The Phoenix Hebrew Academy (PHA), Part of the Rebibo Center for Jewish Life and the oldest Jewish day school in Phoenix, today announced that the Board is thrilled to unanimously appoint new leadership for the Phoenix Hebrew Academy. The Board of Directors of the Rebibo Center, Beth Joseph Congregation’s Senior Rabbi, Yisroel Isaacs, in collaboration with a select committee of dedicated parents, completed an exhaustive process to determine the most critical attributes, identify and vet candidates, perform online and in-person interviews, and ultimately, extend long-term offers to the ideal candidates. As a result, the Board has named the following professionals as the new senior leadership for the 2022-2023 school year and beyond:

● Rabbi Baruch Harris has been named Head of School. Rabbi Harris most recently served as the Assistant Principal at the Margolin Hebrew Academy, in Memphis, TN, where he oversaw the Goldie Margolin School for Girls and Cooper Yeshiva High School for Boys. Rabbi Harris comes with outstanding recommendations from our national consultants as well as all the educators and community leaders in his current school and community whom the Search Committee spoke with as part of our due diligence. He has significant experience in curriculum development, teacher supervision and support, and school programming and has worked well in a school with a diverse student and parent body during his 8 years in Memphis. Rabbi Harris holds the prestigious Yoreh Yoreh Yadin Yadin Semicha from Rabbinical Seminary of America and a Masters of Education degree from Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration. He has also earned a certificate in Leadership Development from Prizmah’s YouLead and a certificate in Improving Schools: The Art of Leadership from the Principal’s Center at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. He is a certified Teacher Mentor from the Jewish New Teacher Project and strongly believes that teacher efficacy is the hallmark of a great school. Rabbi Harris is passionate about creating a safe and warm school environment where all constituencies recognize the value they bring to the school community. He comes energized by the incredible faculty and strong lay leadership and is excited to propel PHA to new heights! Rabbi Harris will be moving to Phoenix this summer with his wife Malka and three children, Akiva, Atara, and Chaim.

● Fred M. Graef has been named General Studies Principal. Mr. Graef joins PHA from Thomas A. Edison Elementary School, part of the Phoenix Elementary School District, a Title I K-8 School in a high poverty and high crime neighborhood, where he served as Principal for the last 15 years. During his tenure, he maintained strong school ratings, implemented teacher training programs, developed and enhanced curricula, and supervised, hired, supported, mentored, and evaluated teachers to create a highly qualified staff. The school staff voted him “Principal of the Year.” He served on the Superintendent’s Cabinet for two years. Previously, he was a Special Education Teacher at Thomas Edison Elementary, and before that, at Barry Goldwater High School. He has a Master of Education Administration from Grand Canyon University, an undergraduate degree in English from Arizona State University, and certifications from Arizona State, the University of Phoenix, and Chapman University.

● Mrs. Malka Harris has been named Assistant Principal and dedicated Morah (teacher) for the middle school girls. Mrs. Malka Harris most recently served as the Dean of Students at the Goldie Margolin School for Girls where she earned a sterling reputation for her warmth and proactivity in supporting each student’s academic success and overall well-being. She invests in each student, working to help them realize and actualize their potential, and oversees an overall program with a strong culture of learning and growth. Mrs. Harris also teaches Advanced Chumash and her area of expertise is developing strong independent Chumash skills while simultaneously making Torah learning deeply meaningful through its relevance and personal application. Mrs. Harris holds a Master of Science in Educational Administration and Instructional Supervision from St. John’s University and an undergraduate degree with a concentration in Psychology. She has almost two decades of classroom experience in Judaic studies, spanning a variety of grades on the elementary, middle, and high school levels, as well as having held lead administrative positions. Mrs. Harris is excited to join the administrative team at PHA as the Assistant Principal and bring her depth and breadth of school administrative experience to enrich the student experience for each PHA student with a specialized focus on the Girls Middle School.

● Mrs. Lakie Blech was named Director of Innovation, with her primary focus on the utilization of technology and marketing strategies in promoting PHA as a center of excellence in primary Jewish education in the Phoenix region. Lakie brings along a wealth of experience in education and curriculum development, along with a technological background. She studied at Midreshet Tehillah and Moreshet and obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from Thomas Edison University, with a Focus on Education. Lakie is pursuing her Masters in Education and Innovation (Principalship) at ASU. As a fitness professional, she developed one of the first Orthodox fitness training videos specifically marketed to this demographic. She has extensive experience in social media marketing and technology for a variety of businesses and nonprofits. Lakie has mentored other teachers in the Judaic Montessori method of Education and she holds a certificate from Nitivot Montessori. She joined PHA in 2016 as a teacher for second and fourth-grade Judaic studies, until this past academic year. During her years at PHA, Lakie took the initiative to upgrade many of the technological solutions at the institution with the goal of providing the most up-to-date educational offering to the student body, along with improving efficiency and streamlining workflows from the administrative side. This included upgrading the school’s laptops, networks, and virtual classroom offerings – all of which were vitally important, especially during the COVID pandemic. Last year she took control of the PHA social media accounts and successfully implemented a variety of external marketing campaigns for the institution. She will continue to work on advancing PHA as the premier center for Judaic education in the Valley.

● Rabbi and Mrs. Harris, Mr. Graef, and Mrs. Blech join Mrs. Alyssa Zupnick, respected veteran Preschool Director, overseeing the school’s rapidly growing and highly regarded early childhood program, as the school administration for the coming year.

“The Board and a diverse group of parents completed an exhaustive search to identify the ideal candidates to safeguard our historic organization and lead our wonderful community into the future, and we are confident that the team we have selected meets these lofty goals,” commented Irwin Sheinbein, President of the Board of Directors of the Rebibo Center for Jewish Life. “Rabbi and Mrs. Harris are energetic and committed Jewish educators with deep experience and obvious Yiddishkeit. Together, they will preserve and enhance the remarkable culture at PHA and promote an enduring love of G-d, Torah, Eretz Yisrael, and Klal Yisroel. Mr. Graef brings decades of educational leadership, and we are confident he will build upon the history of academic excellence, making certain our graduates are prepared for any future they desire. The community and our precious youth are in good hands.”

“Rabbi David Rebibo, Rabbi Harris Cooperman, Rabbi Yisroel Weiner, and so many others have built a remarkable community and an exemplary school, and I am humbled at the charge of leading this school into the future and building upon this history,” commented Rabbi Harris. “I have had the opportunity to meet most of the teachers at PHA, and I was incredibly impressed with the talent and commitment to creating a warm, welcoming, and exciting educational environment. The students are enthusiastic and energetic, and my wife and I are dedicated to fueling this excitement. I look forward to working closely with Rabbi Isaacs, Rabbi Twerski, and the Board of Directors of the Rebibo Center for Jewish Life to facilitate the noble mission of this longstanding institution.”

“Phoenix Hebrew Academy is a unique school with a remarkable history, providing both a robust Jewish education and an exceptional general studies curriculum, preparing students for a wide-range of potential educational pathways, both religious and ivy league, and everything in between,” added Mr. Graef. “I look forward to building on the successes to further strengthen PHA’s general studies program.”

More information can be found at phoenixhebrewacademy.org.

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