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Community Corner

Hillel Day School Announces New Leadership

Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit, based in Farmington Hills, is excited to announce two new leadership appointments in time for the start of the new school year.

Melissa Michaelson will assume the position of K-8 principal. She has been a valued member of the Hillel professional staff for the past three years as an outstanding Kindergarten teacher, and this past year as a successful K-4 Division Head. Prior to coming to Hillel, Melissa taught in Bloomfield Hills schools for eight years.

Melissa received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from Indiana University, and received a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and a certificate in Administration from Oakland University.

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“When students walk into the doors of Hillel, no matter the age, I passionately feel that each child will learn to stand tall with confidence and have a feeling of self- identity and contentment.   Through the dedication of our staff and commitment to our core values, I hope that when the students leave the doors of Hillel, they feel challenged critically and creatively and have a connection to Judaism and our community,” said Michaelson.  “As the K-8 principal I look forward to working closely with the staff, students and parents as we embrace change and evolve into an effective professional learning community where we focus on learning and work collaboratively to ensure all children learn at high levels.”

Hillel is also welcoming Dr. Jennifer Lerner Friedman to its staff, where she will serve as Dean of Student Learning and Educational Psychologist. Dr. Friedman has a PhD in Educational Psychology, is a Licensed Psychologist and Certified School Psychologist.

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Dr. Friedman has been working as a school psychologist for 16 years in the Walled Lake Consolidated School District and has had a wide variety of work experiences at all levels. She has significant experience in intervention planning and implementation of differentiated curriculum for students. She will be working with the teachers and administration to maximize the benefits of Hillel’s new team teaching structure that will place two teachers in grades 1-4 classrooms, as well as assisting other teachers with strategies to increase student success. 

“I look very forward to transitioning towards individualizing student growth in a more progressive fashion in the academic and social-emotional domains,” said Friedman.  “I am confident that in creatively reshaping our model that we will develop a wide range of strategies and programming that will meet the individual needs that each student brings to us.  This is an exciting time to be at Hillel, and I relish the opportunity to contribute to our growth as a school community.”

Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit is an ISACS accredited, independent early childhood-through-eighth grade community Jewish day school located in Farmington Hills. 

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