This July, our ECE-RJ board gathered in San Diego for a 3 day board retreat. We spent our days getting to know each other and diving deep into our work, and our evenings doing a bit of exploring in my beautiful city. It was a joy and honor to host this incredible group.
We anchored our work with the Appreciative Inquiry cycle — Discovery, Dream, Design and Destiny. This process took us from focusing on our strengths, to dreaming of ECE-RJ’s future, to honing in on four strategic priorities and creating action steps on how we will accomplish these goals.
Priority 1: Maintain active participation in NATA and Biennial while establishing ECE-RJ as a premier consulting organization and expert voice in early childhood Jewish education among affiliated communities.
Priority 2: Establish and maintain a rolling five-year calendar of conference dates and locations, finalized at least two years in advance, including one international conference per cycle.
Priority 3: Create a guide for congregations on best practices in compensation and benefits — so that our schools become sought-after places to work.
Priority 4: Build a committee structure strong enough that we know our next two ECE-RJ presidents. Committees in scope: Membership, Marketing & Communications, Learning, Conference, Finance/Fundraising, Organizational Growth, and Governance (plus task forces).
It was so validating to see that at the conclusion of our work, our four priorities lined up exactly with our four pillars from ECE-RJ’s mission statement — national and international presence, community building through conference and connection, elevation of the professional self, and organizational stability through leadership development. The work we have done and the core values of our organization continue to be our guiding principles as we move into the future.
What’s next? We’ll get to work on our priorities in addition to the wonderful work ECE-RJ is already working on, like our upcoming conference in January, Shoresh: Deepening the Roots of Wonder and Play and some other exciting new learning opportunities.
We’re going to need your help - so please reach out if you’d like to be involved!
I’d love to hear from you. leslie@templesolel.net
