Dear Berman Community,
We are thrilled to introduce Rabbi Allan Houben as our new Upper School Principal. Rabbi Houben will join our administrative team this summer.
In our search for an Upper School Principal, our priorities were to hire someone who will execute on our vision of academic excellence and religious inspiration, preparing our students to graduate as religiously committed Jews and citizens of the world. In addition, our Principal will continue to develop our faculty, and partner with the other divisions to ensure seamless transitions. After an extensive, international search and interview process involving all of our stakeholders, facilitated by Scott Goldberg Consulting, Rabbi Houben emerged as the perfect candidate to lead our Upper School division in all of these areas.
Rabbi Houben currently serves as the High School Judaic Studies Principal at the Atlanta Jewish Academy (AJA), an Early childhood – 12th grade Modern Orthodox Day School. He holds a B.A. in Psychology from Yeshiva College, an M.S. in Education from Azrieli Graduate School of Education, and Smicha from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS). He participated in the inaugural YU Lead (now YOU Lead) leadership training program and has since served as a cohort mentor and unit facilitator. He has taught professional development courses through Yeshiva University and Prizmah including: Classroom Innovation in the Judaic Classroom, Revitalizing Jewish Education with Project-Based Learning, From Teacher to Leader, and Furthering Your Career. Rabbi Houben was chosen to be a member of the 2018 Avi Chai sponsored cohort at the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Improving Schools: The Art of Leadership and Cohort 11 of DSLTI- The Day School Leadership Training Institute.
Before coming to AJA, Rabbi Houben spent three years as an Assistant Principal at SAR High School in Riverdale, NY and nine years at the Weinbaum Yeshiva High School (now Katz Yeshiva High School) in Boca Raton, Florida, where he served as a Judaic Studies Teacher and Assistant Director of Student Activities. As a member of the Boca Raton Community Kollel, from 2005-2007, he served as the spiritual leader of the Elinore Lome z”l Explanatory Minyan and lectured as part of the Boca Raton Synagogue Adult Education Program.
Rabbi Houben spent 11 summers at Camp HASC in Parksville, New York, most recently as the Director of Recreational Programming, retiring after the 2015 summer. He is an Eagle Scout, a passionate Boston sports fan, and has completed two ING Miami Half-Marathons.
I want to take this opportunity to thank Scott Goldberg for his thorough and extensive work. I also want to thank the Upper School leadership team for committing their time to screen and interview candidates. Lastly, I want to thank you, our community, for your patience and support throughout this process of finding our next Upper School Principal.
We will create opportunities for parents, teachers, and our community to connect with Rabbi Houben in the coming months. We look forward to welcoming Rabbi Houben, his wife, Lisa, and their four daughters to our Berman community this coming summer. Please join me in showing them a warm welcome.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Dr. Yossi Kastan Head of School
