By: Dr. Deborah Rapoport, Head of School
At OCA, opening day is celebrated with decorations, special activities, festive music, and even an occasional circus performer. But the real stars are our students who bound out of their cars excited to see their friends, meet their new teachers, and set goals for the new year. It is truly a joy to behold!
We missed our students over the summer – the buildings are just not the same without the beautiful energy of our beloved children! Not unexpectedly, but always a wonder to behold, they grew taller and more mature over the long summer break. Who are they now in their colorful new polo shirts and dresses and how do they view themselves at the cusp of the new year?
We see several parallels between the start of the new school year and the scene at the conclusion of Ki Tavo and beginning of Nitzavim as Moshe gathers Bnai Yisrael to prepare them to enter the land Hashem has given them. It is the start of something new after the long “summer break” in the midbar. Like our students who return to school developmentally more mature and able to think in new ways, Bnai Yisrael is standing on the precipice, looking ahead to life in Eretz Yisrael with a new “heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear.” (Devarim 29:3)
Moshe implores Bnai Yisrael to recommit to Hashem as they head into this next stage of their lives. Similarly, we as a community of educators and parents recommit ourselves to instilling in our students a love for learning Torah and general studies and renew our purpose to inspire them to develop a personal relationship with Hashem.
Moshe reminds Bnai Yisrael that living a life of Torah is within their grasp. “It is not hidden from you and it is not distant … the matter is very near to you – in your mouth and in your heart – to perform it.” (30:11,14)
These pesukim form the essence of OCA’s mission and educational philosophy. That is, by breaking down complex skills and concepts into scaffolded steps, and learning by doing, our students organically internalize the eternal messages of Torah, feel the joy in tefilla, and develop a strong sense of emunah. Torah is in their mouths and in their hearts.
We, like Bnai Yisrael have choices to make, and we choose to uphold our commitment, as Moshe reminds us, to raise our children in the way of Hashem. To that to that end, forging our path as a school over the next three years, we are thrilled that our Board of Directors under the leadership of Lanie Carter completed and passed OCA’s first three-year strategic plan.
The four central components of the strategic plan begin with Educating the Whole Child. This includes ensuring that our curricula are comprehensive, academically challenging, and cohesive; our Israel education, creative arts, athletics, extra-curricular and mishmar opportunities are robust; and our academic, social-emotional, and behavioral support is comprehensive.
Our second goal is Recruiting and Retaining High Quality Teachers. Teachers are the treasured backbone of our school. In this time of teacher shortages, the Board and School leadership commit to establishing a competitive salary and benefits package for faculty and staff, strengthening our formal teacher onboarding and mentoring program, and creating opportunities for innovation, collaboration, and a pathway for teacher advancement and leadership.
Our third focus is in Building Our Community. Community is developed on several levels, both within the OCA community and between OCA and the greater Baltimore Jewish community. A hallmark of OCA, the strategic plan sets forth a goal of expanding the variety of cross-division and community chesed activities available to our students, continuing to build a strong PTA and Parent Ambassador volunteer network, and developing an outreach and engagement plan to build relationships with community rebbeim, leaders, and funders.
Finally, we are excitedly Planning for the Future in several ways. The board is committed to strengthening school governance and developing a lay leadership pipeline. It will be creating a multi-year financial plan reflecting OCA’s mission and educational philosophy and strengthening the School’s institutional advancement efforts. Thinking ahead to our next steps as a school, a subcommittee of the board is already working to identify prospects for a permanent location and initiating a capital campaign to fund the purchase.
No less than Bnai Yisrael as they look ahead to their future, do we feel a deep sense of gratitude to Hashem for giving us the opportunity to provide our children with the best education possible, so that they too will someday follow in our footsteps. May Hashem guide us in our efforts and may this year be one of joy, growth, success, and good health!