Transition Committee Report 12 3

METNY USY Transition Committee
Report of the
METNY USY/Kadima
Transition Committee
METNY USY Transition Committee
Committee was formed with the charge to look at
current program, structure and services and
provide a proposal for the future building on the
success of our decades of operation.
With a significant drop in membership, it was
necessary for METNY to go through a strategic
planning process to present to the Youth
Commission and METNY District Council.
METNY USY Transition Committee
Committee members included representatives of all of
our stakeholders with each demographic area
represented equally :
• USY’ers (Both Leadership and Members)
• Field Staff and other METNY Youth Professionals
• Members of the Youth Commission
• Rabbis from METNY Kehillot
• Alumni
• Current and Future Parents
Both Rabbi Levy and Rabbi Rogozen
were briefed throughout the process.
METNY USY Transition Committee
The Committee’s work was based around 3 questions:
Question 1 - Are we providing multiple avenues of engagement for
Jewish Youth in the Metropolitan New York area? How and where can
we be innovation in this area?
Question 2 - What transformative, tangible leadership training
experiences are we currently providing our USY’ers? What should we
be providing and how and where can we be innovative in this area?
Question 3 - What does “Direct Services” to chapters look like and
what support services are needed for individual kehillot to succeed?
METNY USY Transition Committee
Committee Meetings/Focus Groups
• 4 in-person meetings
• 3 full committee Conferences/video calls
• 3 individual sub-committee calls
• 6 focus groups at Encampment
Committee meetings were held throughout the region. We invited
professional and lay leadership from the host kehillot to also
attend the meetings.
METNY USY Transition Committee
Task 1 – SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
METNY USY Transition Committee
Strengths
•Encampment
•Leadership Opportunities
•Summer Programs
•Lasting Friendships
•Ruach
•Alumni
•Passion
•Relationship Building
•Legacies of parents/children
•Jewish Identity
•USYers are very welcoming to
new participants
Weaknesses
•Keeping Alumni Engaged
•High barriers of entry
•Membership retention
•Communication /publicity
•Outside perceptions
•Financial Stability
•Professional and Kehillot
Staff Training
•Low Clergy and Kehillot
support
•Kadima program
•Programming
•Lack of engagement
•Informing Kehillot Boards
•Outdated Materials
METNY USY Transition Committee
Threats
Opportunities
•Leadership Opportunities for
USY’ers
•Ability to use KRM’s to
market program
•Social Media
•Spirituality
•Look at competition as
opportunity/best practices
•Engaging younger kids
•Integrating Schechter and
USY as package
•Lack of funding on Kehillot
and USY levels
•Demographics
•Decreased levels of
affiliation with USCJ kehillot
•Cultural & institutional
history
•Better marketing and
websites from our
competitors
•Lack of trained staff
• Failure of organization to
adapt to changed
circumstances
METNY USY Transition Committee
Items the Committee needed to address
•Lack of leadership training – USY’ers, USCJ Professionals, and
Kehilah Youth Directors, Advisors and Lay Leaders
•Lack of support by METNY to the kehilot
•Lack of consistency due to rotating Regional Youth Directors
•Lack of supervision and integration of the Divisional and Regional
Staff – Plan of review, procedures and accountability has been
missing
•Need for Job Descriptions of Regional and Divisional staff
•Kadima program needs significant attention in both programmatic
and in dedicated staff focus.
•Too great of a reliance by our USY’ers and Staff on technology and
social media to engage our members.
•Need for increased coordination, communication and planning
among METNY staff. Our field staff needs to be team.
METNY USY Transition Committee
Items the committee needed to address
•Need to create new programming both in Shabbat and nonShabbat settings. Not all of our current members and more
importantly, our potential members, are interested in the “classic”
model of USY.
•The majority of our chapters are ineffective in providing an
engaging local program for their kids. This has caused a lack of
loyalty to one’s kehilah.
•Decreased number of chapters and chapters with needed
significant critical mass and/or financial resources to sustain and
enhance chapter programming
•Regional programs can be too intimidating, overwhelming, not
welcoming nor engaging. Programs have not changed over the
years and have become stagnant and predictable.
•The costs to participate are affecting participation.
METNY USY Transition Committee
Sub-Committee Reports
The Sub-committees were each tasked with one of the three
questions. The Sub-committees were asked to hold three calls with
goals for each call as follows:
1.Brainstorm ideas, challenges, best practices from within and
outside of METNY. “Think out of the box with no boundaries”
2.Categorize items on the list that seem “do-able” and prioritize.
3.Formulate the priorities into a 3 year plan
Each Sub-committee presented their reports at the November full
Transition Committee meeting.
Recommendations of the
Leadership Training Sub-Committee
METNY USY needs to take a three-pronged
approach to Leadership Training:
1.Make leadership training available to all
USY’ers and broaden scope of training program
2.Train kehillot professional staff including
Youth Directors and Advisors while advancing
level of the professionalism – recognizing the
profession of the “informal Jewish Educator”.
3.Train Kehillot lay leadership.
4. Develop list of potential Youth Advisors.
Recommendations of the
Leadership Training Sub-Committee
The recommendations to the Youth Commission
(Please refer to report for additional information)
•Add grade representatives to the Regional Board for ALL
grades, Increase the number of representatives on General
Boards
•At grade kinnusim and RC, add optional open sessions on
leadership development for all participants.
•Add a mid-winter Leadership Board weekend or day to followup from the Fall Board weekend. Opportunity to review goals
and status of year.
•Reinstitute the Youth Director/Advisor training program, in
weekend or day training sessions.
Recommendations of the
Leadership Training Sub-Committee
The recommendations to the Youth Commission
(Please refer to report for additional information)
•Develop and offer online training program for Kehillah Youth
Directors, Advisors and lay leadership (work with National for
development of program)
•Develop and offer leadership training program with Jewish
Texts as underpinnings for USY leadership. USY’ers prefer a
face-to-face model with and option to participate virtually.
•Find creative ways to take leadership training “on the road.”
Feature new, engaging presenters who will inspire professional
and lay leadership.
Recommendations of the
Areas of Inclusion Sub-Committee
Whereas in the past, USY could offer light content at most
(chapter) events, teens today are also looking for more
substance as their schedules are tighter. Time spent should be
spent well.
Today’s Jewish teens are most likely to join a youth group and
attend events where:
•Looking for their own community of peers. Relationships are
key!
•Jewish Values are core.
•Fit in socially
•The teens can see/feel the impact (either on themselves or
others) immediately.
Recommendations of the
Avenues of Inclusion Sub-Committee
Parents are often the push behind a USYer joining/attending.
Parents must see the value in USY both as an organization and
in our events/programming. A “Mission Statement” (with focus
on what a USYer would gain over their membership years and
take with them to college) is needed.
What do kids hope to gain from USY?
What is the “return on investment” for parents from USY?
Recommendations of the
Avenues of Inclusion Sub-Committee
The recommendations to the Youth Commission
(Please refer to report for additional information)
•Integrate with Hebrew HS at Kehillot when both programs are
present. USY should be the leadership building and experiential
arm for educating our teens. (Look to pilot in 1 or 2 schools for
year 1)
•Increase programming around social actions/justice outside of
the “building.” (Immediate)
•Look at the Na’aseh program at Orangetown JC as a successful
model and find appropriate kehillot where this could be piloted.
(2014-15)
•Continue/enhance topic based kinnusim. (2014-15)
• Attract teens not connected with USY currently by offering
them opportunities for community service requirements. Don’t
make membership a requirement initially. Let’s get them in the
door.
Recommendations of the
Avenues of Inclusion Sub-committee
The recommendations to the Youth Commission
(Please refer to report for additional information)
•Continue to expand on prayer options at Shabbat programs.
Recognize and welcome diversity in t’fillah.
•USY calendar and events are predictable. Same thing 4 years.
Mix up content and type so each year has unique events and
each day at RC and Kinnus is not predictable.
•Encourage, embrace and support new ideas from our USY’ers,
even if they may not turn out as planned. That is a crucial
process of learning leadership.
•Look to develop sport, art, drama programming which could
bring in new kids, and offer diversified programming to existing
USY’ers. (Year 1 and 2) (Basketball League, Annual Drama
Show)
Recommendations of the
Avenues of Inclusion Sub-Committee
The recommendations to the Youth Commission
(Please refer to report for additional information)
Non-Event Member Recruitment
•Meet the teens“Where they are at.” Recognize that recruitment will take
place outside of the kehillah. Follow best practices of competitors.
•As we are in the Metro NY area, we have capability for serious
collaboration with not only our Schechter Schools but other organizations
such as Jewish Education Project, etc.
• Teens need to call teens. Social media is good but real personal
interaction goes a long way. Provide real training in the use of a phone
(not for texting)– create peer to peer outreach.
•Advertise, market and promote what we are doing.
•Provide meaningful experiences to help USY’ers fill their college
applications.
•Make events affordable. Find the subsidies necessary from outside
sources to make this happen. (ie, JSU trip to Florida)
Recommendations of the
Direct Services Sub-committee
There was overlap between all of the sub-committees with many
of the items shared in the previous slides. That said, there were
two major themes that came from the sub-committee which the
Committee sees as crucial areas to move forward with:
1.There has been little or no direct service to chapters on all
levels (Division, Region, Youth Commission, National). The
kehillot have been left to fend for themselves. In some cases,
the kehillah are not interested or lack critical mass of teens or
financial resources to develop of their program. Lack of
funding, and lack of support by Rabbis and lay leadership have
also created “chapters in name only.” This has resulted in
teens jumping to other more successful chapters or going
directly to the division or region, or joining other Jewish Youth
Organizations.
Recommendations of the
Direct Services Sub-Committee
2. Individual chapters are in serious decline or on life-support
Out of 100 kehillot in METNY, there are approximately 46 USY
chapters. This is a major decline from even 5 years ago.
The items highlighted in the previous slide are the causes of
this reality.
Times like these call for a new approach to chapters.
What makes our competitors succeed?
METNY USY Transition Committee
The recommendations to the Youth Commission
Understanding the realities of our chapters, the Committee
recommends the creation of “cluster” chapters.
This potential of sharing of resources between 2 or more kehilah
youth programs would do the following:
•Creates a critical mass of teens, which as stated in the
recommendations of the “Avenues” Sub-committee will more
likely meets many of the needs of teens
•Provides potential cost savings to kehillot with sharing of
salaries of staff and operating budget.
•Provides more opportunities for creative and dynamic
programming.
•Retains programming on a more convenient localized level.
METNY USY Transition Committee
We recommend that the Youth Commission form a task force to
look at our demographic area and target kehillot that could
benefit in a Cluster structure.
The Transition Committee does not want to define the specifics of
the “cluster” chapter plan rather open the door to it moving
forward.
METNY USY Transition Committee
Structure of METNY
The goal of the committee was to enter into this process with an
open mind and journey together to take a hard look at who we are
and what we want to be moving forward.
What came our from our Committee meetings, sub-committee work
and analysis is that the Divisions are not the cause of our current
programming and membership challenges, but rather have helped
keep our program relevant during what we recognize has been a
dramatic drop in membership and participation. In many instances,
Divisions have helped fill programming gaps due to the absence of
or weakened chapters. This does not diminish the facts that have
been noted and need to be addressed immediately and for the next
2 to 3 years.
METNY USY Transition Committee
Structure of METNY
The Transition Committee proposes the following (based on the
current staffing and budgetary strucure):
1. Reduction from 4 Divisions to 3 Divisions with the demographic
areas to be determined. The new divisions will change their names
and the USY’ers will determine what the names will be.
2. Staff job descriptions need to be formulated and need to include
not only responsibilities by demographic area, but also include focus
on specific skill sets that can be of benefit to the entire Region. Our
field staff may be asked to be of assistance in other areas outside of
their current realm.
3. An immediate focus on the Kadima program with a realignment of
responsibilities (logistics, admin) so that the Regional Director can
move the program forward.
METNY USY Transition Committee
Structure of METNY
The Transition committee proposes the following:
4. The Youth Commission continues the discussion of the age of
Kadima and USY membership with a plan to be enacted in Aug 2014
5. Begin the process of “cluster” chapters in areas of greatest need
to be determined by task force and by kehilot that are already
looking to move in this direction.
6. The Youth Commission should address and formulate a plan of
Regional staff review, supervision, accountability and goal setting.
7. Creation of a structure and goals for the integration of the
METNY USY calendar and communication and collaboration among
the Regional and Divisional staff.
METNY USY Transition Committee
Points of note
The Transition Committee will continue to meet to establish
benchmarks to evaluate the progress in implementing these
strategic changes. The proposed action items from the Committee
were based on a year-long process. This plan is proposed for the
next 3 years so that we can benchmark the progress. At the end of
each of the first and second years the Youth Commission should
review and re-evaluate the goals, benchmarks and progress. In the
second half of year 2, a new strategic planning committee should be
formed by the District Council to begin this process again to
determine if further changes, modifications or realignments are
needed.
The current recommendation of this Committee does not preclude in
the future that METNY should re-evaluate the role and purpose of
divisions, and consider becoming a consolidated Region without
divisions.
METNY USY Transition Committee
In closing
Sincere thanks to all of the members of the Transition Committee
who made a serious commitment to this process. While there were
differences of opinions, passionate and heated conversations,
struggles over tradition vs. change, we came to a consensus and
presented a thought out map to move forward with these
recommendations.
While we all would like to believe everything presented here will be
successful, we know that this may not be the case. That is why this
process needs to be repeated every 3 years.
Lastly, all of us have extreme pride in the METNY Region and as has
been done many times before, we are leading the way with real,
strategic change.