Meet, Ask, Listen, and Learn … by Zoom

Dr. Darin S. Katz March 25, 2024

I am very happy to be writing my inaugural blog post as Head of School. I started blogging about two years ago to communicate my thoughts on a variety of topics including American Jewry, best practices in education to promote academic excellence, and the social emotional well-being of students. I look forward to sharing my blog posts on a regular basis with the Hillel community. If you wish to read some of my earlier posts, please visit this website.

I imagine that many of us have either thought of or quoted the famous Yiddish proverb “Mann Tracht, Un Gott Lacht; Man plans and God laughs” over the past few months. I never could have predicted in a million years that my trip to Hillel in late January would be the only time I would visit school in the past six months. As I wrote to you then, my number one goal for this coming year is to meet, ask questions, listen, and learn. Naturally, of course, I wanted to do that in person. I had three trips planned to Hillel between March and June. But then the pandemic hit, the world stopped, and my trips were canceled. Man plans and God laughs. Despite our most careful planning, the Road of Life is unpredictable.

Like most of us, my days following stay-at-home orders became a blur of one Zoom meeting after another. While keeping a high school running in Philadelphia, I realized I had an opportunity to use Zoom to accelerate my objective to connect with Hillel parents and staff. I met with each Board of Trustee member, teachers in all learning communities, and parents during focus groups. Throughout, as we discussed reopening plans, parents and teachers shared with me their thoughts, hopes, and concerns for the fall.

I have been incredibly heartened by what I discovered during these virtual meetings: Board members who firmly believe in the mission of the school, and are committed to its success and growth in our 63rd year; our Leadership Team, which works tirelessly to balance the needs of faculty, students, and parents; and Hillel teachers, who are truly the heroes of our community. Teaching a robust remote curriculum is easily twice the work of in-person learning, and it forced us all to become first-year teachers again. Hillel teachers guided their students through this period, held drive-by birthday celebrations, sent personal messages to each student, and pulled off a virtual graduation! Over and again, I have met parents who are grateful for our school community and proud to send their children to Hillel.

As I prepare to move to Michigan next week, my commitment to meeting, asking, listening, and learning remains resolute. I hope that can be in person (safely distanced, of course) and I will be in touch soon with details. It is an honor to lead a community that is fiercely committed to educating Jewish children in Detroit.

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Dr. Darin S. Katz

Dr. Darin S. Katz is Head of School at Hillel Day School.