A new preschool has joined the roster of options for Nashville parents. The Rimon Preschool at Congregation Sherith Israel opened its doors last month, beginning with infants six weeks to 30 months old. The school is a continuation of Rabbi Saul Strosberg’s efforts to provide a comprehensive Jewish education for all of Nashville’s children, and this new preschool is another step in that direction. “Everyone in the community knows how much I personally love the energy and spirit that our youngest members bring. I'm excited to see and hear babies, infants and toddlers in the building.”
Strosberg is also pleased with the new educational leadership of Rimon. “I'm excited about the phenomenal staff that we were able to recruit for this program. Already very much beloved by the community.” The Head of School is Catherine Carroll, newly arrived from Michigan, with a 17-year career in education. She says the road to opening the school was a lengthy one that began last summer. “I came in August and we’ve been going through licensing steps, getting Department of Human Services compliant. We were approved for our provisional business license, which was very exciting.”
Carroll says the initial plan is to start small and grow the school over time. “Starting small means, we have that family appeal and a low ratio, one-on-one care. We can give all the attention an infant would need right now.” The current license provides for an infant room with 10 children and 14 in the preschool room, and the school occupies the space formerly used by the Jewish Middle School.
The school is using the teaching methodology called Reggio Emilia. Carroll says the overall philosophy of the method is child-led and project based. “We follow the childrens’ interests. So, if we’re out on playground and they collect a bunch of acorns, we’re going to launch into that and incorporate all the developmental learning standards.” She says she has seen the difference this type of learning makes for young children. “I’ve worked in standard philosophy and Reggio, and with child led the kids are so excited and so much more inspired.”
Rimon is open to both Jewish and non-Jewish children, but with a strong Jewish core. “We’re going to celebrate all the holidays, celebrate Shabbat, and when the older children start, we’re going to have a Hebrew studies teacher,” says Carroll. Carroll says the congregation has been very supportive of the endeavor, in fact the recent open house had a large attendance from members.
Adam Roth is president of Sherith Israel. He says Rimon is a natural outgrowth of the efforts of Rabbi Saul and Daniella Pressner who have both been instrumental to the growth of Jewish education in Nashville. “It was a combination of things. How do we continue to serve that Jewish journey, and quite frankly, there is a need. You look around and talk to some of the other facilities providing child care and preschool and waiting lists are 100 deep.” He says opening the school solves both the issue of access, and early introduction to Judaism. “As Nashville grows and the Jewish community continues to grow, things like this are fantastic and needed.”
To start, Roth says funding for the school will fall under Sherith Israel’s budget. “Because we believe in it strongly, the congregation will support it while it stands up. Additionally, we’ve been soliciting donations from individuals, and we’ve been able to tap into some really generous people who have graciously donated the funding.”
According to Roth, the new preschool received community support from the start. “When the idea started to germinate, Rabbi Saul reached out to The Temple and picked their brains in terms of how it’s done. We looked to them to see what kind of demand is there.” He says The Temple provided a great deal of positive input about best practices, methods, and steps to take. And the broader community was also very supportive of the effort.
Rabbi Saul Strosberg says he is excited to provide another good option for Jewish preschool, and to be reviving a long tradition at Sherith Israel. “We're excited to be rebooting a preschool that was functioning in our building for nearly 50 years but then became neglected in the early 2000's, but at least to build on that legacy. And perhaps most exciting, is to be able to help contribute the funnel for Nashville's K-12 Jewish day schools.”
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