Religious School

Dear TBS Religious School Parents:

We are thrilled to announce our roster of educators for this school year:

• Rabbi Michael Ross has accepted the role of Interim Education Director at TBS. In addition to his current position as Rabbi at TBS and Senior Educator at Hillel at Kent State University, Rabbi Michael will lead our religious school on Sundays, implementing our curriculum.
• Jean Beasley, master educator, is the winner of the National Grinspoon Award for Excellence in Jewish Education and past winner of the Libbie L. Braverman Award. Jean will join Rabbi Ross in the newly created position of Assistant Education Director, and she will teach our Thursday Hebrew program for our younger students. She will also teach grades K-2 on Sundays.
• Rabbi Michael will continue to teach students on Sundays grades 5-7 as they prepare for B’nai Mitzvah.
• Thursday Hebrew school will be co-led by Jean Beasley for grade 5 with a major emphasis on learning and reading Hebrew. Cantorial Soloist Deb Rogers will co-lead Thursday classes for grades 6-7 with an emphasis on practicing the Torah Service
• Laurie Frankino will take on many of the administrative duties for the school this year.

Our first day of religious school for all students is Sunday, September 14, 9:00-12:00 pm. Please plan to bring your students in and stay for bagel breakfast and a short group discussion with Rabbi Ross.

If you can’t stay on September 14, please contact Laurie Frankino lfrankino@gmail.com who will schedule an individual meeting appointment with Rabbi Michael prior to September 14.

Please feel free to reach out to Rabbi Michael at his email: rabbimichaelross@gmail.com or by text/phone at 310-569-6329 with questions, concerns, or ideas.

Additionally, we have a private Facebook group for all TBS members. We will update our communications to you through this group as well as through email and texts. Let us know if you need an invitation to this group.

We are excited to present our new leadership as we begin a new school year and a new Jewish Year on Monday, September 22, Erev Rosh Hashanah.

Le’Shalom,

Rabbi Michael Ross
Jean Beasley
Deb Rogers
Laurie Frankino
Shari Weiner

TEMPLE BETH SHALOM EDUCATION PROGRAM GOALS & OBJECTIVES

Our goals: By the end of religious school

1. Graduates will be comfortable walking into any Reform service in the world and being able to participate fully by knowing:
   1. The prayers
   2. The choreography (when to sit, stand, bow)
   3. The way to behave in a sanctuary
2. Graduates will have a strong sense of positive Jewish identity.

We achieve these goals by:

• Focusing our curriculum on Jewish prayer
  • Actual recitation and chanting of the prayers
  • Rituals that are part of our prayer services (lighting Shabbat candles, taking the Torah out and reading from it, when to stand, when to bow, etc.)
  • Hebrew language acquisition specifically for reading/chanting Hebrew prayers and Tanakh
• Celebrating Jewish holidays as they come up on our Jewish calendar.
• Learning the stories of the Torah and other books of the Tanakh.
• Demonstrating that activities and subjects that our students enjoy have inherent Jewish values and teachings

Religious School Fees 2025-2026

Religious School Sundays
K-4th Grades
$620.00
Sundays 9:00-12:00 noon

Religious School Sundays & Thursdays
5-8th Grades
$824.00
Sundays 9:00-12:00 noon, Thursdays 4:30-6:00 pm

TBS Tots
Preschool
No charge
Sundays (monthly) 10:00-12:00 noon