Donna Klein Jewish Academy Welcomes New K-8 Jewish Studies Director Jill Shoshany
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Donna Klein Jewish Academy has welcomed Jill Shoshany as K-8 director of Jewish studies. Shoshany is no stranger to the DKJA family, having previously served as a Judaic studies teacher and as the dean of student affairs at Claire and Emanuel G. Rosenblatt High School at DKJA. Her five years at Rosenblatt High School greatly impacted students. For her positive influence, educational renown and leadership qualities, she was presented with the prestigious Grinspoon-Steinhardt National Teacher of Excellence Award for South Palm Beach County in 2012.
“My time at DKJA was one of the greatest learning experiences of my life, both personally and professionally," Shoshany stated. "There is no place like home, and DKJA has always been home in my heart. I live by this quote, in Hebrew translation and transliteration, from modern Zionist Theodor Herzl, ‘If you will it, it is not a dream/ Im Tirzu Ein Zo Agada.’ It has always been a dream of mine to return to DKJA.”
Shoshany recently returned to South Florida after having spent the last three years in Houston, Texas, where she has served as the director of Jewish life at the Emery/Weiner School. In her role, she oversaw the Hebrew and Judaic studies departments for grades six through 12, as well as planned and implemented all Jewish life events. Additionally, Shoshany has more than 10 years of experience working in Jewish day schools, and she attended a community day school in Greensboro, North Carolina, where she grew up. She was inspired by her Hebrew and Judaic studies teachers, as well as her rabbi, to pursue a career in Jewish education.
Shoshany earned a bachelor’s degree in Judaic studies from the University of Maryland at College Park. She then taught and lived with high school students at the American Hebrew Academy boarding school. She continued her studies at the Baltimore Hebrew University, where she worked full time at a local synagogue and student-taught grades K-8 at the Krieger Schechter School. She graduated with honors and earned a master’s degree in Jewish education (with a focus on administration), and a master’s degree in Jewish studies (with a focus on Jewish history). She is an alumna of RAVSAK The Jewish Community Day School Network’s Project SuLaM (Study – Leadership – Mentoring) and was part of Cohort 4.
