“What We Have Learned”: Creating and Supporting an Inclusive Environment in Two Jewish Day Schools

Brian joined MetroWest Jewish day school as the Head of School in July 2020 with over 20 years of experience in the field of K-12 education, including 13 years of school administration and leadership. He began his career in the public schools of San Francisco and Oakland as a teacher and curriculum leader. Since his move to the Boston area in 2008, he has been a principal at Dorchester High School, Maimonides School, and most recently New England Hebrew Academy. He brings experience mentoring teachers, developing curricula, managing school operations, and leading community partnerships. A graduate of Indiana University Bloomington, Brian earned his master’s degree in School Leadership at Harvard University. Brian lives in Newton with his wife and two children, and serves as a board member of Congregation Shaarei Tefillah.

Sharon joined Schechter Boston in June 2021 as the Director of Student Experience PreK-5. Sharon serves as the primary person responsible for the quality of life for students in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 5 and the main contact for parents with questions and feedback for students in these grade levels that go beyond the scope of the classroom. Alongside day-to-day operations at the Stein Campus (PreK-3) a major aspect of Sharon’s role includes building a robust and inclusive Counseling and Support function across the school.

Before joining Schechter Boston, Sharon was a School Counselor at Natick High School, for over a decade. At Natick High School, she served on the leadership team and took on school-wide projects and responsibilities, including leading an anti-bullying initiative in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League, as well as leading the Hybrid Subcommittee, designing the schedule and learning model that was adopted for the 2020-2021 school year. Before a ‘second act’ in Education, Sharon was a Human Resources leader and worked in Canada and New York City, with Reuters - the international news organization now owned by Thomson Reuters.

Rebecca assumed the role of Head of School of the Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston in July 2016. Prior to this, she led the Talent Management department at Staples, Inc where she worked for ten years, and Prudential Financial for five years prior to that. Rebecca attended Barnard College and the Jewish Theological Seminary, graduating with a double degree in political science and Talmud, and she later earned her MBA from New York University. Rebecca lives in Brookline, MA with her three children, Talia, Sophia, and Micah, all of whom attend Schechter, and her husband Adam who is a hospitalist at Newton Wellesley-Hospital. Rebecca and her family are active members of the Washington Square Minyan, an independent minyan in Brookline.