-RJ
Nancy Bossov, URJ’s first Director of Early Childhood Education
It is quite remarkable to reflect on what took place 25 years ago when what was known then as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations senior leadership, Rabbi Dr. Jan Katzew, Rabbi Dan Freelander, & President Rabbi Eric Yoffie invited early childhood educators from Reform congregations throughout North America to gather at UAHC headquarters in New York. The time had come for the “Union” to recognize and invest in early childhood Jewish education as a profession, a gateway to congregational life, and serve this large group of primary educators of Judaism to our youngest children and their families. Together, sixty early childhood professionals from across the country shared our passion for the unique role each one of us played as leaders in our congregations.
The Union” was ready to take an active role in investing in the field and supporting congregations’ endeavors in early childhood Jewish education. One result from that meeting was a new publication, Ganeinu, written by and for early childhood educators, the first organized way to communicate among our early childhood educators located throughout North America.
Another outcome of the meeting was a group of us who stepped up as founders of what would become the Early Childhood Educators of Reform Judaism, the newest affiliate of the Reform movement! “What a gift to have this unique opportunity to step into the presidential leadership role of an evolving organization representing 300 early childhood schools in Reform congregations” reminisced Cathy Rolland. “I was blessed to partner with Rabbi Jan Katzew to find the first full-time Director of Early Childhood Education. Nancy Bossov, a product of the Reform movement and having experienced congregational life in many different roles, was relatively new to Jewish early childhood education, so as the first full-time Director, her enthusiasm about the potential of the ECC in congregations was never-ending.
Much of the quick growth and success of our new organization was attributable to the strong synergy and combined energies of Nancy and I working together. We knew we had something special in the way we collaborated,” and now, 25 years later, we can identify that magical partnership as שותפות קדושה shutafut kedushah, a “sacred partnership.”
Nancy noticed early on that a prominent theme rose to the surface early on was the missed opportunities for congregations in realizing the potential of the population in their early childhood programs. By networking and collaborating, early childhood educators were able to teach leadership about parents, grandparents, and teachers as the future population of the congregation as a whole and when they became “return customers,” they also became marketing ambassadors in the greater community. “It was a brand-new perspective for many leaders. Parents, grandparents and teachers knew just how important the preschool was to their families, but many congregations had a misguided mindset of seeing the ECC as an add-on or a necessary stepchild. The mindset needed a reset and a reorientation about the long-term impact the ECC can have on a congregation.
During this reorientation, Cathy developed strong relationships with high-ranking lay leaders and professionals across the country and Nancy established trust between congregations and the UAHC in standards of excellence, providing support in developing new programs, troubleshooting challenges and modeling for ongoing growth. “We strategically connected many congregational folks in similar circumstances to create networks of mutual care, information exchange, and pooling of resources.”
There was a revelation across the country that the morning-only preschool no longer met the needs of our dual-working professional parents. For the first time, congregations had the opportunity to serve families’ great need for full-time early education and childcare. The benefits became clearer to congregations: parents who had not stepped foot in a synagogue since they were 13 were now entering the congregation daily for drop-off and pick-up of their children. Families who identified as Jewish were becoming woven into a social circle that included Jewish celebrations and rituals. Young children who could be at any franchise childcare are instead in the temple for extended hours each day hearing Jewish music, stories, Hebrew language, holiday celebrations, a super-special Friday welcoming Shabbat, meaningful relationships with clergy, all with Jewish and multi-religious, multi-racial, multicultural friends. And now, congregations have a greater impact on young children and their families than ever before in the 20th or 21st century.
As ECE-RJ became a viable arm of “The Union,” the internal culture focused on relationships. When producing the annual conference, the original anchor of the organization, there was focus not just on the nuts and bolts of religious education, but intentionally making sure that participants felt a part of–not apart from–the core ECE-RJ community. The organization grew from the inside out, practicing and modeling contemporary thought about belonging and community, emotionally, socially, and psychologically.
“When you participate in ECE-RJ, the more you give the more you get; the more you participate, the more you contribute to the greater community. You communicate with fellow educators around the world on sensitive topics about religion, teachers, children’s development, the journey of parenthood, and once in a while, you get to physically be together enjoying your own blend of Jewish observance and ritual.”
Stage 2 of ECE-RJ’s evolution was a campaign to include ECE-RJ in the Reform Pension Board where colleagues in other congregational professions had long been established. In May of 2001, Cathy and Nancy attended the URJ Board of Directors Meeting in Denver CO to present ECE-RJ as a candidate organization to join the Reform Pension Board. This was a historic moment in our development as we were not only voted in and welcomed into the RPB, but we were also embraced by the leadership of the Union for Reform Judaism. This symbolically emblazoned the organization permanently in the annals of Reform Judaism, bringing us to where we are today, proud, productive, leaders who are sacred partners to many families, educators, and each other!
