New Synagogue Project Kollel, our Kindergarten through 7th grade kids’ education program, is hiring educators for the 2024-2025 school year! 

About Us

The New Synagogue Project (“NSP”) is a synagogue founded in 2018 and located in the Petworth neighborhood of DC. Our mission is to build a spiritually vibrant, radically inclusive Jewish community that reflects our vision for a world of justice, equity, and liberation. Our community is being built by and for religious, secular, and atheist Jews, families with kids, partnered and single people, queer and trans people, disabled and chronically ill people, D/deaf and hard of hearing folks, interfaith families, Jews of color and white Jews, and anyone interested in exploring and experiencing Jewish life.

You can read more about NSP on our website.

You can read more about Kollel and check out highlights from our 2023-24 year.

You can view the descriptions for: 

Apply

To apply, please email a resume (and optional: brief cover letter) to liora@newsynagogueproject.org with the subject line “Kollel application.” 

If you are interested in teaching a specific age group, please make note of that in your application. If you are proficient in and interested in teaching Hebrew reading skills, please make note of that in your application as well. (Hebrew learning will be separate from the main class. Prospective teachers are not required to teach Hebrew.)

NSP is an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to racial equity, accessibility, and social justice. Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, Black and Indigenous people, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQIA people are strongly encouraged to apply. NSP does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, sex, age, gender identity or expression, or other status protected by applicable law.

About the Program

NSP Kollel emphasizes living the rhythms of Jewish life, connecting to the NSP community, and taking action for justice by linking Jewish principles to applied experiences. 

Our yearly curriculum covers holidays, Shabbat practice, and basic liturgy and Hebrew. Each year, we will focus in-depth on a particular Torah story and its related themes and modern justice topics. The 2024-2025 curriculum will focus on tzedek (justice) and chesed (loving-kindness) through stories of Sarah and Avraham.  

Kindergarten through 5th grade will ground our lessons in six areas of content which will explore this focus in depth and be guided by the following goals and understandings.  We will explore these focuses in depth through a coherent curriculum across elementary school grades, adapted to be developmentally and educationally appropriate for each class. 

The 6th-7th grade cohort will ground their lessons in eight areas of content and be guided by the following goals and understandings in preparation for B-Mitzvah.

Caregivers and community members are invited to be involved in Kollel as participants, volunteers, or leaders. Some programs will be geared directly at educating the entire family unit with the aim of supporting home-based practice and learning. 

We will meet primarily on Saturday mornings between 9:30am and 1:00pm. This includes regular classroom instruction, outdoor snack time, and Hebrew instruction. Classes of up to 15 students will be split by age, based on registration numbers.

Sometimes, the entire group will be together for a field trip or extended activity.

About You

  • Enjoys working with children and has the ability to relate to children of all ages (or a selection of ages) and ensure they feel welcome.
  • Has the ability to work with students who have different learning styles and abilities.
  • Has experience in experiential education and ability to teach in multiple modalities, including art, dance, music, writing, performing, or other methods. 
  • Ability and desire to also teach adults and the entire family unit.
  • No formal classroom experience is required; we welcome applicants with experience working or volunteering with children in a variety of settings, including camp and extracurricular activities.
  • All participants, including teachers, students, and caregivers who attend class must be up to date on COVID vaccinations according to the CDC guidance: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html

About the Roles

K-5th Grade Teachers

Classes will be split by grade. Some grades might be combined, depending on the number of students enrolled.

Location: Washington, DC at multiple locations in the Petworth area

Time: 9:00am-1:00pm on 32 Saturday mornings from Sept through June. (view class calendar here)

Pay: $35-40/hour based on experience. This will include instruction and prep/clean-up time, and 1 hour of at-home preparation. 

Responsibilities:

  • Serve as lead teacher for 1-2 mixed-age classes of children on Shabbat. 
  • Understand the content of each lesson; read or review the lesson plan as well as the “Background or Adult Readings” at the end of lesson overviews.
  • Adapt lesson plans as needed, and, when necessary, develop your own lesson plans to suit the needs of your students, in line with the curriculum and the values of the congregation.
  • Help set up class and clean up class. *This sometimes involves moving folding tables and chairs, and carrying them up or down stairs.
  • Know the names, pronouns and any specific needs of all of the children in the program.
  • Help ensure that all children are signed in and out by a primary caregiver, or adult on their approved pick-up list.
  • Help ensure that all children are safe and accounted for at all times.
  • Assist with planning and implementation of child centered holiday and special programming throughout the year.

6th-7th Grade Teacher

The 6th-7th grade cohort will ground their lessons in eight areas of content and be guided by the following goals and understandings. 

Location: Washington, DC at multiple locations in the Petworth area

Time: 9:00am-1:00pm on 32 Saturday mornings from Sept through June. (view class calendar here)

Pay: $35-40/hour based on experience. This will include instruction and prep/clean-up time, and 2 hours of at-home preparation. 

Responsibilities:

  • Serve as lead teacher for one 6th-7th grade class on Shabbat.
  • Co-develop lesson plans, including an overview that is shared with caregivers.
  • Adapt and change lesson plans as needed to suit the needs of your students, in line with the curriculum and the values of the congregation.
  • Help set up class and clean up class. *This sometimes involves moving folding tables and chairs, and carrying them up or down stairs.
  • Know the names, pronouns and any specific needs of all of the children in the program.
  • Help ensure that all children are signed in and out by a primary caregiver, or adult on their approved pick-up list.
  • Help ensure that all children are safe and accounted for at all times.
  • Assist with planning and implementation of child centered holiday and special programming throughout the year.

Assistant Teacher and Substitute Teacher

Location: Washington, DC at multiple locations in the Petworth area

Time: 9:00am-1:00pm on 32 Saturday mornings from Sept through June. (view class calendar here)

Assistant Teacher Pay: $25/hour. This will include instruction and prep/clean-up time. 

Substitute Teacher Pay: $40/hour. This will include instruction and prep/clean-up time. 

Responsibilities:

  • Understand the content of each lesson; read or review the lesson plan as well as the “Background or Adult Readings” at the end of lesson overviews.
  • Help set up class from 9:00-9:30am and transition or clean-up class from 11:00-11:30am, and clean up from 12:30-1:00pm. *This sometimes involves moving folding tables and chairs and bringing them up or down stairs.
  • Facilitate lessons by:
    • Preparing or distributing materials and setting up the space.
    • Assisting children with projects and activities.
    • Monitoring small-group work or facilitating small-group discussions.
    • Asking children thoughtful questions or prompting them to think further about their responses. 
  • Know the names, pronouns and any specific needs of all of the children in the program.
  • Help ensure that all children are signed in and out by a primary caregiver, or adult on their approved pick-up list.
  • Help ensure that all children are safe and accounted for at all times.
  • Substitute teaching: The teaching assistant will be paid at a rate of $40/hour for substitute teaching.

Hebrew

Students in 3rd grade and above can participate in an additional 30-40 minutes of Hebrew instruction on Shabbat. A curriculum based on Shabbat morning prayers, and including some nonbinary Hebrew adaptations, will be provided. Students will learn in small groups or pairs, with guidance from Kollel teachers.

Child Protection Policy

In an effort to create the safest possible environment within NSP, we require biennial background checks of paid staff and adult volunteers for past child abuse or sex offense convictions. We will only conduct background checks for this purpose. 

We also require biennial online child safety training, use of the two-adult rule, standards of appropriate classroom discipline and open classrooms.

COVID

All participants, including teachers, students, and caregivers who attend class: