STAMFORD – Rachel Levitt Klein Dratch has been named the next Head of School of Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy (BCHA), it was announced recently by the school’s President David Pikoff and Chairman of the Board of Incorporators Bob Zitter. 

Mrs. Dratch will take over as head of the Stamford Jewish day school, which is open to students in preK through grade 12, in August 2021. She succeeds Jacqueline Herman who is stepping down as head of school after 10 years of service.

“When Jackie Herman told us of her plan to retire as Bi-Cultural’s Head of School, we knew how difficult it would be to find the right person to fill her shoes,” wrote Mr. Pitkoff and Mr. Zitter in a letter to the Bi-Cultural community announcing Mrs. Dratch’s appointment. “Under Jackie’s stewardship for the past 10 years, BCHA has developed and thrived as a school known for its warmth and academic excellence. It is with great pleasure that we announce that after a 15-month national search, we have found just that person – Rachel Levitt Klein Dratch.”

Mrs. Dratch currently serves as director of Educational Innovation at Prizmah – The Center for Jewish Day Schools. A national network for Jewish day schools and yeshivas headquartered in New York, at Prizmah Mrs. Dratch was charged with training and mentoring heads of school and senior administrators in day schools throughout the country.

Prior to that, she served as director of Student Life and Israel Guidance at Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community Day School in Baltimore, Maryland; as High School Dean of Students and Lower School Assistant Principal at the Berman Hebrew Academy in Rockville, Maryland. She also served in various administrative capacities at several other day schools throughout the country, among them the Maimonides School and the Rabbi Soloveitchik Institute, both in Brookline, Massachusetts, Ramaz Upper School in Manhattan, and Frisch High School in New Jersey. 

A graduate of Stern College with a BA in Judaic Studies, Mrs. Dratch holds an MA  in Jewish Education from the Azrielli Graduate School for Jewish Education and Administration of Yeshivah University.

Although she will officially come on board at BCHA this summer, according to Mr. Pitkoff and Mr. Zitter, Mrs. Dratch will soon relocate to Stamford with her husband, Rabbi Mark Dratch, and will spend time in the spring working with Mrs. Herman becoming acquainted with students, parents, faculty and prospective families, in order to insure a smooth and seamless transition. 

“I am honored and excited to be appointed the new Head of School for Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy. Building upon the vision and success of Mrs. Jackie Herman and Mr. Shuchatowitz,” said Mrs. Dratch. “I look forward to working with the schools’ administrative team, teachers, staff, students, parents, friends, and community members, to prepare our students for the 21st century challenges we may not even imagine yet. As Jews, American citizens and devoted community members who share responsibility and care for our world, graduates of BCHA will be prepared for tomorrow and beyond with strong Jewish identities and knowledge, skills and deep understanding how to navigate the work based on Jewish values, living lives of excellence, curiosity , joy and respect imbuing all we do.”  

For now, Mrs. Dratch is preparing to move to Stamford.

“We look forward to Mrs. Dratch joining the Bi-Cultural family and our community. Over the coming months we will be arranging opportunities for her to meet members of our school and community,”  wrote Mr. Pitkoff and Mr. Zitter.

“As for our beloved Jackie Herman,” they added, “we look forward to honoring her at our annual Gala on February 28, 2021 with the first ever Walter Shuchatowitz Award for Excellence in Education, as we celebrate all she has done and meant to Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy.”