By: Abby Kass ’27
Well… it’s not September, but you’re still reading a new faculty article. At this point, you probably know most of the new faculty that joined TLS this year, but you may not know how they’ve been doing since the beginning of the school year. Keep reading to get a sneak peek into how your new teachers have been adjusting to the new school year!
Rabbi Chana Borow, a new Talmud teacher, just recently became ordained in June. One of her biggest motivations, you may be asking? Her 91-year-old grandmother who still teaches weekly Tanakh classes. Borow’s own devotion to Talmud is clear: “I LOVE helping people connect with Torah and Judaism and for me, learning Torah was a path to becoming more connected to Judaism as a religion and the Jewish people,” Borow said. “I also think learning Talmud is just fun!”
Borow feels that the adjustment has been good overall, she says, “new things are always hard, and I feel very grateful to be a part of a school where both the teachers and students are so friendly and welcoming!”
Switching from the world of Talmud to the world of science, Dr. Todd Romoff, more commonly known as “DTR”, is a new TLS science teacher. Romoff, who completed his Ph.D in organic chemistry at UCSD, is an accomplished scientist (and musician!) and excited about “bringing the benefit of my real-world science experience to my students.”
Romoff is especially excited about teaching his students how to take on problems in today’s scientific world with an adaptive mindset. But, above all, Romoff says “one of the best parts of Leffell for me is the opportunity to reconnect with my Judaism, as I’ve been without a Jewish community in my life for many years.”
Although Romoff has had a lot of musical experience, the actual new music teacher at TLS is Dr. Damon Postle. Postle completed his training at the University of Georgia, and his extensive travel experiences have nurtured and contributed to his appreciation for music.
Postle feels as though the transition to TLS has been smooth and gives a nice anecdote to his hopes for the school year. “I’m a West Coast guy from Seattle,” Postle said. “Things are a bit more laid back out West, so I’m hoping to give my students space to explore new musical ideas in a safe environment. My philosophy has always been a quote from Nirvana – who I skipped school in the 8th grade to see perform – that I adapted for teaching: ‘Welcome to music, come as you are’.”
Moving away from the music room and over to the deanery, Melissa Frankel is the new 10th-grade dean. Frankel is an alumna of TLS, and her own experiences at TLS helped her to realize why she wanted to go down a psychology and education pathway.
“I give so much credit to the WISE program for my career path!”, Frankel said. “I had the amazing opportunity to complete my WISE project at a Head Start Preschool through Family Centers in Connecticut. I loved working in the preschool classroom so much that I then earned my BS in Elementary School Teaching and Psychology, with a minor in Children’s Studies. After teaching 4th grade, I had a desire to work with children and their families outside of the classroom. I then earned a Master’s in Social Work from Columbia University. Now, here I am!”
Frankel is ultimately excited to connect with her students and become reimmersed in a community that she grew up in.
Also an alumna of the school, English teacher Brianna Gitnik, who transitioned from the lower school to the high school, is similarly excited about connecting with her students.
“I hope to be a supporter, cheerleader, and fellow learner alongside my students,” Gitnik said. “I also love that every day brings something a little different, which keeps teaching exciting and rewarding!”
In regard to her transition from the lower school, Gitnik has been able to see a community so close to her in a new light: “One of the most exciting parts of moving to the Upper School has been seeing the K–12 experience from a new perspective,” Gitnik said. “Having spent so many years in the Lower School, I have a new appreciation for how the skills and relationships built in those early years continue to develop as students get older.”
We would also like to wish a bruchim ha’baim to Hebrew teacher Einav Dahaman-Frumess, who transitioned from the middle school to the high school, math teacher Elliot Reichman, Spanish teacher Luis Diaz, Constitutional Law teacher David Gilberg, Talmud leave replacement Rabbi Elliot Goldberg, Tanakh leave replacement Rabbi Jamie Kuperman-Schwartz, and history teacher Zoe Tashlik. We’re so excited for the school year together!
