Dr. Mel Isaacs Returns
Dr. Mel Isaccs Is New Principal at Ohav Sholom Hebrew School
Congregation Ohav Sholom, The Merrick-Bellmore Synagogue, is pleased to welcome back Dr. Mel Isaacs, who has re-assumed the role of principal of its Hebrew School.
Dr. Isaacs led the school for over two decades. He retired in 1994 to become the principal of the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County’s Plainview campus. As principal at Ohav Sholom, Dr. Isaacs introduced many creative and exciting programs that impacted on its students and the parent body. Currently we have in the school a second generation of children whose own parents were students under Dr. Isaacs.
The K-7 Hebrew school, under his tutelage, was recognized by the Board of Jewish Education of New York as an outstanding institution and as a leader in the field of supplementary school education. It was his dream to have a Community Hebrew High School for students at all four of the synagogues in Merrick and beyond. This became a reality in 1989 and the school still has a strong community following.
Dr. Isaacs is a graduate of Brooklyn College (BA, MS) and received his Ed.D in Jewish School Administration from Yeshiva University. He retired this past September 30th, 2007, as the educational leader of the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County (HANC), one of Long Island’s oldest and preeminent Jewish day schools.
His primary responsibility as the Director of Education was to oversee the entire curriculum and instructional system at all of HANC’s five campuses for both general and Judaic studies, grades pre-K through twelve. He provided leadership in development and assessment of models and pilot programs designed to increase the effectiveness of the school’s instructional program.
Dr. Isaacs has spent the last 50 years in the fields of both Jewish and secular education. He has served as a classroom teacher, instructor and co-coordinator for the Merrick school district’s gifted program; Talmud Torah principal; day school principal; adjunct professor at the Azrieli Graduate School of Yeshiva University; and Director of Education for the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County.
Additionally, Dr. Isaacs continues to serve as the Long Island Coordinator for the Spelling Bee for both Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
Congregation Ohav Sholom looks forward to continuously developing and strengthening its role as a place of life-long Jewish learning and living. Our school models and reinforces our rich heritage, and together with Dr. Isaacs, will serve as a vital base for community residents looking for a warm, welcoming Jewish environment.
Enrollment is currently under way for the Fall 2008 school year. Membership in the synagogue is never required for enrollment in the school, at any grade level. For more information please call the synagogue office, 378-1988, and visit our website www.ohav.org