Rabbi Janet Ozur Bass, a seventh and eighth grade Jewish text teacher at CESJDS, will become the new assistant principal of the middle school for the 2016-2017 school year.

After working at the school for twenty years, Ozur Bass is eager to move beyond her role in the classroom to a new leadership position. As assistant principal of the middle school, she will be working with all of the different departments bringing new ideas to the middle school. She is also excited about the changes that will be introduced in the middle school next year, and to be a part of the team that will put these changes in place.

“New ideas will be coming to the middle school next year … a brand new schedule and a brand new approach to the different classes,” Ozur Bass said.

Freshman Corinne Amewou-Atisso, who was a student in Ozur Bass’ Toshba class last year, said that Ozur Bass taught in a way that suited her learning style. She also thought that Ozur Bass was nurturing toward her students.

When Ozur Bass noticed that Amewou-Atisso’s grades were falling, she quickly started reaching out to her in order to improve her grades.

“By the end of the year, there wasn’t one test I didn’t get 90 percent or higher on,” Amewou-Atisso said.

Ozur Bass’ passion for the middle school will continue from the classroom as she approaches this new position. She wants to focus specifically on what the middle-schoolers will be experiencing. She said that this is when students start to think on a more abstract level, question many of the assumptions they have held since elementary school and start to figure things out on their own.

Despite her excitement for this new position, there are things about the classroom that she will miss. Given her passion for education, it saddens her that she will no longer be spending most of her time in the classroom with her students.

Although Ozur Bass will miss the classroom, Middle School Principal Rebecca Weissman thinks she will be a great fit for the principal position. Weissman said that Ozur Bass rose to the top of the list of candidates as the most qualified person for this job, particularly because of her knowledge and understanding of how middle-schoolers learn best.

Throughout Ozur Bass’ many years of working at the school, Weissman has noticed the how many different leadership roles she has taken on. She said that Ozur Bass “recognizes how important effective learning and skill building is, which is a key part of the middle school experience.”