Building Connections with Your Early Childhood Program and Temple Family
For many parents, looking for an Early Childhood Education (ECE) Program may be one of the most important decisions they make. Jewish ECE programs are not just entry points into Jewish learning but also a re-entry point back into a synagogue for the parents.
As a Director, I have found more and more parents that have not entered a Synagogue since their Bar/Bat Mitzvah or are simply Jew”ish”, having never been exposed to Jewish life or a Jewish community. Therefore, when families visit the ECE program, it is my time to sell not just our program but also the community that exists beyond the walls of our Jewish school setting.
Beginning at birth, children are developing their own sense of identity, including a religious one. Jewish ECE programs are exposing children as early as infants to Judaism, Jewish culture, Jewish tradition, Jewish values, holiday and prayer. In turn, students are bringing home their lessons learned and rituals practiced to their own homes building Jewish experiences together as a family.
In addition to offering a safe, stimulating, high-quality education, it is important that temples are able to connect to those ”in home” Jewish experiences. Quality programming, meaningful family experiences, and activities for all ages are key to the Temple’s role in a new family’s Jewish journey. Committees involving ECE staff, clergy, parents and temple leadership must work together to attract new young families through communication, marketing, and outreach.
Through these committees, our leadership has implemented ways to further connect ECE families with our synagogue life. Here are just a few!
- Tour beyond your program. When a new family enters the building to tour the ECE program, make sure to take them to your Sanctuary and introduce them to your clergy. (Parents love going into the Rabbi’s study!) Show them your religious school, the public spaces in your Synagogue, and your youth lounge if you have one. Introduce them to your Religious school Director and/or Youth Director.
- Be inviting! A representative from our membership committee delivers a Shabbat basket, including candles, wine, challah and a teddy bear (along with a Temple bulletin) to the homes of new families. They point out the exciting events coming up and invite them to a Shabbat service as their guest.
- Gift of a Lifetime. Any new ECE family receives a free year of temple membership. Each year, we have a New Member Shabbat where our families receive an invitation to a Wine and Cheese, (with child-friendly food) followed by a Family Shabbat program.
- Be an Ambassador! A parent ambassador should not JUST make an initial welcoming phone call. Rather, throughout the YEAR, ambassadors can call and invite new families to family programs, sit with them, spend time with them and introduce them to other families. Remember, this first year makes a huge difference in whether or not a family will stay connected! It is not just the initial contact that matters…follow-through is key!
- Parent Sponsored Tot Shabbats. Just a few years ago, our PTO starting reaching out to families to financially support our Tot Shabbats. As a Shabbat family sponsor, parents felt a sense of ownership. They would give input as to theme and programming and invite their friends and families to come. Their names are on a plague displayed in the Temple building. With a $118.00 donation and typically between 8 – 10 families, we are able to offer not just a spiritual family evening but a FREE one with dinner, art projects, and a show or activity. Our Clergy always leads the service and make sure to spend time mingling with families during the programming. Attendance has dramatically increased as a result of these small changes!
- Clergy and Board presence Any opportunity that arises, make sure Clergy are present!is key… have parents make a connection!
- At our first day of school, our Clergy and members of the Board can always be found greeting families and mingling at our “Boo Hoo Breakfast” with parents who just can’t seem to break away!
- Each week, we have a Royal Class with Kings and Queens singing on the Bimah at our Kabbalat Shabbat. Parents from the class receive a special invitation to watch their children. After the service is over, they are able “shmooze” with the Clergy and various Board members in our Chapel while enjoying bagels and coffee.
- Having Clergy stop into to a PTO meeting goes a long way toward building relationships. All it takes is a 5 minute hello.
- Children love spending time with clergy on a regular basis in the classrooms. Parents love seeing the child-clergy connection – include photos from their time together in ECE and temple newsletters!
- Involve your students in temple services. We have several services/programs throughout the year where our ECE students are invited to sing with the students from our Religious school program. Parents who would not otherwise go to a Friday night service are now coming to watch their children. They especially love seeing the clergy call their children by name, evidence of the relationships they have built with children in the ECE classrooms.
- Free religious school tuition. Prior to Pre-Kindergarten graduation, arrange for ECE students to spend a day with the Kindergarten religious school class. At the ECE graduation, the Religious School Director can introduce her or himself to your families and give a certificate for a free year of religious school.
- Be intentional when planning temple programming. The goal is to build inclusive relationships with families. In order to do so, you must know your demographics! Plan something for everyone! Our demographics continue to change both in age and culture. Programming events geared towards the different populations is vital. ECE parents are a great resource in knowing your demographic – include them in planning and programming to ensure that you meet their needs and wishes.
Trying to engage Jewish families and connect them to your Temple’s family may seem like a struggle, and it cannot be done by a single individual or group. But with careful planning and marketing and a team approach, this goal can be easily attainable. Families today are looking to make their lives easier and are not always prioritizing Jewish life. Now more than ever, it is important to make these deep and varied connections with our families and make them part of your Jewish community! Listen to the voices of your parents and get them involved so that their children’s children have a home to go to in the future! Embrace your ECE families and show them they have a home at your temple that extends beyond their time in your EC program.
By Stacey Katz
September 2018
