After eight years as head of school and 45 years teaching at the Hebrew Academy of the Capital District (HACD), educator and administrator Julie Pollack retired at the end of June. 

New Leadership Plan
For the 2023-2024 year, the Board of Trustees decided to have a new executive administrative team to lead the school instead of a single head of school model.

Amarit Rosin, president of the HACD Board of Trustees explains the decision for the new structure.  “We have chosen to adopt a leadership model with multiple roles to ensure that both the educational and organizational needs of the school are met by experts in their specialties” Rosin said.  “This will allow HACD to continue to be a well-run institution, providing excellent Jewish and general studies educations to all students, as we have been for over 60 years.”

SANDRA GOLDMEER

Sandra Goldmeer has been hired as the interim executive director. Goldmeer brings to her position experience in fund-raising, budgeting, board development, and organizational management and over 25 years as a Jewish educator.

While she spent the last seven years working at non-profits such as Susan G. Komen and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, she has decades of experience in Jewish communities. She worked for seven years as a regional youth director for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and spent seven years as the education director at B’nai Sholom in Albany. She has also worked as a day school educator at the Solomon Schechter Day School in Albuquerque, NM, intergenerational director at Menorah Park Center for the Aging in Cleveland, OH, and as education and program director for Temple Beth Emeth in Youngstown, OH. Goldmeer earned a master’s degree in Jewish education and a master’s degree in educational administration from Gratz College in Philadelphia, Penn.

Sharing the role of interim school administrator are Jack Etter and Linda Grimm. 

JACK ETTER

Etter was most recently a superintendent in the Gilboa-Conesville school district, following positions as a principal and other administrative role at schools within NY State. He has served in roles both in and out of the classroom and is an award-winning teacher. Etter earned a master’s of education in educational leadership degree from Bank Street College of Education and a master’s of science in Instructional Technology from New York Institute of Technology. Etter also holds the following New York State Certifications: NYS School District Administration, NYS School Building Administrator, Educational Technology Specialist (K-12), Childhood Education (1-6), and Students with Disabilities (1-6).

LINDA GRIMM

Grimm has a variety of leadership and teaching experiences. She served as the building principal for the Mildred E. Strang Middle School in Yorktown Heights from 2000-2015. Prior administrative experience also includes over 10 years as a high school and middle school assistant principal.  She has also served as district teacher coordinator for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) K-12 and as an ELA/Social Studies Teacher for grades 6-12.  Grimm has taught Hebrew and Jewish studies (after school) for Reform and Conservative Synagogues, and studied Hebrew in Ulpan in Israel. She is also an adjunct professor for the Graduate School of Education at Manhattanville College specializing in pre-service and in-service teacher training for master’s degree in teaching students K-12. 

Looking Forward
Speaking about the new team, Rosin, president of the HACD Board of Trustees said, “We are so excited to have three individuals with so much experience in education and leadership bring their talents to HACD.  I’m confident that we will have a great school year and look forward to starting HACD’s next journey together”