Jolanta Goldstein was born and raised in Poland, where she attended a professional music school and earned a degree in music and education, followed by a master’s degree in literature and pedagogy from the University of Gdansk. Her journey soon took her to Israel, where she pursued graduate studies and began a deeply personal exploration of her family’s history.

 

Her passion for uncovering stories of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust led her to conduct extensive research, interviewing survivors across Israel, the United States, Poland, England, and Australia. She further honed her expertise through studies in Jerusalem, Oxford, and Brandeis. Jolanta later utilized her linguistic skills and research background to support Holocaust restitution efforts, working with the State of New York and the Claims Conference to assist survivors.

 

After becoming a mother, Jolanta returned to her roots in music and education, creating a classical music and visual arts appreciation program initially for her own children. The program’s success led her to introduce it at their nursery school, where she further refined and expanded it to engage older students.

 

For the past two decades, Jolanta has been a dedicated educator, with over a decade spent at Westchester Day School. Starting as a parent volunteer, she eventually became the school’s beloved art specialist. What Jolanta treasures most about teaching is not just sharing her passion for art and music with her students but also watching them grow creatively. She finds immense joy in helping them push the boundaries of their imagination, discover their unique artistic voices, and take pride in their creations. Seeing students share their love of art through various chesed (kindness) projects has been one of the most rewarding aspects of her work at WDS.

 

Beyond teaching, Jolanta enjoys creating her own art, crafting for meaningful causes, listening to music, walking in nature, and spending time with animals. She is deeply grateful for the sense of community she has found at WDS and in Westchester, which have become a true family for her and her two wonderful sons, Avi and Ben (WDS '18).