It is with great excitement that we announce the appointment of Rabbi Elisha Paul as Addlestone Hebrew Academy’s next Head of School commencing June 1, 2019. The board unanimously voted to accept the recommendation of the Search Committee to offer the position to Rabbi Paul.
Rabbi Elisha Paul is a lifelong Jewish learner and educator. He and his wife Alissa have four children, Nassan, Elan, Batsheva, and Yaffa. Rabbi Paul received a Master’s Degree in Education Administration from Seattle Pacific University, and a Doctoral Certificate from Boston Hebrew College and Northeastern University in Jewish Communal Leadership. He has earned numerous education awards during his educational career.
He believes success in school is based on dedicated educators partnering with Jewish parents to help their children actualize their educational, personal, and spiritual growth potential. Forming and sustaining meaningful stakeholder relationships is a key component of his educational philosophy. Rabbi Paul has administrative experience from leadership roles in 5 different Jewish day schools, and currently helps lead the Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy in Stamford, Connecticut where he recently helped merge two schools to create a preK-12 institution.
Rabbi Paul’s appointment concludes a comprehensive and competitive search. The Search Committee began its work in the summer, assisted by our consultants at PRIZMAH: Center for Jewish Day Schools, facilitating an inclusive process in which students, parents, faculty, and staff gave input and met with our final candidates. We would like to thank all who worked so diligently in helping us reach this point. Special thanks go to the chair of the search committee, Gary Weinstein, and his committee members for the countless hours they invested in helping us reach this point.
Ariela Davis as interim principal, Nancy Peeples as General Studies Coordinator, and Julie Murden as EC Director will continue to lead our school through June 30, 2019. During this time, we will continue working with our Prizmah consultants, our new Head of School, and the current leadership team to ensure a seamless transition of leadership.
Hiring Rabbi Paul is a momentous and exciting moment for our school. We are confident that with all of our support and enthusiasm, Rabbi Paul will help usher in a new era for our school that will bring us to even greater levels of success, achievement, and excellence.
