Local heads of school gain insight at Prizmah Conference
'Sometimes you need to leave the four walls of a classroom to see the bigger picture'
Two local school leaders made new connections and saw Pittsburgh through the prism of the larger Jewish world thanks to a national conference.
Based in Houston, the Prizmah Head of School Retreat enabled Yikara Levari, Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh’s principal and educational director, and Casey Weiss, Community Day School’s head of school, to learn alongside more than 100 Jewish educators. Topics covered at the biennial gathering included approaching difficulties with nuance and intention, grappling with artificial intelligence and wrestling with affordability.
“What was fascinating to me is that no matter the size of the school — the religious observance level, the demographic, the area, location — we’re all going through pretty much the same challenges,” Levari said.
Prizmah, a New York-based organization, serves as a network for North American Jewish day schools and yeshivas. The organization offers conferences for Jewish day school staff and heads of school on alternating years.
Levari said that Weiss and Dan Kraut, Hillel’s CEO, encouraged her to attend the Feb. 1-3 retreat; and though she’d previously participated in Prizmah, this was her first time with the group since being named Hillel’s principal in November.
“What I found there was so much support and networking and validation,” Levari said.
Weiss said that one of the reasons she encouraged Levari to attend was because of the organization’s ability to foster connection and growth.
“Head of school work is a niche role, and, at times, a very lonely one,” Weiss said. “Being in genuine fellowship with other heads, learning together, thinking aloud and grappling honestly with the complexities of this work has been invaluable.”
Before officially taking the reins of CDS, Weiss attended Prizmah’s heads of school retreat in 2024.
That experience, along with traveling to last year’s Prizmah National Conference with fellow CDS administrators, “shaped how I entered this role and how I continue to grow in it,” she said. “Prizmah has become a meaningful professional home for me.”
While Levari and Weiss expanded their networks, the two ensured Pittsburgh was well represented. In conversations with others, Levari and Weiss frequently shared the realities of Jewish life in western Pennsylvania.
“I felt really proud of our Pittsburgh representation. People knew Pittsburgh,” Levari said.
As much as the Pittsburghers shared a communal story nationally, they also spent time developing local approaches.
“We are both female heads of school. And even though our schools are different, we have a lot of the same challenges,” Levari said.
It’s a partnership that’s cherished, Weiss said. “Being in relationship with peers who truly understand the role is something I do not take for granted.”
Now back in Pittsburgh, Levari and Weiss’ goals remain the same: aid students, promote learning and effectuate communal growth.
Those responsibilities are born not only by the two participating Pittsburgh educators, but Jewish day school leaders around the country, according to Paul Bernstein, Prizmah’s CEO. “Heads of school are at the forefront of ensuring we have excellent, growing and increasingly affordable schools,” he said. “In a complex world with many challenges, they carry the burden of ensuring the success of each school, creating the best environments for their students, faculty and the entire school community.”
Having traveled to Houston, the mission appears ever clearer, Levari said. “Sometimes you need to leave the four walls of a classroom to see the bigger picture.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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