The Samuel Scheck Hillel Community Day School | The Ben Lipson Hillel Community High School’s Board of Governors voted this week to appoint Rabbi Pinchos Hecht as next Head of School, upon recommendation of the Head of School Search Committee. Rabbi Hecht will begin a spring 2011 transition with Dr. Adam Holden who has been Head of School since 2006.
“We are preparing the Jewish leaders of tomorrow in the Jewish day schools of today,” said Hillel Chairman Jorge Woldenberg. “In Rabbi Hecht, Hillel has found the Head of School with the vision, experience, passion, and academic accomplishment to further this good work. We are thrilled to welcome him to our Hillel family.”
Rabbi Hecht most recently led Ohio’s Fuchs Mizrachi School, 2006 recipient of the national No Child Left Behind Award. By the end of Rabbi Hecht’s10-year tenure as Head of School, Fuchs Mizrachi enjoyed growing enrollment, a new academic building and an endowment. Previously, he served as Head of School at the Hebrew Academy of Greater Washington, where he twice led the School to garner the Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence. Through Rabbi Hecht’s headship, they welcomed record enrollment and campus renovation.
Rabbi Hecht received his bachelor’s degree from Adelphi University, a master’s in education from American University and a master’s in religious education from Hebrew Theological College. His rabbinic ordination is from Yeshiva Gedola.
“Understanding Hillel’s strategic plan, vision and philosophy, I see that this school is ready to raise the bar even higher as a leader in education,” Rabbi Hecht observed. “I am eager to join such a talented faculty and to continue to develop the work already started by the administrative team.”
Upon the School’s 40th anniversary, the appointment of Rabbi Hecht marks the next chapter of the School’s strategic plan, building on the growth of recent years. Committed to setting the standard for 21st century Jewish education, the school consistently has surpassed academic, operational and fiscal goals over the past five years. Today it is an International Baccalaureate World School Candidate, Columbia University Project School and a Reggio-Emiliainspired preschool, all within a program built upon traditional Torah values.
“Rabbi Hecht is, quite simply, one of the finest Jewish Heads in the nation,” Dr. Holden said. “It has been an honor to prepare the school for leadership of his caliber. Our goal always has been to strive for excellence in education, and Rabbi Hecht personifies it – he is the consummate educator.”
“This is such an exciting time for Hillel,” Rabbi Hecht emphasized. “In a time when enrollment is up, surveys show increased confidence from families and faculty, campus construction is ongoing and ruach is strong, Hillel has accomplished so much. And I believe that now it is ready for even more. I am committed to enriching the school and extended communities with a commitment to rigorous academics, meaningful Judaics and comprehensive programs beyond the classroom.”
For information, visit hillel-nmb.org.
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