After an extensive search, TABC has announced the appointment of Rabbi Shlomo Adelman as the new head of school. Rabbi Adelman is currently the principal of The Hebrew Academy of Nassau County High School (HANC) where he has successfully led the school for the last seven years through a period of growth, increased enrollment and significant improvements to the academic program. Prior to HANC, Rabbi Adelman served in a variety of teaching and administrative roles at Robert M. Beren Academy and The Emery/Weiner School in Houston, Texas. Throughout his tenure there, he developed a successful limudei kodesh program and was promoted to head of the upper school, where he focused on developing a core general studies curriculum.
Rabbi Adelman comes from a family of educators who he says continually instilled the value of Torah learning and education. Both his mother and father were founding principals of yeshiva high schools in New Haven, Connecticut, and from an early age inculcated in him the passion to inspire future generations of scholars, leaders, athletes,and artists, all of whom aspire to be bnei and bnot Torah. His wife, Chany Adelman, is a school psychologist working for the board of education and is also in private practice. Together with their four children, Elisha, Mayer, Adina, and Yonah, they are excited to join the TABC family.
Rabbi Adelman’s strengths and experience in high school administration, collaborative leadership, relationship building, curriculum development and professional development and supervision make him the ideal candidate for TABC. “We are so excited to partner with Rabbi Adelman in building on the strong foundation that TABC has and bring the yeshiva to the next level,” said Azi Mandel, TABC board president.
“Rabbi Adelman’s stellar reputation as a caring, thoughtful and professional educator and mechanech precedes him,” said Mandel, who added that “his years of experience coupled with his excitement and desire to continuously learn, grow and develop all areas of our curriculum, student services and extra-curricular offerings are sure to enhance the four years our boys spend with us and make the TABC experience better than ever.”
Rabbi Adelman is deeply aligned with the core mission and values of TABC, strongly believing and embracing their goal of providing students with a high level of education while instilling within each student the importance of respect, dignity and derech eretz. In keeping with the vision that has been a cornerstone of the yeshiva, he is dedicated to synthesizing Torah values and secular education. Additionally, Rabbi Adelman shares the yeshiva’s approach to ahavat Yisrael as embracing am Yisrael and medinat Yisrael.
The search committee was most impressed by Rabbi Adelman’s proven commitment to the growth and development of each individual student. He believes in the importance of “management by walking around,” promoting a positive school culture and environment for the faculty and students. His core values of commitment to hard work, compassion, integrity, loyalty and humility make him stand out as a true and inspirational leader.
“Rabbi Adelman brings to TABC deep experience in leading Jewish high schools. At two schools, Rabbi Adelman inspired the faculty with a vision that led to improvement in the quality of education,” said Yossi Prager, search committee chair. “In our conversations with faculty, parents and a board member at HANC, we heard that Rabbi Adelman is beloved by both adults and students. Perhaps most impressively, Rabbi Adelman’s leadership style integrates two character traits that are rarely found in the same person: humility and self-confidence. He delegates responsibility yet is comfortable making and standing behind difficult decisions when necessary. He is a talmid chacham and man of impeccable integrity.”
Rabbi Adelman looks forward to connecting with each of the students and forging meaningful relationships with the TABC family. Understanding how critical these four years are for the students, he believes in working with parents and faculty to ensure that each boy can recognize and reach his full potential as a student and a talmid.
Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky, rosh yeshiva at HALB and menahel at DRS High School for Boys, is a fellow educator who knows Rabbi Adelman and has witnessed his remarkable talent engaging students and furthering their development and personal growth. “Kids love Rabbi Adelman because of his warmth, sincerity, integrity and his care for each student,” said Rabbi Kaminetsky. “He is genuine. You can’t fake that, and kids know the difference between who really cares and who is just going through the motions. Faculty respect him for exactly the same reasons.”
“My close friend Rabbi Shlomo Adelman is a mechanech of the highest order. He is a ben Torah, talmid chacham and known for his high level of professional integrity,” said Rabbi Dr. Noam Weinberg, principal of North Shore Hebrew Academy High School. “I have had the opportunity of seeing the way he interacts with his students and I can honestly say that Jewish education is blessed to have someone who cares as much for his students as he does. I am so excited for TABC as they embark on this new era for their yeshiva and talmidim. Ashreichem!
“TABC is very fortunate to secure Rabbi Shlomo Adelman as our next head of school. He is a veteran, experienced leader and educator, a first-class human being and someone whose hashkafa is a perfect fit for our yeshiva,” said Rabbi Yosef Adler, rosh yeshiva.
Torah, academics, brotherhood and community—four principles that TABC embodies and Rabbi Adelman believes can be approached simultaneously, thereby propelling the school forward to even greater heights. He looks forward to leading the yeshiva into the next decade with enthusiasm, energy and dedication.
By Andrea Nissel
