The Kol Ami Religious School's mission is to provide an inclusive environment where students and families engage in Jewish education that fosters a strong sense of identity and community. Because Reform Judaism is a living and evolving faith, we are committed to meeting our families' changing needs and demands.
Registration Now Open!
The 2026-2027 School Year begins on Sunday, August 23.
Curriculum Overview and Class Information
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Students in the preschool class will learn about Jewish holidays, synagogue life, and begin to interact with the Hebrew Alef-Bet. For many students, this will be their first experience with prayers and Hebrew songs. Through play, students will gain enjoyment for being Jewish, prayers, mitzvot (commandments), and Hebrew letters.
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In first grade, the focus is on Torah stories and Bible heroes such as Moses and Abraham. Students will have a basic introduction to the Aleph-Bet, along with core oral vocabulary. Students will broaden their knowledge of Israel, Torah, mitzvot (Commandments) and holidays. In addition to the appropriate b’rachot (blessings) over the candles, wine, and challah, student will be introduced to the complete Friday Night Kiddush.
Second graders begin to learn about Israel and its different regions and cities. Throughout the year students will develop a connection to the land of Israel as they learn about the language, history, geography, and culture. Additionally, students will begin to recognize prayers such as the Sh’ma, V’ahavta, and the appropriate b’rachot (blessings) for each holiday.
The third grade is the first year that students will be attending Hebrew School for the first time. The focus is on introducing the Hebrew Aleph Bet, learn about the Jewish calendar and Holidays, and develop a personal partnership/relationship with God. Students will make their own calendars while learning about Jewish months, lunar vs. solar year, why we have leap years in the Jewish Calendar, and the differences between the secular and Jewish calendars.
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The focus in fourth grade is Jewish Values, Biblical and Modern Israel. Students will begin a deeper study of Tanakh (Torah, Neviim (Prophets), K’tuvim (Writings – for example Psalms)). Reading stories from Kings and Prophets whose lives explain the rise and fall of the Hebrew Monarchy will enhance this year’s program. Students will also learn about mitzvot (commandments) throughout the year such as bikur cholim (visiting the sick). Students will be challenged to find a higher meaning in Jewish values while developing an understanding of God, holiness, and their roles as partners.
The focus for fifth grade is Tikkun Olam and the Jewish Life Cycle. The students will plant seedlings to observe and document not only how we as humans grow, but how that expansion effects the environment, as well as what our responsibilities are to ourselves and to make the world a better place for us and future generations. Students will become familiar with the Erev Shabbat Service, and master the blessing over the candles, wine (Kiddush), and challah. Students will interact with the weekly Torah portion and find ways to incorporate Jewish values with protecting the environment. In exploring the Jewish Life Cycle, students will investigate and dissect all aspect of a Jewish existence such as birth, naming, education, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, growing up, marriage, old age, death, and mourning.
In sixth grade, students will learn about modern American Jewish history with a focus on Jewish personalities such as poet Emma Lazarus, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, labor rights activist Emma Goldman, and abolitionist August Bondi as well as Jewish Pioneers of the West such as Phillip Drachman here in Tucson, Otto Mears in Colorado, and the Jews of Tombstone (who made up around 10 percent of the population in the late 1800’s). We will discuss the circumstances that led these individuals, their ancestors, and others to come to the United States and the West.
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The students in seventh grade learn about Jewish history, Israel, and the roots of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. We will cover the role of prejudice and discrimination in the Nazis’ rise to power, the resistance movement, life in the ghettoes, and the concentration camps. We will look at the human-interest effects of the Holocaust and its impact on our lives today. Students will have opportunities to interview survivors from our very own community as part of their study of the Holocaust. Next, we will move on to the study of Israel as the Jewish State. Topics will be Israel as a "melting pot"- the variety of cultures, the military, technology, and other achievements in the last 72 years. Current events will be discussed as a regular part of each Sunday's lesson.
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The eighth-grade year marks the beginning of life-long Jewish education, carrying into high school and adult life. Eighth graders will learn about themselves as Jews within the context of the larger community. The focus will be on Comparative Religions, Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World), as well as using Jewish values in making decisions and facing challenges.
Today's Jewish youth are looking for guidance and insight from their community about how to deal with many of the challenges they face at this stage of their lives. The Sacred Choices: Adolescent Relationships and Sexual Ethics curriculum helps students to develop a sense of personal sexual ethics, a spiritual framework for thinking Jewishly about their sexual choices. In a safe space, they will have the opportunity to talk openly and honestly about these issues. Within the context of the synagogue, our teens find a safe place for sharing and dialogue, they have adult role models whom they can trust for guidance, they find peers who face similar challenges, as well as finding a tradition that can teach and guide them in safe realistic directions.
Confirmation may coincide with the Jewish holiday of Shavuot as it is a re-enactment of the children of Israel accepting the Torah at Sinai.
This curriculum is designed to help students re-examine and define their relationship to Judaism. If you want to learn about Judaism as a grown up, then this year is for you.
ARJE Accreditation
The Kol Ami Religious School is proud to be accredited by the ARJE (The Association of Reform Jewish Educators). The accreditation process evaluated our program and concluded that our central purpose was Jewish learning. The ARJE defines Jewish education as preparing a lifelong learner for a committed and active Jewish life of worship, social action, celebration, and observance of mitzvot.
Our organization also met the following accreditation goals: Shared Vision, Educational Leadership, Resources/Infrastructure, Lifelong Learning, Interaction Among Stakeholders, Culture and Climate, Content Expectations, Planned Curriculum, Effective Teaching/Programmatic Staff, and Self-Evaluation: A Commitment to Process.
Madrichim is the Hebrew word for guides, derived from the word derech, which means route, path, or way of life.
Madrichim are high school leaders acting as role models for students and as assistants to our teachers.
Rina Liebeskind, Education Director
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Education Director
Rina was born and raised in Jerusalem, Israel. She served in the Israeli Defense Forces for two years, first as a soldier in the police service, and later as an assistant in the engineering force.
Rina moved to Tucson in 1987 and her education career began at the Tucson J as a teacher in the early childhood program. Several years later she became a senior lead and developed a mentoring program for new teachers.
She joined Or Chadash religious school in 2008 and was appointed to lead the joint religious school with Temple Emanu-El in 2021. Rina holds an Executive Master’s Degree from Hebrew Union College with a focus on Jewish Educational Leadership.
As the Education Director at Kol Ami, she is responsible for the education of students from preschool through high school and for engaging families with young children. -
Rina holds an associate degree in early childhood education from the Arizona Central College, a Bachelor of Science in Education from Northern Arizona University, and an Executive Master’s in Jewish Educational Leadership from Hebrew Union College. She was recognized at the ARJE Conference and received the title of Reform Jewish Educator from the R.J.E. Title Granting Commission.
She is a member of several professional organizations such as ARJE (Association of Reform Jewish Educators), NATA (National Association of Temple Administrators), and CEDS ( the local council of Jewish Education Directors).
Resources
Jewish Learning
Bimbam uses digital storytelling to teach about Judaism to learners of all ages.
Jigzi: Create and play Jewish games.
My Jewish Learning: Geared toward all backgrounds and levels of knowledge, is allabout empowering Jewish discovery for anyone interested in learning more.
PJ Library: Shares Jewish stories and resources for family-together time to help your family discuss our values and traditions.
Sefaria: Is assembling a free living library of Jewish texts and their interconnections in Hebrew and translation.
Shalom Sesame: From the creators of Sesame Street, Shalom Sesame is a cross-platform media initiative developed to introduce American children to Jewish culture, the Hebrew language, and the diversity of Israel.
Celebrate Shabbat
Shabbat Song list on Spotify
Shabbat Blessings & Customs
Interested in Religious School?
Rina Liebeskind, Director of Education
educationdir@katucson.org
(520) 327-4501