Whom to Contact

Please refer to this guide when contacting a faculty or staff member at

Joseph & Florence Mandel Jewish Day School: (216) 464-4055.

Speak with your child’s teacher first. Teachers truly know their students and are the best source of information about what’s happening in their particular class or grade. Next, speak with your child’s division director – Abby Berkowitz for Early Childhood; Halle Dubin for the Lower School (K-5); Kim Favor for Middle School (6-8); and Leah Spector for Judaics and Hebrew.

JAY LEBERMAN, Head of School, is responsible for the interpretation and implementation of policy and of the mission of the school, hiring and staff evaluation, and representing the school to its constituents.

LEAH SPECTOR, Principal / Director of Judaics & Hebrew, is responsible for leading the educational leadership of the school, while developing and supervising Mandel JDS's General Studies and Judaics curricula.

KIM FAVOR, Director of Middle School, oversees and administers all aspects of the division’s programs and services in addition to evaluating division staff. Kim is also the Language Arts Department Chair and a Middle School teacher.

HALLE DUBIN, Director of Lower School, oversees and administers all aspects of the division’s programs and services in addition to evaluating division staff. Halle is also a general studies teacher.

ABBY BERKOWITZ, Director of Early Childhood, develops, supervises and evaluates Mandel JDS’s Early Childhood division and evaluates its staff.

GUSSIE SINGER, Director of Intervention Services, is responsible for the supervision and management of Mandel JDS’s Learning Enhancement Team and is the parent liaison for learning services beyond normative classroom instruction.

JANET KEANE, Chief Financial Officer, is responsible for the budgeting process and the school’s overall financial health. She also coordinates the tuition assistance process.

LAURA SIMON, Director of Admission, is responsible for student admissions, recruitment and retention. She is also the school’s parent liaison and will assemble the appropriate staff members to discuss particular issues relating to a student.

KATIE FOSTER, Director of Development, is responsible for all aspects of fundraising for operating expenses, including the school's Annual Fund, fundraising events, endowment planning giving and grant proposals.

ABIGAIL SILVERMAN, Director of Marketing, is responsible for marketing, advertising, public relations, school publications, social media, website, and internal communication.

MARCI COFFMAN, Student Services Coordinator, handles student records, transportation and office operations.

ALI TANNENBAUM, Assistant Director of Development, assists with Development and is in charge of fundraising events such as our annual autcion.

JODI STEWART, Human Resources/Accountant, is responsible for matters related to tuition.

JENNY EMERY, Office Manager, supports Jay Leberman, Leah Spector and Gussie Singer. Please contact her directly to schedule a meeting with Jay.

MARCY SCOLNICK, Morning Receptionist