By Rabbi Asher Lopatin, Director of Community Relations
On Thursday, July 11, I was thrilled to meet over 30 parents of Jewish students in Washtenaw County schools at our relaunch of the “Parents Group.” While this group had met a few times over the past year, this was my first opportunity to bring everyone together since beginning my role in March.
What was most striking to me as I saw the group together for the first time was that while the parents in attendance held a wide range of views, from politics to how to best meet our children’s needs, they nonetheless shared a warmth and a sense of common purpose: to give our students the best experience in school as possible – as Jews and as kids.
The presentations at the meeting included representatives from Ann Arbor Public Schools, a parent with kids in AAPS, the director of a new organization called “Stop Hate in Schools” (which focuses on reporting of school-related issues), and Federation’s own Shane Dennis, Community Security Manager. These presentations not only laid out possibilities for further action and partnership, but also challenged the group to consider each individual’s approach to advocacy and desired area of focus.
In the coming weeks, I intend to work with JCRC co-chairs Decky Alexander and Wendy Lawrence to talk individually with everyone who attended to find out where their passions lie, which approaches resonate with them, and how they would most want to get involved. If you did not attend the meeting but would still like to get involved, please contact me! My email is asher@jewishannarbor.org.
From my four months on the job so far, I have discovered, not surprisingly, that greater Ann Arbor is not a “stuck in the mud” Jewish community: it is filled with bright, new ideas and creative approaches to solving problems that, with committed follow-up, could transform our visions for our children and beyond into reality. I look forward to working together in this process!