Matthew Dorsch was asked recently by a student if he has ever lived outside Pennsylvania.
His answer?
“Well, I lived in Pittsburgh when I was in college,” he said, laughing.
Pittsburgh, of course, is in Pennsylvania, though it is in the western half of the state and the more Midwestern part of the country. That does make it different from Philadelphia, which was kind of what Dorsch was getting at.
The Philly-area kid, who grew up at Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El in Wynnewood, is now a Philly-area adult, too. Dorsch graduated in 2005 from Akiba Hebrew Academy, now Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, got a job there after college in 2013 and currently serves as director of its middle school.
There were interludes: a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh in the late 2000s and a first job at the Jewish Relief Agency in Bala Cynwyd in 2012 and ‘13. But for the most part, the Barrack man has remained committed to his alma mater.
Dorsch started as a learning specialist, got promoted to resource department chair and then served as director of learning support. He’s been in his current position for two and a half years. He loves it, and the school.
“We’re a microcosm of what the Jewish future can look like,” he said of the pluralistic Jewish day school, which welcomes students from all denominations. “It allows kids to find who they are and where they fit in.”
Dorsch, who remains a member at Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El, too, initially went to Barrack because his parents thought it was important. He went to college to become an architect, but he decided to pivot to education after an internship with the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.
He led programs with city school students, and he liked helping kids learn.
In 2012, though, after Dorsch earned his master’s in education from La Salle University, his mother passed away. That’s when the future educator decided to find a job close to home.
Dorsch worked as a program and volunteer services coordinator with JRA, and he enjoyed the role, but his heart was always in education. So, when he made his annual trip with friends back to Barrack for the school musical, he met his fate.
During intermission, one of his former teachers told him that Barrack’s middle school and the Perelman Jewish Day School’s Robert Saligman Middle School were merging, and that Barrack needed to hire another learning specialist. Dorsch applied and met the administrators at a Starbucks for his interview.
“It felt so warm. We knew each other. It was coming home in that sense,” he said.
And it’s been that way ever since.
Dorsch said that what he loves about Barrack is that it changes but stays the same.
In the time since his hiring, the school has increased its use of technology, added STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineeering, Arts and Math) programming and installed a turf field.
It has evolved with the times. But its values have not changed.
“It’s being part of something bigger than who you are and being part of the Jewish community,” he said. “You’re bringing different people with different perspectives. We get to be a dynamic community that’s shaped by the people who are here.”
Dorsch’s favorite part of the job is the interplay with students. The middle school director offers them one piece of candy if they agree to enter his office and talk about how they are doing. It helps him get a feel for what middle school kids are going through during a challenging period of growth.
“Kids are trying to find themselves: who they are, where they fit in. I love being part of helping them navigate that challenging time,” he said. “You see the reward at the end for them. To feel you’re part of that piece is real joy, and it’s fulfilling.”
Dorsch is a principal, so he works a lot. But when he does have time for other activities, you can, on occasion, find him at Beth Hillel-Beth El, where he’s been a member for 35 of his 39 years of life.
“I do like to go to synagogue. You’ll see me at services once in a while,” he said. “But this keeps me pretty busy.”
