By Shayna Roth
Our session with Dr. Lena Kushnir, who has served over the past 20 years as a teacher, head of education, and principal at Solomon Schechter Day School in Chicago, and is presently an educational consultant, coach, and mindfulness trainer, was incredibly informative, engaging, and motivational. She spoke with our cohort about the logistics of and most personally meaningful/challenging aspects of her roles and extensive experiences as a leader in Jewish Day Schools. She helped us internalize the information by presenting relevant case studies that entered us into a problem-solving mindset. Dr. Kushnir generously continued these conversations through lunch with a small group of us further interested in her field of expertise as well.
As a product of a New York suburb public school system and student teacher in the West Philadelphia public school system, I found Dr. Kushnir’s insight on leadership in this field particularly thought provoking. She offered a perspective on education administration I feel I have been shielded from in my experiences in and study of public schools. I have been extremely fortunate to have all of the opportunities I have had to learn and grow within that system, yet hearing about Jewish Day School administration from an active player in it helped me to reconsider my educational goals in many new ways. Dr. Kushnir spoke to us in a way that simultaneously conveyed important information about her job(s) as well as guided us along our individual ideological and pedagogical journeys through questioning our goals. She encouraged us to consider our skills and missions in ways applicable to any professional context, and emphasized the importance of understanding how we can put our own desires and priorities in practice. For example, Dr. Kushnir explained to us how easy it can be to become a behind-the-scenes figure by getting lost in meetings and paperwork, however she personally believes she could do her best work as principal only if she was truly present in the school.Therefore, she intentionally set aside time to have lunch and interactions of other natures with students—a practice not all school administrators may prioritize. No matter which professional field we enter, it is important to do the things that make the work meaningful for us!
We have spent our entire semester focusing on vision, mission, goals, and purpose in our Nachshon programming, but this was the first time these things were put into a real life context for me. I was able to apply mission-based thinking to help guide my (potential) entrance into the field of educational science and administration, and I feel empowered by the gateway Dr. Kushnir helped me open for doing so.
