Having studied physiology and killer bees, Robyn Norrbom always saw herself in the science world, never at a synagogue’s preschool.
“I thought [science] would be my niche,” she said.
Norrbom’s professional journey took an unexpected turn when a neighbor started a preschool; she gave her neighbor the contact information for a potential teacher who could work there, but stayed “in the background” herself. Not long after, that neighbor got sick with mononucleosis and needed a substitute teacher for the remainder of the year. That’s when Norrbom stepped in.
“I got into it, and it was really hard to leave because it’s so much fun,” she said.
Norrbom is now the preschool director and a teacher at Congregation Etz Hayim in Arlington, where she began working in 2007.
She lives in Arlington with her husband and two dogs. Their four adult children have since moved out.
Tell me about your Jewish upbringing and background.
I grew up in northern New Jersey. My father was a Holocaust survivor and came here after the war. My mom was from a Jewish family that didn’t really acknowledge religion that much. They decided to send us to the private day school because they didn’t think the public schools were very good. My father sent me and my three siblings to Solomon Schechter [Day School] and then three of us continued on to yeshiva high school, about an hour away. I went to [the University of] Maryland and studied physiology and got a job at the [United States Department of Agriculture] studying and identifying Africanized killer bees.
What prompted you to want to work in Jewish education?
Before preschool, I used to work as a religious school teacher at [a] synagogue 28 or 29 years ago, and it was to give back because you realize when you are in synagogue that not a lot of people had the same upbringing that I had, and it did feel like [my Jewish education] was kind of going to waste. My kids ended up going to Jewish day school for several years, and even in that place, there weren’t a lot of people who had actually had the same education. I felt like I was not making the most of it and passing on what I thought I could. My kids going to Jewish day school brought me into Jewish education a little bit, just volunteering there.
What do you enjoy best about your work?
I enjoy kids’ humor and how they think. The silliest things are so funny, like saying the word “toilet.” Or my hair was standing up on the playground today because of the static, and they think things like that are just so funny.
Part of it definitely is having kids pick up new skills, but it’s not whether they know their ABCs. Well, learning to write their own name is very satisfying because they’re so satisfied and so, so proud, but it’s more like they learn how to navigate and they help each other.
One of the students was helping somebody else zip up their coat today. They help each other and support each other; one child was sad and another child came up to say, ‘Are you okay?’ It doesn’t even matter to me that I may or may not have had a hand in that, or that we had a hand in that as a school, but watching them do that is just really cool.
I don’t come to work thinking what I have to instill or what I hope the kids will get from the day; it’s just watching them go through it and, of course, being their biggest fan when they do go through something tough for the first time, but also supporting them when it’s a little rough. I like all of it.
What are your responsibilities as preschool director at Etz Hayim?
There’s enrollment, which is a big part of it: reaching out to people who are interested and taking them through a tour, answering their questions, and seeing if [the school would] be a good fit for them. Staffing is a big part of it: hiring and training staff has not been the easiest part for me. It’s hard to be both a co-teacher and a director. I’m having a little trouble walking that line.
How do you balance both of your roles?
Because we are so small, I think it is doable. [We have] two classes; it’s much smaller than we used to be. Most days, we have five people for our two classes in the morning. I get in here an hour before school starts, and I stay most of the day to try and do things.
Outside of work, how do you spend your time?
I’m a new grandmother, so that’s a new thing. We’re pickleballers. We have two dogs, so we go to the park almost every day. I’m a board game gamer and [I enjoy] puzzles and cooking and eating.
What do you enjoy most about northern Virginia’s Jewish community?
I really love its diversity. My husband did not grow up Jewish, and we’re raising children that have both some Jewish family and some non-Jewish family. I like the cooperation between the rabbis and the Jewish preschool directors; they’ve reached out to me a couple times to be inclusive in our Jewish community nights. It’s really nice to know that they have your back and they’re looking out for you and the whole community. T
