My name is Amy Goldsweig, and I am now entering my fifth year as the Director

of Education for Beth Torah Congregation in Toronto. After graduating from PEP's second cohort with my fellow alumnus and husband Seth, I moved to Boston where I spent three wonderful and transformative years teaching fifth grade Hebrew and Jewish Studies at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston. My greatest wish to every graduate is that they have a first teaching experience like I did - where you feel like you have found the exact right place for you.  

After Seth and I discovered that I was pregnant with twins, we decided to move to Toronto to be closer to my family. I was blessed to be able to take two years off to be with my children, all the while keeping my toes dipped in the pool by teaching in supplementary schools. When the time came to go back to work full-time, I learned of the Director of Education position and am now blessed for the second time in my professional life to be in the perfect situation. In addition to running the Hebrew school and B'nai Mitzvah program, I am responsible for programming and communication at the shul. I consider it my personal mission to undo the stigma of Hebrew school, and make everyone realize that Jewish education does not have to be a painful experience for anyone. As the tuition costs for are rising and day schools are becoming more financially out of reach for some families, the need for alternative approaches for Jewish education is becoming more pressing.

I am fortunate that I still get to spend time with students (without a doubt, the best part of my job), but I am also tasked with trying to make Judaism accessible and meaningful for the families. Every time a parent tells me that their children can't wait for Hebrew school (I know-shocking) or that they "rocked"  the four questions at the Seder, I know that I have done my job.  

While I miss working in the Day school world, where students are able to explore our history, culture and texts in greater depth, I am fortunate that my children are in a day school, and so I can still be a part of a community of people committed to imbuing their children with Jewish values and Yiddishkeit. Every morning, my five year olds take out a book, pretend it's a siddur and proceed to be the "chazzanim." In those moments, the value of a day school education is made abundantly clear.