January 10, 2022
A great leader has vision and works hard to make that vision a reality. We are delighted to announce that we have a true visionary right here at Mirowitz! Our beloved Reb Scott has been recognized by his peers throughout St. Louis and chosen to receive the prestigious JProSTL Visionary Award. 
When Reb Scott moved to St. Louis from Boston to work at Mirowitz, we as a school didn’t quite understand what it meant to be pluralistic. We had just merged, and needed someone to lead us to a new reality in which families engaged across differences and embraced the idea that there are many valid ways to practice Judaism.
Reb Scott was up for the challenge. He led us through a transformational process, guiding our exploration of Jewish pluralism and our understanding that “pluralism” means much more than “respect for difference.” He taught us to celebrate the fact that our Jewish identities are a mosaic of perspectives, practices, cultures and beliefs. He helped us appreciate that we can have different perspectives AND be bound together by a shared heritage, sacred texts and tradition of wrestling with difficult questions. Because of Reb Scott’s tireless work, Mirowitz is now considered a leader in the Jewish day school world in the practice of Pluralism.
Reb Scott’s creativity and indefatigable enthusiasm have earned him the respect of everyone at school.
He has the extraordinary ability to make Judaism meaningful, joyful and relevant for children, teachers, parents and grandparents.
During this pandemic, his creativity and leadership has been nothing short of visionary. Where there are limitations, Scott sees opportunity. During the spring of 2020, when we were briefly online, Reb Scott surprised us daily with clever challenges (i.e. “In-Tents T’fillah, Pray-n-Play T’fillah) and gave us all the gift of connection and Jewish meaning during a dark period of isolation for students and parents.
When we returned, he has mastered the ability to engage 150 elementary students simultaneously Zooming into Torah Study from a dozen classrooms.
And he has provided a vital pastoral role during the pandemic, helping teachers and staff attend to their own mental health and the mental health of our students.
He does all of this while continuing to push our curriculum forward, helping to expand our work with Diversity Equity and Inclusion and supporting the transformation of our Hebrew curriculum to the Proficiency Approach. Reb Scott is nationally treasured as a mentor for the Teacher Institute for the Arts of the Legacy Heritage Fund.
Reb Scott is an exceptional educator, a true visionary, whose day to day work adds holiness to our school and the entire St. Louis Jewish Community.
We are honored to be led by him, to learn from him and to call him our rabbi and friend.
Shabbat Shalom,
Cheryl
Watch our video tribute to Reb Scott below.
