Dr. Ronit Scheyer (aka Morah Ronit) is thrilled to step into the role of Director of Early Childhood Education at Congregation Neveh Shalom. She looks forward to nurturing the community that many have worked to build at Foundation School and Congregation Neveh Shalom. Ronit believes strongly in the importance of early childhood education and in the value of a Jewish education from a young age. She is looking forward to supporting the educators, families, and young children both at Foundation School and throughout the wider local Jewish community.
Ronit grew up in Eugene, Oregon, where she attended University of Oregon and earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and Judaic Studies, including four years of Biblical Hebrew. In 2006, she fulfilled her dream of making aliyah (immigrating) to Israel, where she lived in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, learned modern Hebrew and worked as a journalist and editor in the diamond industry. Since returning to the States, she has been a Hebrew and Judaic Studies educator and a brit mitzvah tutor at Temple Beth Israel in Eugene and at Congregation Shir Tikvah in Portland. She earned a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from the National University of Natural Medicine in 2018 and ran a private practice until the pandemic year. Since then, she has continued teaching and serving in various roles at Shir Tikvah, including as gabbai and as head of the Nashira Education Project from 2022 to 2023. Ronit and her wife Lisa have a two-year-old son named Boaz, who was in the Hummingbirds class at Foundation School last year. When she’s not working, Ronit enjoys composting and making things grow, playing music, reading, golfing, and getting out on the water.
Together with Morah Candace Rothstein, the Director of Administration at Foundation School, they make a dynamic leadership team, committed to providing resources, building community, and offering educational experiences for young families at the preschool and synagogue. Morah Candace, who has a masters degree in education and almost 15 years of experience in the field, looks forward to partnering with Ronit as they work to continue the legacy of Foundation School as a place of excellence in early childhood education.
Candace and the CNS community look forward to welcoming Ronit into this new role starting August 1st and are excited for the start of an incredible 2024-2025 school year at Foundation School.
