Dear Yavneh Community,
On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to share the important work that is beginning at Yavneh to chart our course for a vibrant future. Your partnership has always been vital to the success of our school and we look forward to your insights and perspectives as we work together to usher in new leadership and identify our strategic priorities.
Head of School Search
Over the past few weeks, the Board has been busy laying the foundation for finding our next Head of School. The first step in that process is to form a search committee. Toward that end, the Board is happy to announce that Audrey Fox and Shoshana Wolf will serve as Co-Chairs of the Head of School Search Committee.
Audrey is a member of our Board and is an experienced school Trustee, having served several years as a Trustee and Board President of an independent school. She is a former attorney with expertise in governance and currently provides independent school consulting. She also brings the experience of chairing a successful Head of School search committee at Charles Armstrong School in Belmont. Shoshana brings a background in law, human resources, and recruiting, and she has held a number of leadership roles across our local Jewish community. She is the parent of two Yavneh students and brings a depth of understanding of our school’s culture and values to the search process. As co-chairs, Audrey and Shoshana will seek the input of our community and share regular updates on the progress of the search.
The Board is committed to finding an outstanding leader to serve as our next Head of School and to designing a search process that reflects best practices in an inclusive and thoughtful manner. Our search will prioritize finding an interim Head of School for the 2022-2023 school year and a permanent Head of School beginning with the 2023-2024 school year. If we identify an ideal candidate with the right mix of skills, experience, and cultural fit to lead Yavneh, we will consider a permanent Head of School beginning with the 2022-2023 school year.
Our school is extremely fortunate to have strong and active supporters in our parent, faculty and staff communities. We look forward to engaging with you as we work to find a proven leader with an appreciation for what is special about Yavneh. You are welcome to contact our co-chairs directly at [email protected] to share thoughts, questions or feedback on the important work ahead!
Strategic Planning
High-performing schools undertake formal strategic planning on a periodic basis. The purpose of strategic planning is to step back from our day-to-day operations to ask the big picture questions about where we are headed, what our priorities should be, and how we can get there. This process is particularly well-timed given that it will result in a strategic roadmap to guide our next Head of School.
The Board is partnering with Prizmah, a strategic consulting firm that specializes in Jewish Day Schools, to spearhead this important process. In recent months we formed a Strategic Planning Committee led by Debra Eskinazi Stockdale. Debra is a member of our Board and previously co-chaired the strategic planning process at Congregation Sinai in San Jose. She brings a wide range of experience from her more than 15 years of volunteerism specifically in development, advisory roles, and the overall organization and expansion of nonprofits. This broad swath of experience that Debra brings gives her an important perspective and the experience to lead Yavneh forward on a meaningful path.
The Committee is currently focused on evaluating Yavneh’s academics, curriculum, fundraising, marketing, enrollment, and advancement. Moving forward we will be hosting community conversations and focus groups to seek your input on what we as a community value about Yavneh, how we see Yavneh in the future, and what changes need to happen to get us to where we want to be. These conversations will set the foundation for establishing our priorities and critical initiatives for the years ahead. Please reach out to Debra at [email protected] with questions, interest, or feedback as we move forward through the planning process.
Looking to our future, I am inspired by the opportunities ahead. We have strong leaders and partners to drive these processes. Please join me in wishing Audrey, Shoshana, and Debra b’hatzlacha in the important work they are undertaking for our community. With your support and collaboration, we will continue to go from strength to strength.
L’Shalom,
Alison Ruebusch
Board President on behalf of the Yavneh Board
