Elayna Rathmann
Elayna Rathmann channels her devotion to family and lifelong learning into our educational programs at Temple Shalom. Elayna grew up in Granger, Indiana and attended Sinai Synagogue and was a member of the first graduating class of the South Bend Hebrew Day School. She is a BBYO Life Member and former membership chair for the KIO Region. Her love of learning and warmth for people led her to pursue a career as an educator. She graduated from Indiana University, Bloomington with a BS in Elementary Education with minors in both Reading and Science instruction, K-8.
Elayna began working in San Antonio, Texas in an inner-city, low income environment. She was involved in district-wide language-arts training and became a national trainer for a literacy company. Her weekends included teaching Religious School and Hebrew at Congregation Agudas Achim. Elayna married Marc Rathmann and began her travels as the wife of an Air Force pilot, moving first to Northern California.
Elayna received her Masters degree in Education from The University of California, Berkeley in the ARLLP program with an additional Reading Specialist Credential. Mrs. Rathmann concurrently worked for The Mt Diablo Independent School District as a Reading Specialist and Professional Development Specialist. She taught Masters level classes thru Chapman University and embraced adult education and lifelong learning. A member of B'nai Israel Congregation, and later in Indiana at Sinai Synagogue, Elayna returned to her foundation and embraced the opportunity for Jewish education and participation in services and community.
Mrs. Rathmann took a sabbatical from teacher training and professional development to raise three amazing children. Marc's Air Force career brought the Rathmann family to Colorado Springs, CO where they joined Temple Shalom. She became active in the Jewish community, religious school, served on the Board of Directors, education and membership committees. Elayna returned to educational work in 2007 as Temple Shalom's Director of Congregational Learning and Programs.
A message from Elayna:
For two-thousand years, the synagogue, responsible for educating generations of Jewish students and families, has stood at the center of Jewish life and learning. Since our first records of Colorado Springs Jewish life in the early 1870's, families gathered to pray together, and to study. Temple Shalom has been Colorado Springs's response to this historic chain of tradition.
At Temple Shalom we are committed to providing individuals and families with both classroom-based and informal/non-traditional opportunities to engage the best of our tradition. What's more, through the use of our Rabbi and Educational Staff, as well as local and national support programs, and USCJ and URJ resources, we encourage an active engagement with Jewish scholarship and thought.
