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Sinai Akiba Academy Announces New Head of School
Dear Sinai Akiba Academy/ Sinai Temple Community,
On behalf of the Sinai Akiba Academy School Board, we are pleased to announce that Dr. Marc Lindner will become Sinai Akiba Academy’s next Head of School, effective July 15, 2020.
The Board and the Oversight Committee’s unanimous decision to appoint Marc was based upon the enthusiastic recommendation of the Search Committee, as well as an overwhelmingly positive response from our community to Marc during his visit in January.
The Board and the Oversight Committee’s unanimous decision to appoint Marc was based upon the enthusiastic recommendation of the Search Committee, as well as an overwhelmingly positive response from our community to Marc during his visit in January.
With many years of experience working as an educator and school leader, Marc comes to Sinai Akiba from the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, where he currently serves as High School Principal and Associate Head of School, a position he has held since 2016. Prior to that role, Marc served as the Middle School Director and Assistant Head of School at Abraham Joshua Heschel Day School in Northridge. Marc holds a doctorate in Philosophy in Social Psychology from the University of Maine and has taught math, English, history and psychology.
In his letter of interest regarding this opportunity, Marc shared:
“Now in my 17th year as a Jewish educator, and having prepared for a Head of School role for nearly all of those years, I am ready to be the primary exemplar of integrity, respect, confidence, kindness, and humility for the Sinai Akiba community I am ready to offer educational leadership and institutional leadership. I am ready to partner with the School Board Chair, to be a guide for, and a collaborator with the School Board, and to work in concert with the Sinai Temple Board. I am ready to become Sinai Akiba’s next Head of School beginning in July, to grow roots in the Sinai Akiba community, and see the fruits of our collective efforts over many years to come.”
Our most sincere appreciation goes out to committee members: Sari Arnall, Samantha Auerbach '97, Rabbi Nicole Guzik, Cary Lerman, Angela Maddahi, Sharon Meron, Sam Parsi, Anna Tenenblatt, and Betty Winn. The committee well represented the SAA community, taking very seriously their responsibility and role in conducting this search. We hope you will join us in thanking this group (and their families) for their tremendous dedication and the countless hours they have devoted to the school, both during this search and over their many years at SAA.
Finally, we would be remiss if we didn’t take just a moment in this letter to thank Betty Winn for her strong interim leadership this school year. Our school has been in great hands during this year of transition.
Our most sincere appreciation goes out to committee members: Sari Arnall, Samantha Auerbach '97, Rabbi Nicole Guzik, Cary Lerman, Angela Maddahi, Sharon Meron, Sam Parsi, Anna Tenenblatt, and Betty Winn. The committee well represented the SAA community, taking very seriously their responsibility and role in conducting this search. We hope you will join us in thanking this group (and their families) for their tremendous dedication and the countless hours they have devoted to the school, both during this search and over their many years at SAA.
Finally, we would be remiss if we didn’t take just a moment in this letter to thank Betty Winn for her strong interim leadership this school year. Our school has been in great hands during this year of transition.
Please join us in extending the warmest of welcomes to Dr. Marc Lindner. See below a letter from our incoming head.
We will have the pleasure of having Dr. Lindner at our State of the School address on April 2, and we hope you will join us in welcoming him to our community.
We will have the pleasure of having Dr. Lindner at our State of the School address on April 2, and we hope you will join us in welcoming him to our community.
Sincerely,
Rachel Farahnik, Chair of Search Committee
Rebecca Kekst, Chair of SAA Board
A LETTER FROM DR. MARC LINDNER
March 10, 2020
14 Adar 5780
Dear Sinai Akiba Academy/Sinai Temple Community,
As I am about to begin my tenure as Sinai Akiba Academy’s Head of School, I am overjoyed and grateful. It is a privilege and a responsibility that I do not take lightly, and I am eager to delve into all aspects of the role.
During my two-day visit at the end of January, I was greeted warmly and enthusiastically by everyone I encountered, and I experienced much to give me confidence in the current educational program at Sinai Akiba. I met outstanding teachers, administrators, and clergy. I talked with deeply committed and knowledgeable laypeople. And I was in the midst of students who are already bright and who are gaining tremendously by being at Sinai Akiba. From the kindergarteners who explained their written stories and pictures to the fifth graders who explored how to work with variables, to the eighth-graders who discussed the motivations of Romeo and Juliet, the learning and teaching I witnessed were of very high quality.
Before long, I also saw and felt that I was in a Kehillah Kedoshah, a sacred community, and I learned about its rich and significant history. Part of that history is the school’s core values, which come alive in the student body, and which resonate with me deeply. In addition to Talmud Torah, the academic excellence I described above, I see that the values of Derech Eretz (kindness and empathy) and Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof (ethical responsibility) are of primary importance at Sinai Akiba. This will absolutely continue to be true under my leadership. Furthermore, having returned from Israel just a few weeks ago, I am more compelled than ever to uphold Sinai Akiba’s value of Ahavat Yisrael, love of Israel.
To be sure, the school’s core values are not only for the students--they are for all of us to live and embrace. For me, Avodat Halev, soulful intention, is a beautiful value that holds transformative power. Indeed, it is with soulful intention that I will approach my work at Sinai Akiba, to further develop all that is good, and also to face the school’s current and future challenges. In aggregate, my work as Head of School will be holy work because education is a primary key to a life of progress, choice, opportunity, meaning and purpose. In our case, it is also, literally, a primary key to our future, the future of the Jewish people.
I look forward to my integration into the Sinai Akiba/Sinai Temple community this summer and to getting to know all of you.
With optimism and excitement,
Dr. Marc Lindner
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About Sinai Akiba Academy
Sinai Akiba Academy is a private Jewish day school in Los Angeles, serving students in Early Childhood through Grade 8. We also offer a variety of parenting classes and programs for children through our Parenting Center. A Sinai Temple school.
Notice of Non-Discriminatory Policy As to Students
Sinai Akiba Academy admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.