Beit Rabban, a non-denominational pre-school and elementary Jewish day school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, this week announced the appointment of Stephanie Ives as head of school, effective Aug. 1.
Ives, a parent in the school, is director of the New York Tristate Region of the New Israel Fund. She will succeed Rabbi Andrew Davids, who announced his decision to step down in July 2015 after a tenure of seven years.
The board of trustees also announced plans to open a middle school in September 2019. Beit Rabban, now in its 25th year, currently has classes through fifth grade. With a curriculum designed as part of a joint program with Mechon Hadar, the school views Jewish text and tradition as the common language for all Jews.
Board President Tali Rosenblatt Cohen, in a note to the Beit Rabban community, said Ives is a leader who “radiates warmth, curiosity, and authenticity and is passionate about creating a rich and inspiring Jewish life.” She said those “attributes are the underpinnings of Beit Rabban’s mission” and expressed confidence that Ives “will be an ideal advocate for our school and role model for our students.”
Ives, a graduate of Stern College for Women and Midreshet Lindenbaum in Jerusalem, received her law degree from Boston University School of Law in 2003 and clerked on the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., as well as for Justice Aharon Barak on the Supreme Court of Israel.
She headed the department of education and community engagement at American Jewish World Service. She also co-founded The Washington Square Minyan, an independent, egalitarian synagogue community in Boston.
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