Head of School Search

At the close of the coming academic year (2011-2012), Dr. Paul Schneider, who has served as headmaster of the Krieger Schechter Day School for 29 years, will be stepping down. A search committee, consisting of board members, teachers, and parents, has been formed to find his successor.  Our goal is to identify a new head ready to assume the position prior to the start of the next academic year. This page will be be used to provide information on the search process as it progresses.

Update: 2/7/12

Official Press Release Sent To Local Media

Click here to read the official press release regarding the selection of Bil Zarch as the new Head of School for Krieger Schechter Day School.

Update: 2/7/12

Head of School Announcement!

We are delighted to announce that Bil Zarch has accepted the position of Head of School for KSDS beginning July 1, 2012. Bil joins us from the Lander-Grinspoon Academy in Northampton MA, where he has served as Head of School since Fall 2008. Bil is a tireless leader who has a talent for connecting with young families and advancing his school's agenda.

Just this past week, The Jewish Weekly Forward recognized LGA for bucking the trend among Schechter schools and growing its enrollment over the past few years. While the article came out too late to influence our thinking on Bil's appointment, it was nice to get public confirmation of what we saw when we met Bil. We are excited to have him join our community.

Another area of strength that attracted us to Bil is teacher development. In 2009, Bil wrote a grant to enable his school to work with the Mandel Center at Brandeis University to develop a teacher induction program for LGA. Since then, he has consulted with other Jewish day schools on this program. When Bil visited our school, the faculty were extremely positive about the prospect of working with him. Certainly our faculty are our greatest asset and their overwhelmingly positive response played into our thinking.

Bil comes to Baltimore with his wife Rebecca, his three-year-old son Raviv, and his one-year-old daughter Danya. They anticipate moving to town over the summer. We plan on sponsoring several informal evening and morning events soon to give current families a chance to get to know Bil and for him to begin to meet you.

In closing, we would like to thank all of the many parents, faculty, and staff who provided thoughts and input on this search process. After Bil's three-day visit to campus we received more than 100 completed surveys assessing his candidacy. The overwhelmingly positive thrust of those responses played a critical role in our decision to offer Bil the position. Beyond that, the many thoughtful comments included in the survey responses gave us opportunities to think deeply about this appointment and to have a constructive dialogue with Bil about the values of our community. We look forward to working with all of you as we welcome our new Head of School and open the next chapter of the school that we all love.

Update: 1/17/12

Feedback on candidate visit

As you have a chance to meet Bil Zarch this week at KSDS, please share your feedback via this survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KriegerZarch

The survey will be available through Thursday, January 19 at 5 p.m. Your feedback is essential to the search committee and will be thoughtfully considered as we move forward in the search process.

Update:  1/11/12

Candidate Coming for Visit

The Search Committee  would like to introduce a candidate to the community for potential nomination for the position of school head. His name is Bil Zarch. Bil is currently Head of the Lander-Grinspoon Academy in Northampton, Mass. Please see his resume and letter of interest by clicking the link.
 
Open Parent Meetings to get to know Bil Zarch during his visit will take place on:

Tuesday January 17th at 7:00pm in the Krieger South Wing
Wednesday January 18th at 8:30am in the Krieger South Wing

We hope you will be able to join us for one of these meetings, to engage in conversation with Bil about our school community and to learn more about him as well.

Update:  11/2/11

Opportunity Statement Published

The search committee is very pleased to share the finalized Opportunity Statement for a new head of school. This document represents the input from across our school community including clergy, board members, administrators, faculty, parents, alumni, and current students. Not only does the document reflect the transparent and participatory process the search committee is seeking to achieve, it also describes the school's strengths, challenges, and hopes for the future.

We are firmly on schedule and have entered the next phase of the search as this Opportunity Statement is nationally posted and recruitment officially begins! To this end, please share any leads about potential candidates with me or IT directly.

The enthusiastic participation of the community in the search process has and will continue to be invaluable.

Update: 10/3/11

Search Firm Shares Parental Feedback from KSDS Visit

KSDS parents received an email including the notes from the open parent meetings held by Independent Thinking (IT) from their visit to KSDS in September. The search firm greatly enjoyed meeting with everyone, and is currently working with the search committee in crafting the official "opportunity statement" which will promote the open position and familiarize potential candidates with our school and community.

Update: 8/24/11

Search Firm Visits KSDS - Current Parents are invited to Open Meetings

The firm assisting KSDS with our head search process will be coming to KSDS on Tuesday-Thursday, September 13-15 to meet with faculty, parents, and staff to learn about our school and discuss visions for the new head. They will be holding two open meetings with current parents: ­ Tuesday, September 13 at 7 p.m. in the Krieger Auditorium and Thursday, September 15 at 8 a.m. in the Esterson Auditorium. Please mark these dates on your calendar and plan to attend. Parent input is crucial to our process.

Update: 8/19/11

KSDS Head of School Search Timeline

September 2011:   Independent Thinking ("IT" - our search firm) visits KSDS;
meetings with faculty, parents and community to learn about our school.

October 2011: Opportunity statement is published – position is publicly advertised

November 2011: Search committee interviews candidates

December 2011-January 2012: Finalist candidates visit KSDS, meet with students, faculty, parents and community

Early Spring 2012: Announcement of new KSDS Head of School

Update: 8/15/11
KSDS Head of School Search Committee
Click here for a list of names and contact information for search committee members. Please feel free to contact any of us at any time to ask questions or to share insights.