Religious School

Greenburgh Hebrew Center Religious School (GHC-RS) is a warm, welcoming, and nurturing educational environment, committed to providing the highest quality of instruction. We foster a love of Judaism, a love of community, and a love of Israel. Grades are divided into Upper School and Lower School divisions, and within each division, students learn specific subjects from specific teachers.

This departmentalization allows GHC-RS to propel Jewish education forward. All students attend classes on the same two days of the week in order to build energy and further enhance our community. “Kehilla” (community) is a key concept in the GHC-RS. Our creative and interactive school-wide programs cover every holiday and celebration, such as “A Modern Exodus Dipped in Chocolate: A Pesach Program”, “The Israeli Melting Pot: A Yom Ha’atzmaut Program”, and “Nature, Bows, and Arrows: A Lag B’Omer Program”. Not only do GHC-RS students learn together as a community but they teach each other as well.

The GHC-RS curriculum is built around six key Jewish strands: GOD השם, TORAH תורה (our sacred texts), ISRAEL ישראל (as the land of Israel and as the Jewish people), AVODAH עבודה (prayer and ritual), KEHILAH קהילה (community), and TIKUN OLAM חסד (social action). Every grade incorporates activities that relate to these six areas and has a different level of Judaic focus for each year, thus allowing for developmentally appropriate immersion in each of the main topics every year. By using this spiral curriculum, teachers can shift their goals from “covering” material to “uncovering” the ways Jews stand witness to history and the wisdom of the Jewish Text. Students can more effectively make their own enduring connection with our heritage. In addition, the GHC-RS curriculum affords students the opportunity to study in the school’s Media Center, which allows students to integrate technology into their educational experience. Coming full circle, this curriculum coordinates with Saturday morning Junior Congregation services, where classroom learning is reinforced through prayer, song, and drama in a lively, interactive environment.

To ask any further questions, to set up a tour or to register your child in our program,contact Amy Kessler, Director of Education. (914) 693-4260 or at DirectorEd@ghcny.org.

We look forward to speaking with you and thank you for sharing your children with us.

Amy Kessler, Director of Education

Amy Shapiro Kessler is a licensed social worker and educator with an M.S.W. from Hunter College and a B.A. in Psychology from SUNY Purchase. Amy’s Master degree in Social Work included a dual concentration in Administration and Community Organizing, with a specialization in Children & Families. She has served as an Assistant Director and Director of a day care center in Scarsdale, was Director of an adoption program for a large non-profit organization, and ran a therapeutic recreation program for children 5-18 years old.

Amy’s own positive experience in religious school led her to join youth group, attend Jewish summer camp, and volunteer in religious school on Sundays as a teenager. She has worked in religious schools for over 15 years, and has taught every grade, including holidays, Judaica, history, Hebrew reading and writing, as well as Bar/Bat Mitzvah preparation. She has taken numerous continuing education workshops at the Jewish Education Project and Board of Jewish Education on topics including curriculum development, the use of technology in Jewish education, and teen engagement. Amy is thrilled to combine her passion and skills for Jewish education, working with children, teens, and their families, and administration, as Director of Education at GHC.

Amy lives in Dobbs Ferry with her two children, and two dogs. She is proud to be part of such a diverse, vibrant community, and loves the Rivertowns. In her free time, Amy enjoys having new adventures and traveling with her family, reading, and spending time outdoors walking her dogs, hiking, and camping.

Email: directored@ghcny.org