Head of School Naomi Reem Announces 2019-20 School Year Will Be Her Last at MILTON

By Press Release On Jan 8, 2019

CONTACT: Ronit Greenstein

HEAD OF SCHOOL NAOMI REEM ANNOUNCES 2019-20 SCHOOL YEAR WILL BE HER LAST AT MILTON

– Board of Trustees Embarks on Head of School Search –

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Naomi Reem announced that after 15 years at the helm of the only Jewish day school in the nation’s capital, the 2019-20 school year will be her last at the Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School. After devoting more than 31 years to Jewish day school education, 22 of them as a Head of School, Naomi has determined that she is ready for her next professional experience.

“We have been lucky beyond measure to have had Naomi’s leadership for half of our life as a school. Naomi has nurtured a reflective culture of learning and growth that produced innovation, collaboration, and academic excellence throughout the school,” said Steve Laufer, President of the MILTON Board of Trustees. “Naomi has cultivated an exceptional leadership team, and talented and dedicated faculty and staff, who share her commitment to academic excellence, a rich student experience, and to the school’s warm and inclusive community. Moreover, she has fostered a strong and collaborative partnership between the school’s Leadership Team and the Board of Trustees. MILTON is a strong and vibrant institution, well poised for this transition,” Laufer added.

Gil Preuss, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, remarked “Naomi has helped lead MILTON to be a national model in Jewish Day School education. She has brought together excellent secular and Judaic education with a school culture that elevates the students and their families. I expect this job to be one of the most sought after positions in the country. It has been an honor to partner with Naomi in strengthening the Washington Jewish community.”

“MILTON is the professional and parent community about which most people dream. I am privileged to work every day at a school I love, with talented professionals who I trust, respect, and enjoy, and knowing that together we are making a difference in the lives of students and families, and positively impacting the Jewish future,” Reem reflected. “I am grateful to everyone who makes MILTON such a dynamic, warm, and remarkable school and community, and especially to the MILTON Board of Trustees for their leadership and the trust, support, and friendship they extended to me during my tenure at the school.”

The Board is committed to conducting an open, transparent and comprehensive search for MILTON’s next Head of School. The Board of Trustees has appointed a Search Committee headed by former Board President and long-time Trustee Helaine Greenfeld (Jake Mintz ’07, Abby Mintz ’11) and comprised of a diverse group of current parents, parents of alumni, an alumna of JPDS/MILTON, and a former Head of School with search experience. Learn more about the Search Committee. The Board has also engaged DRG Search, an executive search firm with extensive experience and a successful track record of working with Jewish day schools. Over the next few months, the Search Committee and DRG will be reaching out to all the members of the MILTON family – parents, students, faculty, staff, alumni and their parents, donors and other supporters – to listen to their thoughts about the kind of leader MILTON needs to guide the school into the future. DRG will then help identify the right candidates, who will spend time at school and with the Search Committee. A dedicated Head of School Search webspace has been created to update the community throughout the process.

Naomi first joined the then Jewish Primary Day School of the Nation’s Capital in 2005 following Founding Head of School Susan Koss. Together with the school’s Board and a growing network of generous donors, Naomi and a dedicated team of professionals built upon the school’s earlier successes. They grew the student body, cultivated a talented faculty, developed the academic program, and enhanced the school’s presence in D.C. Jewish life. Working with the late Kay and Robert Schattner, they expanded the school’s physical footprint with the acquisition of the South Campus. Later, with the partnership of the Moses and Gottesman families, they built our amazing new facility and launched the District’s first Jewish middle school in more than 40 years.

“MILTON is one of the most exciting, dynamic, and successful Jewish day schools in the country, and we are confident that our search process will yield the right next Head of School for the 2020-21 school year and this exciting next chapter in the life of the school,” said Helaine Greenfeld, Chair of the Search Committee.

###