Iris Schwartz was the Director of Education at Temple Ner Tamid from 1996 until 2021. During
her 25-year tenure, Iris changed the face of education for children and families at TNT. She
developed an extensive network of weekly experiential family education, social justice, and
holiday programs including an Artist in Residence, Ten Minutes of Torah, grade specific
projects, and an annual temple-wide Mitzvah Day. She helped redesign the Hebrew curriculum,
initiated yearly trips for each grade, grew the madrichim program, expanded the Upper School to
include the 11 th and 12 th grades, and introduced a 12th grade social justice service trip and formal
graduation service.
A commitment to social justice and Jewish values was central to Iris’s vision of Jewish
education. Each year, all students were engaged in social action programs trips to the Religious
Action Center, helping to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, cooking for a local soup
kitchen, and much more.
Since the home is where so much of Judaism is transferred to the next generation, engaging
parents was a key part of the religious school curriculum. Jewish Family Journeys, a unique
parent/child experience dedicated to empowering parents to be able to bring Jewish practice into
their homes, won a national program award from the Association of Reform Jewish Educators.
Iris also developed temple-wide programs like A Trip to Ellis Island which literally transformed
participants into immigrants coming to America, and A Trek Through the Torah when, dressed
as Israelites, participants experienced scenes from the Bible from the Garden of Eden through
Moses’ farewell address.
Iris holds an Ed.D. (Gratz College), an MA in Jewish Education (Spertus Institute of Jewish
Studies), an MSW (Rutgers University), and the designation of Reform Jewish Educator from
the Association of Reform Jewish Educators.
Since leaving TNT, Iris has continued her involvement in social justice and education endeavors
on a local level, dedicating much of her time to helping those in need. Iris lives in Montclair with
her husband. They have four children and 7 grandchildren (and counting) who are all the lights
of her life.