Blog

Dear Temple Israel community, 

Thirteen years ago, Temple Israel hired a creative, dedicated preschool teacher named Leslie Wolf to serve as Director of Deutsch Early Childhood Center. Little did we imagine that within a few short years, Leslie would revolutionize the school as we knew it. She hired dedicated, engaging teachers, created flexible opportunities for parents, and found ways to recognize, support, and challenge each child so that every student and family felt known and loved. Leslie helped these students grow developmentally, socially, emotionally, and academically, creating a school environment that was as safe and supportive as home. As a result, DECC quintupled in size and became a model for Jewish early childhood education, recognized across the nation. Most recently, Leslie led DECC through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic, all while engaged in a $7 million dollar renovation of the school building so that the quality of the facility could match the programming happening within. 

As Director of Family Education, Leslie has spent the last several years ensuring that DECC was in the best possible position to move into the future. After experiencing health challenges first semester, she has decided to retire beginning in 2022, but will still be an active part of our DECC community and serving in a mentoring and consulting role.

We are thrilled that Lesley Goldenberg, the Assistant Director of Family Education, will be stepping into the role of Director of Family Education. Lesley has a Master’s in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary and served as the Education Director at Sutton Place Synagogue for 13 years. You may also know Lesley from her role as a Lizard teacher or from her time teaching Religious & Hebrew School at TI (or maybe you went to high school with her; she went to Parkway Central, in case you’re wondering). We have begun a search for a Religious School Director so that we have someone in place for the next school year, but know that Lesley Goldenberg has done a remarkable job covering both roles these past months and has the support she needs moving forward in this transition. 

There will be many opportunities in the months ahead for us to celebrate Leslie’s retirement. She really, really doesn’t like being the spotlight, but we’ve told her she has no choice! We will keep you informed and up to date as we take this next step forward in the future of family education at Temple Israel. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please know you can always reach out to any of us. We are so grateful for the years of dedication that Leslie Wolf put into making DECC, and as a result, the TI community, as strong and vibrant as it is today, and we are looking forward to the next chapter! 

Rabbi Amy
afeder@ti-stl.org