Kellman Brown Academy Appoints New Head of School

Voorhees, NJ – Kellman Brown Academy, an affiliate of the Solomon Schechter Day School Association, is pleased to announce that it has appointed Rabbi Moshe Schwartz as its new Head of School beginning with the 2010-2011 school year. 

Rabbi Schwartz is currently Director of Jewish Life at The Solomon Schechter Day School of Nassau County and Solomon Schechter High School of Long Island, where since 2005 he has developed and nurtured Jewish life on two campuses. In addition to his role at the school, Rabbi Schwartz teaches adult education classes in the community, and serves as Mashgiach for a chain of food stores. 

According to Fran Rebhun, president of the Kellman Brown Academy Board of Trustees, Rabbi Schwartz was chosen from among a wealth of applicants during the school’s national search for its new Head of School. 

“We are thrilled to have found in Rabbi Moshe a capable, energetic and enthusiastic leader who will forge the vision of our school for the next generation,” said Rebhun. “We look forward to introducing him to our families and to the entire South Jersey community.”

Rabbi Schwartz received Rabbinic ordination and a Master’s in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and a BA in Political Science from Brandeis University. His commitment to professional development is evident in his role as a member of both the Jewish Educators Association and the Rabbinical Assembly and through his forthcoming completion of the Day School Leadership Training Institute of the JTS’ Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education and Avi Chai Foundation.

He recently completed his tenure as the Solomon Schechter Day School Association’s representative to the Conservative Movement’s Commission on Social Justice and Public Policy and works with the international United Synagogue Youth movement of USCJ.
 

“I am eager to become a member of the Kellman Brown Academy family and to get to know our students, teachers, supporters and the broader South Jersey Jewish community,” said Rabbi Moshe, as he prefers to be called. “I am honored to be continuing the Kellman Brown Academy tradition of excellence in education, love of Jewish learning and values and leadership development.”

Dr. Elaine Cohen, Solomon Schechter Day School Association Executive, congratulates Kellman Brown Academy on Rabbi Schwartz’s appointment.

”Kellman Brown Academy has chosen a young, energetic and dynamic school leader who has a clear educational vision for the school and its future. It’s an exciting moment of opportunity for the community,” said Cohen. “I am well aware of the very deliberative process undertaken by the school’s search committee and wish Kellman Brown success as it enters a new era in the life of the school.”

Rabbi Schwartz and his wife, Aviva, will be visiting the area throughout the spring in anticipation of their permanent move here. Their two children, four-year old Eliezer and 15-month old Liba, will be enrolled in the preschool at Kellman Brown this fall. 

Kellman Brown Academy is committed to cultivating leaders of the Jewish community and the world by nurturing the potential of each student with an unparalleled academic experience enhanced by Jewish studies and values. It is located at 1007 Laurel Oak Road in the Voorhees Corporate Center in Voorhees, NJ. For additional information and to schedule a tour of the school, contact Stephanie Specter at sspecter@kellmanbrownacademy.org or (856) 679-2929.

Kellman kids shoot and score

More than 60 students from the community attended the first 3-on-3 basketball tournament at
Kellman BrownAcademy recently. Kids of all ages, from grades one through eight, participated
in the grand opening event at the school’s new facility.

“It was really cool to pick your own teams and get to play basketball with your friends not
during the school day” said seventh grader, Hannah Baruch, who also plays on the girls’
basketball team at Kellman Brown.

She, along with her teammates, played their hearts out and won free passes for bowling at Laurel Lanes.

This event brought parents and students from the community who came to play and see the new facility.

Josh Fineblum, director of athletics and student programming noted, “It was wonderful to
see so many families both from the community and from KBA at our new facility taking advantage
of the wonderful events and programming

the school offers.”

Kellman BrownAcademy moved to its new location in Voorhees in October.

The new facility houses a regulation size middle school gymnasium where the tournament is held.

THE CHERRY HILL SUN — JANUARY 7-13, 2009

Special to The Sun

Pictured, from left, are Jacob Rose, Daniel Shore and Benjamin Greenberg at the Kellman Brown Academy 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

Click here to view the latest article about Kellman in the Cherry Hill Sun
"Kellman kids shoot and score"
 

By DAVID PORTNOE Voice staff

"Wow!" was Martin Greenberg's first word when he walked into the new Kellman Brown Academy. The fifth grader saw the building for the first time on Oct. 16, the day the Jewish day school moved from Chapel Ave. in Cherry Hill to Laurel Oak Rd. in Voorhees. "It looks amazing. Everything is new," said Greenberg.

Rabbi Isaac Furman, rabbinic advisor at Kellman Brown Academy, and Dr. Fran Rebhun, Academy president, affix the mezuzah at the school's new location in Voorhees. A festive Torah procession and ribbon cutting also highlighted the Oct. 16 move from Cherry Hill to Voorhees.

Kellman Brown student Shanni Prutchi said that the new building is colorful with much to see. She said that she was excited as the bus approached the new building for the first time.

Prutchi, like many of the students, got her first glimpse of their new school during a festive procession from the Chapel Ave. location to Voorhees.

Rabbi Isaac Furman, rabbinic advisor to the Kellman Brown Academy and founding head of school, carries the Torah out of the school's previous location on Chapel Ave. in Cherry Hill. Looking on is Cherry Hill Mayor Bernie Platt and Sandy Brown, immediate past president of Kellman Brown.

After Furman came the buses with the 170 Academy students. As the procession passed the Katz JCC on Springdale Rd., several classes from the JCC preschool waved. The Kellman Brown students shouted and waved back.

The move also featured a closing ceremony at the Cherry Hill location conducted by area rabbis whose children attended Kellman, and Cherry Hill Mayor Bernie Platt, whose four grandchildren are either current students or graduates; the carrying of the Torah into the Voorhees building by Rabbi Jeffrey Arnowitz, president of the Tri-county Board of Rabbis; a ribbon cutting; and the affixing of a mezuzah at the new school by Furman and Academy President Dr. Fran Rebhun.

Daphna Varadi, a seventh grader, loves the new school, but felt a twinge of sadness that the building she had known was now a part of her past. "It's exciting, but it's sad to leave," said Varadi, whose mother Ayala is a third grade teacher.

"It's sentimental to me that we are closing this school. My kids all went here," said Sandy Brown, whose extended family donated the new building. "We're thrilled that we could help to create a great sense of Jewish continuity for decades to come," said Brown, who cut the ribbon on the new school together with Academy President Rebhun.

"I have mixed feelings about leaving," said Lea Arbely. Her daughter Ayelet is a current student and her son Ariel is a graduate. "It's sad on one hand, but the children will be going into something really special." She noted that the new building has a level of technology surpassing that of the public schools. It also has 22 classrooms, a computer lab, two science labs, and dedicated music and art rooms.

"I think the kids will thrive and have a wonderful time being in their own space," said Amy Clayman, the parent of two students, Garrett and Joshua. She said the school's future would change dramatically. "When you walk in the new building, it is overwhelming."

"It just makes you feel good," said Marcia Cohen, a sixth grade English and social studies teacher. She said that the new building is bright, airy, and conducive to learning. "I've been teaching here for 22 years. This is perfect. It's inspirational."

"This building is better suited to maximize learning," said Gail Cohen, Kellman executive director. She said that because the children have grown up in the computer age, the SMARTboards and other technological features are better suited to the way they learn.

Cohen said that the school is planning a full week of dedication activities in mid- November. There will be a formal dedication of the new building on Monday, Nov. 24 with Jewish Theological Seminary Chancellor Arnold Eisen doing the honors for the Solomon Schechter-affiliated school.

Rabbi Isaac Furman, the school's founding director, said that the future of the school is great. For years, it shared a building with Cong. Beth El, first in Camden then in Cherry Hill. Beth El's impending move to Voorhees necessitated Kellman Brown, now independent of Beth El, to find a new location.

Kellman Brown produces highly educated future leaders, according to Furman. "The school is one of the great institutions this community has." .

Source: Jewish Community Voice

http://www.jewishvoicesnj.org/news/2008/1022/home/001.html