Now Enrolling Grades 9 & 10
Now Enrolling Grades 9 & 10
Now Enrolling Grades 9 & 10
Faculty
Stefanie DeLeo Christian
Lead English and History Teacher
Stefanie DeLeo Christian holds a Bachelor's in Theatre and History from Eastern Nazarene College and a Master's in Educational Theatre from New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
She is a playright with the New England Entertainment Digest and has served as an educational specialist for the Peace Corps. She has taught grades 6-12 history and drama for more than 10 years.
Christopher Lundgren
Lead History and Science Teacher
Christopher Lundgren earned a B.A. in Biology and M.A. in Religion from the University of Chicago, an M.Div from Yale University, and an M.A in History from the University of Virginia.
Christopher has two decades of teaching experience mainly in private and public high schools, as well as in the college classroom. He has taught World and U.S. history, government, economics, and religion. He has extensive experience advising Youth in Government and Model UN, coaching soccer, and as a karate instructor. For the College Board he serves as a consultant for other AP teachers, and is an exam reader.
Sarah Roth
Head of School
Sarah Roth holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan, an M.A. from Brandeis University, and a Ph.D from Northwestern University, all in English Literature (with minors in History and Women's & Gender Studies). Before coming to Kehilla, she served as Upper School Director at Columbia Independent School in Missouri and as Director of Faculty at Beacon Academy outside Chicago and has also taught various subjects at Northwestern University, Ida Crown Jewish Academy, and Title I schools in Virginia and Mississippi.
Michael Shulman
Human Geography, Ethics
Michael Shulman holds a Bachelor's in History from Georgetown University, a M.Ed. from Xavier University, and completed his rabbinic studies at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati.
He is the Director of Education and Next Generation Programming at the Temple Congregation Ohabai Shalom. He has written numerous curricula for religious school, taught adult education classes, and collaborated on the creation of the prayer book, Avodat Ha-Lev.
Joshua Smith
Lead Math and Science
Mr. Josh comes to Kehilla with twelve years of experience working in education. He has worked as a teacher and in leadership positions at both public and charter schools in Nashville and beyond.
Mr. Josh has served in leadership roles including Math Specialist/Instructional Coach and Dean of Students/Assistant Principal and, in addition, has his real estate license and will be able to offer a real estate elective for any interested students.
Saul Strosberg
Jewish Studies
Saul Strosberg holds a Bachelor's from Yeshiva University and received his ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, following studies at Hebrew University and Yeshivat Ateret Kohanim, in Jerusalem.
He is the founder of Jewish Middle School of Nashville, president and member of the steering committee of the International Rabbinic Fellowship, a board member of Yeshivat Maharat, an AIPAC rabbinic mentor. director of the Nashville Kosher Commission, and the rabbinic coordinator for the Nashville eruv.
Joseph Tepperman
Talmud
Joseph Tepperman is an engineer and writer. He got his PhD in 2009 from USC, and he's taught automatic speech recognition there and UC Boulder. His short stories have appeared in places like Atticus Review and the Best Small Fictions anthology. He's also the author of thirty research papers and three patents. The Los Angeles Times called him "a mash-up of Gertrude Stein and Lewis Carroll." He lives in Nashville with his wife, Ariana.
Adjunct Faculty
Jenny Cheng
AP Government
Jenny Cheng holds a B.A. in philosophy from Swarthmore College, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan.
She is a lecturer in law at Vanderbilt University Law School where she teaches Education and Family Law. She received a Hall-Hartman Outstanding Professor Award for excellence in teaching in 2019.
Ed Cheng
Intro to American Law
Ed Cheng holds a B.S.E. from Princeton University, a M.Sc. from the London School of Economics and Political Science, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and a Ph.D. in statistics from Columbia University.
He is the Hess Chair in Law at Vanderbilt University Law School where he teaches Evidence, Life of the Law, and Torts. He has won the Hall-Hartman Award for excellence in teaching seven times.
Julia Phillips Cohen
Modern Jewish History
Julia Phillips Cohen holds a B.A. in Spanish from the University of California, Davis, and Ph.D. in Modern Jewish History from Stanford University.
She is an Associate Professor of Modern Jewish Studies and Associate Professor of History at Vanderbilt University. She is the author of Becoming Ottomans: Sephardi Jews and Imperial Citizenship in the Modern Era which won numerous awards. and , Cohen is also co-editor of Sephardi Lives: A Documentary History, 1700-1950 with Sarah Abrevaya Stein, which won a 2014 National Jewish Book Award.
Zachary Ebin
String Ensemble, Talmud
Zachary Ebin holds a B.A. in Music and M.A. in Musicology from Brandeis University, an M.M .from the Boston Conservatory in Violin Performance, and a Ph.D. in Musicology from York University.
He is the Director of the Suzuki Program at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, the founder of the Silent Voices Project, and the founder of Arco Violini.
Ron Heady
Founding Principal
Ron Heady is a veteran high school and middle school lead teacher, with over 40 years experience in Nashville and beyond, and is a sought after educator in the field of PBL (project based-learning), diffirentiated learning, progessive assessment, and English language arts.
Ron helped launch the Jewish Middle School of Nashville in 2015. In his spare time, he volunteers with Common Ground Nashville, Nashville Organized for Action and Hope, and the national organization, Braver Angels.
Jack Holloway
Athletic Director
Jack Holloway holds a B.A.S. in Psychology from The University of the South (Sewanee). He is an Eagle Scout and was named to the Southern Athletic Association's (SAA) Academic Honor Roll as a member of the Sewanee Men's Basketball Team. He was also selected to represent Sewanee as a member of the SAA's All-Sportsmanship Team, an honor that places special emphasis on good sportsmanship, great character, and fair play among all competitors.
He is the basketball coach for the Jewish Middle School of Nashville.
Moshe Hovav
Hebrew Language
With his B.A. and M.A. in Psychology, Moshe has many interests;” I love birdwatching(!), darwing and painting, potography, aquascaping, and cookingand I speak a little German”. When speaking of teaching Moshe says: “I love languages and interactions with people”.
Christina Karageorgou-Bastea
Spanish
Christina Karageorgou-Bastea is Associate Professor of Spanish, at Vanderbilt University, where she teaches Hispanic Literatures and Cultures: She specializes in contemporary literature from Mexico and Spain, with an emphasis in contemporary Jewish Mexican poets. She is the author of Beyond Intimacy. Radical Proximity and Justice in Three Mexican Poets. (McGill-Queen’s University Press. 2023). Creación y destrucción del Imperio: nombrar en Tirano Banderas de Valle-Inclán. (Madrid: Ediciones Clásicas/Minnesota University Press, 2013), and Arquitectónica de voces: Federico García Lorca y el Poema del cante jondo. (México: El Colegio de México, 2008), as well as of numerous essays, published in academic journals. She has held invited professorships in Mexico, Spain, and Israel. She is excited to teach Spanish at Kehilla High School.
Ariana Kaufman
Improv, Drama
Ariana Kaufman is a method-trained actor, comedian, and horse whisperer. She starred in a thriller that premiered on the Dr. Drew show and played in a horror film starring Fred Armisen and Alyssa Limperis. She had a variety show with John Ennis and Ron Lynch which was performed monthly at the Steve Allen Theater in Los Angeles. Her newest film will be showing on Apple TV in Spring 2024. When she is not acting she works with horses who have been abused. She is currently starting a 200-hour training in wildlife rehabilitation.
Shaul Kelner
Sociology
Shaul Kelner holds a dual B.A. in Political Communication and Judaic Studies from George Washington University, and a M. Phil. and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the City University of New York, which he attended as a Wexner Graduate Fellow.
He is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt University and the author of Tours That Bind: Diaspora, Pilgrimage and Israeli Birthright Tourism which was awarded the 2010 Jordan Schnitzer Book Award.
Andrew Spieker
AP Calculus
Andrew Speiker holds a B.S in Mathematics from Northeastern University, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Biostatistics from the University of Washington. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, while also an Associate Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics.
He is an Assistant Professor of Biostatistics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.