New interim head of school named at JCDS

PROVIDENCE – The Jewish Community Day School (JCDS) has hired L. Robert Sarkisian, the headmaster of The Meadowbrook School outside Philadelphia, to a one-year interim position.

Sarkisian served for 28 years at Meadowbrook, the longest tenure of any elementary school head in the country.

“I bring a lot of experience and success in running an excellent, private independent school,” Sarkisian said, sitting down with JCDS Board of Trustees President Bruce Wolpert at The Voice & Herald office to talk about his new job.

Sarkisian’s arrangement is for one year; in the mean time, the school will conduct a search for a more permanent head of school. However, Sarkisian indicated he may be a candidate for the longer term position. “Let’s see how it’s going,” he said.

On Wednesday evening, June 25, JCDS scheduled a reception to introduce Sarkisian to the community.

At that gathering, Wolpert said, he will also announce that recently retired Rabbi Alvan Kaunfer and his wife, Marcia will serve as consultants to the Judaic studies team at the school. For Rabbi Kaunfer, who helped found the school when it was known as the Solomon Schechter School, it’s coming full circle, according to Wolpert. “We’re building a very strong Judiac studies team,” he said. “The Kaunfers will spend at least one day a week at the school.”

Sending a message,loud and clear

Sarkisian, in a confident, direct manner, said that JCDS had hit the ground running. “The school has sent out a message, loud and clear, that we’re serious about being successful,” he said.

With his hiring, Sarkisian continued, the school has brought in a head of school with great experience. “I have the longest tenure of any elementary school head in the country,” he said. “We’re serious about building and making the school as good as we can.”

Sarkisian and his wife, Sally, a former elementary school teacher, have two adult children, Aram and Caitlin, who reside in Pennsylvania and Virginia, respectively. The Sarkisians are in the midst of securing residential accommodations in Providence.

What was most exciting to Sarkisian about the opportunity at JCDS, he said, was “the passion of the people I’ve met about the mission of their school to make a difference in their community.”

During his initial short visit here in Providence, Sarkisian said he has met with the staff and the admissions director, discussing ways to increase enrollment for next year. “Internal marketing is everything, in my book,” he said. “It’s very much about how people perceive the school”.

Sarkisian said he wants to reach out to all parts of the Jewish community. “With my experience, I can help build and stabilize the staff – and make the curriculum as strong as possible – both for Judaic studies and secular studies. This is vital to what Jewish families are looking for in education,” he said.

Wolpert reinforced Sarkisian’s approach about outreach. “One of the things we’re going to make a point of doing is reaching out to our Board of Rabbis and re-establishing those relations,” he said.

In addition, Sarkisian said, he will be working to build the board of trustees of the school. “I know how to work with a board, to point them in the right direction,” he said. “I also know a lot about budgets and how to fund raise. In today’s economy, raising money and finding donors who want to support the school are vital.”

Sarkisian said that he had previously only been to Providence once, when he came and visited a friend at Brown University. Sarkisian, who attend Colgate University as an undergraduate, played third base on the college’s baseball team. “I was not as good as I thought I was,” he said, with a laugh. When asked about his feelings towards the Red Sox, Sarkisian said that he was Philadelphia Phillies fan.

“Don’t worry,” Wolpert interjected. “We’ll convert him.”