We are thrilled to officially welcome Rachel Glazer to our team as the Assistant Director of Youth Education and Engagement. In January, we announced that Rachel was coming to Temple Beth El. Now she is here, and we cannot wait for you to get to know her. We are so excited for the work she will be doing to engage children and teens in fun and meaningful Jewish experiences at TBE.
Rachel joins us after working for over six years at the Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL) in Jackson, Mississippi, most recently as the Assistant Director of Education. In her role at the ISJL, Rachel helped direct a team of educators who support congregational education programs all across the South. Rachel coordinated some of the ISJL’s community outreach programs, including a secular literacy program for elementary school students. Rachel also served as the Religious School Administrator at Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson. She received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of North Georgia and is completing a Masters in Jewish Experiential Education from The George Washington University.
Role at TBE
As the Assistant Director of Youth Education and Engagement, Rachel will be involved in every aspect of programming for our children and teens. One of her main focuses will be to support teens at Temple Beth El, including advising our senior youth group, LIBERTY, and helping to connect teens with the multitude of Jewish opportunities across Charlotte and beyond. Rachel will also work to expand community building and social opportunities for children of all ages.
Rachel’s years at the ISJL, as well as her current graduate studies, will help to enrich the experience of our TBE Religious School staff and students. Rabbi Nichols and Rachel will collaborate on developing new curriculum and support the staff in creating welcoming and engaging learning environments for our children.
We brought Rachel to join our team in a special partnership with Camp Coleman, through which Rachel will be spending the summer serving as staff at URJ Camp Coleman, where she will interact with many of our Temple Beth El campers and continue to develop her expertise in experiential Jewish learning.
Help Welcome Rachel
In our remaining few weeks of Religious School, we want to help Rachel get to know our community and learn about our existing programs. We already have a few opportunities planned for the next few weeks and will continue to communicate about ways to meet Rachel before the summer begins.
Meet and Greets for K-6 Families
Over the course of three weeks, Religious School families (both kids and adults) will have an opportunity to meet Rachel over a pizza lunch and a game of Gaga. This will be an informal opportunity to talk with Rachel and hang out with other families. Please note, we have scheduled the events to be long enough to accommodate the different times that kids finish Religious School on Sunday mornings. While these events are free of charge, please register your family by the respective deadline so that we can plan for enough pizza!
April 23, 11:30am-12:30pm – For Families of Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd Graders
April 30, 11:30am-1:30pm – For Families of 5th and 6th Graders
May 7, 11:30am-1:30pm – For Families of 3rd and 4th Graders
Meet and Greets for Teens
For families with rising 8th, 9th, and 10th graders, mark your calendars for Sunday, May 7 from 4:30pm-6:00pm. We will be holding a round robin event designed to introduce you to the variety of opportunities open to teens at Temple Beth El and around Shalom Park. This program will include a chance to meet and talk with Rachel.
Rachel is just getting started with us and will also be scheduling more times to meet our families, kids, teens in the coming days. Stay tuned for those dates and please help us welcome her!
Our entire TBE Staff and Board are thrilled to welcome Rachel to our team. We cannot wait to see how we will expand and strengthen opportunities for children and teens to find their community at Temple Beth El
With gratitude,
Rabbi Beth Nichols
Jonathan Friedman, Chief Operating Officer
