March 1, 2021
17 Adar 5781
Dear Heilicher Parents:
It has been a great honor to serve the Heilicher community, our wonderful students, extraordinary staff, and incredible families as Head of School over the past eight years. After careful consideration, I have determined that the 2021-22 school year, the final year of my contract, will be my last at Heilicher. This position has been an experience of a lifetime, and my decision is not an easy one.
It is deeply gratifying to see that Heilicher is currently thriving. Over the past five years, we have worked through our strategic plan to a place of financial sustainability, stable enrollment, and educational strength. Our community is deeply connected to the school, and we have adapted to COVID-19 with astounding care and flexibility. I am confident that Heilicher will remain a strong and steady pillar of this Jewish community for many years to come.
On a personal level, I plan to apply what I have learned over my 20 years in education in new environments or in new fields altogether. Making this decision now allows the school ample time for a smooth transition and affords me time to begin my career exploration in more depth.
I am proud to support Heilicher’s staff and Board leadership as they thoughtfully begin a comprehensive Head of School search for the benefit of current and future generations of Heilicher students.
Below is a message from our Board President Wendy Lovell-Smith about the plans for this transition and the bright future of Heilicher.
With gratitude,
Yoni Binus
Head of School
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Dear Heilicher Parents:
I want to thank Yoni for his many years of service to Heilicher and for his thoughtful and proactive approach to supporting the school as we search for a new Head of School. We are lucky to have his continued service through this transitional period. His loyalty to Heilicher and willingness to stay connected to our community is appreciated by the Board and by the strong leadership team that he has built during his tenure.
Board President-Elect Robyn Schein, Yoni, and I have had several conversations over the past few weeks about the opportunity we have before us to engage in a planful and smooth leadership transition. There are two key structural changes that we believe will set Heilicher up for continued success:
- As of July 1, 2021, Yoni will step into the role of Executive Director. His primary functions will be supporting the leadership team with business operations, helping the Board plan for leadership succession, and continuing several strategic and long-term processes. These include our commission on financial aid and tuition, long-term sustainability planning, and other strategic initiatives.
- As of July 1, 2021, we are thrilled to announce that Maia Poling will step into the role of Acting Head of School where she will serve all the primary duties of the Head of School role. The Board of Trustees has full confidence in Maia and her team to continue day-to-day operations of the school as we search for our new, permanent Head.
The Board of Trustees will form a Head of School Search Committee and will provide updates to the community on our search process in the coming weeks.
This is an exciting time for Heilicher. We are well-positioned to identify our new Head of School and, during this transitional period, thanks to steady leadership, continue to provide to our students the exceptional General and Judaic Studies we have always offered.
Thank you again to Yoni for his many years of service to the school. We will have time to pay tribute and say a proper farewell to him over the coming year.
B’Shalom,
Wendy Lovell-Smith
President, Board of Trustees
