WINNIPEG — You might say that Lori Binder, the newly appointed Gray Academy of Jewish Education head of school and CEO, has been in training for her new role for virtually her entire life.
For one, she has been a teacher and administrator at the JK-Grade 12 Winnipeg Jewish day school for the past 19 years.
Before that, she was a student at the school from nursery right through to graduation from Grade 12 at Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate (the former name of the Gray Academy’s high school) in 1991.
“There are teachers still here who were my high school teachers when I was still in school,” said Binder, who officially starts her new job Sept. 1 and had most recently been associate head of school.
Binder said she’s excited about her new role and the opportunity to work with a brand new leadership team, including new principals at the elementary and high school levels, for the 2015-2016 school year.
“We have an amazing staff and are working to strengthen our school for the future,” she says.
Rory Paul, Binder’s predecessor as CEO and head of school, is leaving her and her team with the school in a strong position in terms of growth. While enrolment figures were down significantly in 2014-15 compared to the year before – there was an 18 per cent drop largely because several families moved out of the city – Paul said student retention for next fall is sitting at 92 per cent (he credits new director of admissions, former Torontonian Judy Price-Rosen, who was appointed last fall, for the number), and new students have already enrolled for next year.
“We are getting more new families coming in every day,” he said. “And the students who are returning next year are a solid group. Their parents understand the importance of a Jewish education and are prepared to pay the cost. The fact that we are getting more Winnipeggers registering speaks to their confidence in our staff and programs.”
Paul added that the school’s international program, which enters its sixth year in 2015-16, is also attracting a growing number of students, from Latin America, the United States and western Canada.
Paul himself has been a teacher and education administrator for 40 years. He has been head of school and CEO at Gray Academy for the past 13 years.
Among the highlights of his tenure has been overseeing the school’s accreditation by Canadian Accredited Independent Schools in 2005 (the designation was renewed for a second seven-year period in 2012).
“That accreditation means that Gray Academy ranks as one of the top educational institutions in Canada,” Paul said.
Gray Academy, he adds, is also connected to RAVSAK, an U.S.-based alliance of Jewish day schools in Canada, the United States, Australia and South Africa.
“As a member of RAVSAK, we have been exposed to and been able to learn from North America’s top Jewish schools,” Paul said. “That has helped us to become one of the elite Jewish day schools in North America. Other schools are coming to us now for advice about curriculum and educational practices.”
Most of all, Paul said he has appreciated the opportunity over the past 13 years to work with the school’s outstanding teachers.
Although Binder will be assuming her new role on Sept. 1, Paul won’t be going away so quickly. He’ll remain as head of school emeritus until the end of the year to help with the transition, and he’ll also be doing consulting work with the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools.
