Three years after October 7th, most Jewish day schools agree that Israel education matters. Far fewer have figured out where it actually belongs in the curriculum, or how to teach it with real depth.In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I speak with Noam Weissmann, Executive Vice President of Open Door Media and host of Unpacking Israeli History, the most downloaded Jewish podcast in the world. We explore why Israel education so often gets relegated to a hallway display or a single day on the calendar, what it actually looks like to integrate it seriously into Tanakh, Talmud, and Hebrew language classes, and why striking while the iron is cold matters more than reacting in a moment of crisis.Noam also shares his vision for a 20 by 20 canon of Israel knowledge, what the best schools are doing to build a real scope and sequence, and why teaching complexity and multiple perspectives, rather than simple advocacy, is what actually makes students fall in love with the story of Israel.It is a rich, idea-dense conversation for any school leader serious about strengthening how their students understand their own story. I can't wait to hear what you take away from this conversation.

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🌐 Websites:

https://unpacked.education/https://connecteducation.org/📧Email: [email protected]

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What if academic rigor and warmth were not opposites, but requirements for each other?

In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I speak with Dr. Rachel Harari, head of school at the Sam School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, about building a school where students run through the doors excited to learn. We explore what it looks like to weave Sephardic tradition into a warm, non-judgmental approach to Jewish life, why she waits for the right teacher rather than rushing to fill a position, and how genuine partnership with parents transforms even the hardest conversations.

Rachel also shares what it means to lead with intentionality at every level, from the immersive early childhood program to the way she trains her faculty to trust parents as genuine partners rather than critics waiting in the back of the room.

It is a joyful, honest, and genuinely inspiring conversation about what becomes possible when culture is built on purpose rather than left to chance. I can't wait to hear what you take away from this conversation.

Reach out to our guest:

🌐 Website: ⁠https://www.thesamschool.org/

📧Email: [email protected]

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Website:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkislowicz/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Being partners with parents sounds simple. Actually doing it, especially in the middle of a hard conversation about a struggling child, is one of the harder things school leaders and teachers face.In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I welcome back returning guest Jane Taubenfeld Cohen to talk about her widely shared piece on parent partnership. We explore why so many school meetings unintentionally become about getting the parent to do something rather than solving a problem together, why naming our own emotions before a hard conversation changes everything, and why factual and emotional conversations so often talk past each other.Jane also shares a powerful story about what it really feels like to be a parent walking into another difficult meeting, and makes the case that building genuine partnership with families is not a matter of a few natural superstars, but a systemic mindset that has to run through an entire school community.It is a conversation full of practical wisdom for anyone who has ever walked into a parent meeting unsure of how it would go. I can't wait to hear what you take away from this conversation.Read Jane Taubenfeld Cohen's article:https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/another-school-year-on-the-same-side-of-the-table/Get in touch with us: 

Website:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkislowicz/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-lenses-with-barry-kislowicz/id1813728680⁠⁠⁠

What does it take to build a brand new school program from scratch, and get it right in year one?In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I speak with Rabbi Rick Schindelheim about the lessons he learned launching a new educational program in Israel from the ground up. We explore why clarity of mission matters more than trying to please everyone, how to build genuine community among students who are living away from home for the first time, and why structured time for reflection can be just as important as the academic program itself.Rick also shares candid reflections on what surprised him along the way, from how quickly students embraced independence to what he would do differently next time. It is a conversation full of practical takeaways for any educator or school leader thinking about how to build something new, or how to strengthen something that already exists. I can't wait to hear what you take away from this

Reach out to our guest:🌐 Website: https://ots.org.il/nelech/📧Email: [email protected]

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Website:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

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LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkislowicz/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-lenses-with-barry-kislowicz/id1813728680⁠⁠

Every school leader has had that one employee in the back of their mind, the one whose performance has been slipping, the one you are quietly wondering whether you can bring back next year. The problem is most of us avoid that conversation until March, April, or May, when it is far too late to actually help.In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I talk through why the beginning of the school year, not the end, is the moment to have that direct and caring conversation with an employee whose job may be at risk. I share why positive distortion so often derails these conversations, what belongs in a real professional improvement plan, and why ending on a falsely reassuring note does a disservice to everyone involved.This is a practical and honest conversation about one of the hardest parts of school leadership, and why doing it well starts months earlier than most of us think. I can't wait to hear what you take away from this conversation.

Get in touch with us: 

Website:⁠⁠⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.com⁠⁠⁠

Subscribe to my Substack:⁠⁠⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.substack.com⁠⁠⁠

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LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkislowicz/⁠⁠⁠

Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-lenses-with-barry-kislowicz/id1813728680⁠

More American Jewish day school graduates are choosing Israel, not just for a gap year, but for university, army service, and life. What does that shift actually mean for how schools should be preparing their students?In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I speak with Tamar Krieger Kalev, Executive Director of the Tzemach David Foundation, about The Future Is Calling initiative and what a decade of research into Israeli, American, and European education systems has revealed. We explore the numbers behind the growing trend of American students staying in Israel, what college guidance counselors need to know to properly support these students, and why specialization and Hebrew instruction may need a fundamental rethink.It is a thoughtful and challenging conversation about a trend every Jewish day school leader should be paying attention to. I can't wait to hear what you take away from this conversation.Read David Magerman's "An apology from your American Jewish parents: and the Reflection:Reach out to our guest:🌐 Websites: https://www.tzemachdavid.org/https://www.thefutureiscalling.org/Get in touch with us: Website: https://kislowiczconsulting.comSubscribe to my Substack: https://kislowiczconsulting.substack.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadershiplenses/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkislowicz/Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-lenses-with-barry-kislowicz/id1813728680

What if experiential education is not a nice addition to Jewish day schools, but the very thing AI is about to make essential?In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I speak with Shuki Taylor, founder and CEO of M Squared, about what it really means to build a Judaism of doing rather than a Judaism of ideas. We explore why the field needed to move past defining itself by what it is not, what makes an experience genuinely experiential in the classroom, and why AI's rise in knowledge transmission makes embodied, human, in-person learning more essential than ever.Shuki also shares practical guidance for school leaders on modeling this kind of change with their own staff before asking teachers to bring it to students, and a simple but powerful rule for how to use precious in-person time before the school year begins.It is a conversation about vulnerability, risk, and what it really takes to give students something no screen ever will. I can't wait to hear what you take away from this conversation.

Reach out to our guest:

🌐 Website: https://ieje.org/📧 EMAIL: [email protected]Get in touch with us: 

Website:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-lenses-with-barry-kislowicz/id1813728680⁠⁠⁠

Two of the most important relationships a head of school has are with their board and with their parent body. Both require intentional investment. And both are harder than they look.In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I speak with Rabbi Dr. Avery Joel, head of school at Fuchs Mizrachi School in Cleveland, about what it actually takes to build a pipeline of effective lay leaders and how to engage parents in a way that breaks down the us versus them dynamic that so many schools are experiencing right now.Avery shares how he built an Emerging Leaders program from scratch, why he chose to facilitate it himself, and what it has done to the culture of his boardroom. He also walks through two practical parent engagement initiatives, a regular head of school Zoom and a parent school liaison team, and is refreshingly honest about what is working, what is not, and what he is still trying to figure out.It is a conversation full of practical ideas and honest reflection, and one that every school leader thinking about board development and parent relationships should hear. I can't wait to hear what you take away from this conversation.
Reach out to our guest:

🌐 Website: http://fuchsmizrachi.org/

Get in touch with us: 

Website:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkislowicz/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-lenses-with-barry-kislowicz/id1813728680⁠⁠

What happens when you get to build a school from scratch, with visionary founders, a clear problem to solve, and the freedom to rethink almost everything?In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I speak with Rabbi Dr. Gil Perl, founding head of school at the Jewish Leadership Academy in Miami, about what it looks like to design a school around the outcomes you actually want, rather than the conventions you inherited. We explore how JLA approaches service learning as a serious academic discipline, why the school spends its first month of the year in Israel, and what recording every classroom with a one-button system is revealing about teaching and learning.Gil also shares what any school, regardless of size or resources, can take from these ideas and begin applying today. Because while JLA is a unique institution, the questions it is asking are ones every Jewish educator should be sitting with.It is a conversation about what becomes possible when you are willing to start from the problem rather than the template. I can't wait to hear what you take away from this conversation.Reach out to our guest:🌐 Website: https://jlamiami.org/📧 Email: [email protected]

Get in touch with us: 

Website:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

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LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkislowicz/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-lenses-with-barry-kislowicz/id1813728680⁠

Every school leader has had that moment at the end of the year: looking back and wishing they had spent more time on something that mattered. The problem is rarely a lack of intention. It is that the calendar fills itself in before we ever get the chance to decide.

In this episode of Leadership Lenses, I walk through a practical approach I use with the leaders I coach called zero-based scheduling, borrowed from the concept of zero-based budgeting. Instead of starting next year's calendar with this year's routines and tweaking around the edges, we wipe the slate clean and rebuild from priorities up.

I share how to think in categories instead of individual meetings, how to assign your time the way you would assign a budget, and how to plan ahead for the seasonal rhythms of the school year so that intense periods like fundraising season or admissions season do not permanently crowd out the things you care about most.

This is a practical, hands-on conversation for anyone heading into the summer with a chance to rethink how they want to lead next year. I can't wait to hear what you take away from this conversation.

Get in touch with us: 

Website:⁠⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.com⁠⁠

Subscribe to my Substack:⁠⁠ https://kislowiczconsulting.substack.com⁠⁠

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LinkedIn:⁠⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkislowicz/⁠⁠

Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-lenses-with-barry-kislowicz/id1813728680⁠