Halpern Akiva Academy, Calgary, Alberta

Head of Jewish Studies

About Halpern Akiva Academy
Halpern Akiva Academy (HAA) is a Preschool to Grade 9 Orthodox Community Day School located in Calgary, Alberta. For the past 40 years, HAA has been committed to providing excellence in Torah and general studies education to students from a variety of backgrounds. We have added a daycare program and our enrollment has grown to just under 100 students, in recent years.
Together with the synagogue, House of Jacob – Mikveh Israel, HAA is at the centre of the Orthodox community in Calgary. Calgary is situated at the foot of the majestic Rocky Mountains and is a city of over 1.3M people, with a Jewish community of approximately 8,500. There are a number of synagogues servicing those across the spectrum of Judaism as well as a mikvah, and kollel. Our community is tight-knit, safe and welcoming.
HAA’s vision is to provide an exceptional education to Jewish children, by instilling Torah values, passion for learning, love for community and respect for self and others. Our unique strengths include an inclusive and supportive school environment, small student-to-teacher ratios, Montessori-inspired childcare, immersive Hebrew language program and a meaningful Jewish education.
https://halpernakiva.ca/
https://hojmi.org/
https://www.jewishcalgary.org/our-community

Head of Jewish Studies – Position
Halpern Akiva Academy is looking for a Head of Judaic Studies. We are looking for an individual who will lead our school into the future and is passionate about Jewish education and instilling Jewish values in our children. Our school represents the diversity of the community and we are looking for an individual that can be responsive to the various needs of our students.
As a senior administrator, the Head of Judaic Studies is charged with the shared responsibility for the administration of the school and the school’s staffing, programs, instruction and services. This role will direct Judaic programming, achieve fundraising goals, supervise staff, manage budgets, and make decisions that affect the school facility. Lastly, the Head of Judaic Studies must be able to cultivate a positive and mutually beneficial relationship with the Principal and vice versa, as both parties have significant roles in improving school life.

Qualifications
▪ Certification in Education or Educational leadership
▪ Mastery of Jewish Texts and outstanding knowledge of Jewish Tradition
▪ Orthodox
▪ Experience with MS Office and education management systems
▪ Key Competencies:
o Proven and effective community leader
o Caring and passionate educator
o Strong communication and interpersonal skills
o Innovative thinker with strong problem solving skills
o Inclusive of those with diverse and differing backgrounds

Job Responsibilities:
▪ Provide administrative leadership and direction, working collaboratively with the Principal to deliver on the schools vision and mission
▪ Lead the Judaics/Hebrew teaching staff by providing instructional support, mentorship and conducting annual teacher evaluations
o Ensure that standards for Judaic and Hebrew Curricula are achieved
o Responsible for the hiring of Judaics and Hebrew Teachers in alignment with the classroom requirements and budget
▪ Actively recruit and focus on retention of students
o Success depends on a robust and consistent student-body, as well as making sure that Halpern Akiva Academy appeals to a wide-range of students of all observance levels.
▪ Responsible to teach, as required, in Judaic/Hebrew studies up to 0.5 FTE
▪ Work in partnership with the HOJMI Rabbi in Halachic matters pertaining to the school
▪ Be an active community leader and ambassador for the school
o Involvement in fundraising activities
o Sit on appropriate Calgary Jewish Community council committees, as requested
o Support the House of Jacob’s Rabbi in youth-related programs and activities
▪ This role is accountable to the HAA board and will be responsible to report on
o Operational, staffing and student updates
o School financial health including budget creation and adherence
o Policy development and implementation
o Fundraising activities

For more information or to apply for this position, please contact Rabbi Heshy Glass at [email protected] or 516.368.3333

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