Dear SDJA Community,

As you are aware, our Head of School, Zvi Weiss, has announced his intention to retire at the end of the 2026/2027 school year. We are grateful for Zvi’s contributions to our school community and for his continued leadership during this important transition year.

We are committed to a thoughtful and deliberate search process for SDJA’s new Head of School that reflects both the current needs of our school and positions us for long-term success. Our community will play an essential role throughout. The first opportunity for SDJA community engagement begins today.

Follow this link to complete the needs assessment survey to help the search committee understand and affirm the priorities, hopes, and perspectives of our stakeholders. The survey will close on Monday, June 8th.

A Head of School search committee has been assembled that includes lower, middle, and high school parents, school leaders, and respected members of our faculty to bring a broad range of perspectives to the search process. The search committee will work closely with our Board of Trustees and will guide and steward this process on behalf of the SDJA community. We are pleased to introduce our co-chairs and committee members:

Meredith Smiedt (Co-Chair) – Meredith is a parent of students in 1st, 3rd, and 8th grades and is an active member of the Board of Trustees, including as a member of the Finance Committee and Executive Committee. Meredith chaired the ECC Lions Parent Association and currently serves on the middle school LPA.

Sonia Mandelbaum (Co-Chair) – Sonia is a parent of two SDJA alums and has a child in 9th grade. Sonia was a member of the Board of Trustees, was a co-chair of the “Our Family is One” campaign, and served on the previous Head of School search committee.

Committee members:

Daniel Ellman

David Garber

Stephanie Frid

Elliott Nahmias

Sarah Hansen

Sheryl Rabinowitz

Our search is guided by a clear mission: to identify an enterprise leader who can build on SDJA’s strengths—the Jewish values, academic excellence, and sense of community that define our school—while inspiring confidence, ensuring long-term financial sustainability, and strengthening the school’s identity and reputation.

We will continue to share updates and opportunities for engagement in the months ahead.

Thank you in advance for completing the needs assessment survey,

Carol Schwarzblat, SDJA Board President

Meredith Smiedt and Sonia Mandelbaum, Head of School search committee co-Chairs