TORAH ACADEMY GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL
FACULTY PROFILE
5768
2007-2008
Rabbi Baruch Lichtenstein, Principal Girls' High School
Rabbi Lichtenstein is a
musmach of Yeshiva Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. He holds a
B.S. Degree in biology from The City College of New York (CCNY) and a Masters Degree in School Administration from Teachers College of Columbia University. He also holds state certification as a secondary school principal. His more than 3 decades of experience in Jewish education include teaching and administrative assignments on both the elementary and high school levels.
LIMUDEI KODESH STAFF
Mrs. Rachel Biberfeld
Mrs. Biberfeld earned her teacher's certificate from Beth Jacob Seminary in Jerusalem. She also holds a B.A. Degree in English from Rutgers University. Mrs. Biberfeld has had many years of teaching experience in schools across the country, in both Secular and Judaic Studies. She has taught Historia, Navi, and Chumash as well as Writing and SAT Prep at Torah Academy. This year Mrs. Biberfeld is teaching Be'ur Tefilla, Neviim Rishonim, and Mishlei in grade 10, Historia in grade 11, and Tehillim/Mishlei and Chumash Bekius in grade 12. She is also the eleventh grade Mechaneches (advisor).
Rabbi Yechiel Biberfeld
Rabbi Biberfeld is the Rosh Kollel of the Philadelphia Community Kollel. He is a musmach of Beth Medrash Gavoha of Lakewood, and is a noted speaker and author. He teaches Machsheves Yisroel (Jewish Philosophy) to the 12th Grade at Torah Academy Girls' High School.
Rabbi Dov Brisman
Rabbi Brisman attended Yeshiva Ohr Elchonon in Los Angeles, Yeshiva Ner Israel in Baltimore, Mirrer Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and Beth Medrosh Govoha of Lakewood. He has Semicha Yoreh Yoreh Yadin Yadin from leading Halachic authorities, including Rabbi Shneur Kotler. The Rabbi of Young Israel of Elkins Park and member of the Philadelphia Beth Din, Rabbi Brisman is the author of several scholarly works of Chiddushei-Torah, Halacha and Hashkafa. Rabbi Brisman is Segan Rosh Beis Din and chairman of publications for the Rabbinical Alliance of America. Rabbi Brisman teaches 9/10 honors Halacha and 11/12 standard Halacha at Torah Academy Girls' High School.
Mrs. Sarah Leah Greenspan
Mrs. Greenspan received her teaching certificate at Bnos Chava Seminary in Jerusalem. She earned a B.A. degree in Psychology, with a concentration in Education, at Touro College, and an M.S. degree in Special Education at Adelphi University. Mrs. Greenspan has taught in a number of schools in New York, in both regular and special education settings, and was responsible for educational administration and education evaluation at the Yeled V'Yalda Early Childhood Center. Mrs. Greenspan teaches Chumash in grades 10, 11, and 12 and a foundations Math class in grades 11 & 12. She is also the Coordinator for Students with Special Needs at TAGHS.
Mrs. Miriam Kamenetsky
Mrs. Kamenetsky earned her teacher's degree from Bais Yaakov Seminary in New York. A veteran teacher with many years of experience, she has taught Chumash in Torah Academy for the last 12 years. In addition to teaching 9/10 and 11/12 Honors Chumash, Mrs. Kamenetsky is the mechaneches (advisor) for the entire 9th grade class. Mrs. Kamenetsky is also the coach of our Torah Bowl team, a group of Torah learning enthusiasts that competes in the Inter-school Torah Bowl league.
Miss Sora Mandelbaum
Miss Mandelbaum earned her teacher's certificate from Beth Jacob Seminary in Jerusalem. Over the past five years, she has taught Chumash, Navi, Tehillim, and Parsha in Torah Academy. This year Miss Mandelbaum is teaching standard 9/10 and 11/12 Chumash classes. Miss Mandelbaum holds an A.A. degree in Business and is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in accounting from Temple University.
Rabbi Avraham Steinberg
A musmach of Yeshiva Shaar HaTorah of Queens, as well as the Machon LeTorah UleHora'ah of Brooklyn, Rabbi Steinberg served previously as Assistant
Rabbi at Congregation Ohab Zedek on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and is currently the Rabbi of the Young Israel of the Main Line. A graduate of Touro College with a B.A. degree in Psychology, Rabbi Steinberg is the author of The Year in Drashos, and of a Hebrew sefer on Hilchos Niddah. He teaches 9/10 standard Halacha, 11/12 honors Halacha, and Shmuel Bais to grade 12 at TAGHS.
Mrs. Lieba Sturman
A graduate of Bais Yaakov Seminary, Mrs. Sturman brought years of teaching experience with her when she came to Torah Academy. She has been teaching at TAGHS for more than ten years. Mrs. Sturman teaches Neviim Achronim in grades 9-12, and is the mechaneches (advisor) for the 10th grade.
Mrs. Devorah Svei
Mrs. Svei is a graduate of the Beth Jacob Teachers Seminary in New York and taught in the Bais Yaakov educational system. Mrs. Svei has been on the staff of the Torah Academy Girls High School since its inception, teaching Melachim Bais in grade 9 and Historia in grade 12.
Ms. Sarah Pnina Wachs
A dynamic addition to the TAGHS teaching staff, Ms. Wachs is a graduate with honors from TAGHS. After a year of seminary at Bnos Chava, Yerushalayim, Ms. Wachs returned to her alma mater with her teacher's certificate in hand. She holds a BA in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Communications Sciences and Disorders (Speech). She is presently enrolled in a Masters Degree program in the same field. A talented teacher, Ms. Wachs' enthusiastic approach to her students' progress generates a close relationship with students of her ninth grade Machshava class.
GENERAL STUDIES STAFF
Mrs. Sharyn Chase
Mrs. Chase received a B.A. degree in Physics from Brandeis University, and an M.S. degree in Physics and Astronomy from Northwestern University. She has taught Physics on both the high school and college levels, and has taught Astronomy at the college level. Mrs. Chase brings Astronomy alive in the 11th grade.
Mrs. Carol Davidoff
Mrs. Davidoff is from Johannesburg, South Africa, where she graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand with a B.S. in Mathematics and Chemistry and an H. Ed. in Mathematics and Science Education. She has taught previously at both public and private schools in South Africa and Philadelphia. She began teaching at Torah Academy in September 1999. At TA, she has been responsible for teaching all levels of mathematics from Pre-Algebra to Calculus in grades 7 through 12. Currently she teaches only at Torah Academy Girls High School. She thoroughly enjoys interacting with the students at the school and finds their attitudes both positive and refreshing.
Mrs. Rhonda deGategno
Mrs. deGategno holds a B.A. in English Education from the University of South Carolina and an M.A. in English from Pennsylvania State University. She holds teaching certificates in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and North Carolina and is a National Board Certified Teacher in Adolescent/Young Adult English/Language Arts. With 12 years of high school teaching experience, Mrs. deGategno comes to us from Dover High School in Dover, Delaware, where she taught Standard, Honors, and Advanced Placement English courses. She teaches Standard and Honors English in grades 9-12, as well as 8th Grade Language Arts to the boys and girls in the Torah Academy Middle School.
Mrs. Chani Elbaum
Mrs. Elbaum joins the TAGHS staff this year as the Ivrit teacher for grades 9-12. She earned her teaching degree from Stern College Yehsiva University Teacher Institute for women in New York. Mrs. Elbaum also received a Morah Mousmacht license from the Israel Ministry of Education. She has taught Ivrit and Limudei Kodesh for many years in both the United States and in Israel.
Mrs. Cheryl Epstein
Mrs. Epstein earned her B.A. degree in History at Harvard University, and an M.S. degree in Social Work at Columbia University. Mrs. Epstein has taught for many years at Torah Academy, and has worked as an Educational Consultant at the Auerbach Central Agency for Jewish Education. Mrs. Epstein teaches A.P. (Advanced Placement) United States History in grades 10 and 11, and a 12th grade course in Holocaust Studies and Modern Israel. She is also the 12th grade Mechaneches(advisor), responsible for college and seminary guidance.
Mrs. Khana Globman
Mrs. Globman is a graduate of City College of New York, with a B.A. degree in English and Education, and a Master's degree in English literature. She studied at the doctoral level at Bar Ilan University, where she also taught English literature and English as a Second Language. Mrs. Globman has, for many years, served as President of P'TACH of Philadelphia. She has worked as a Coordinator of Special Needs Services and a Resource Room Teacher at Politz Hebrew Academy and now at Torah Academy Girls' High School.
Mrs. Hannah Hamermesh
Mrs. Hamermesh is a graduate of Yale University, where she completed a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and received Teaching Certification in Music. She has been teaching music for more than ten years in Jewish schools and at Sally's Music Circle and the Settlement Music School. This is Mrs. Hamermesh's 6th year at Torah Academy, where she teaches Music Appreciation in the elementary school, and to the 10th grade at TAGHS.
Mrs. Mira Korn
Mrs. Korn is a graduate of Hebrew University in Jerusalem where she earned a B.A. in Hebrew Literature and Philosophy. She has been teaching Hebrew in the Philadelphia area for the last six years and currently teaches in the adult Hebrew school of Gratz college and at a local synagogue. This is Mrs. Korn's second year teaching Hebrew in TAGHS.
Mrs. Sandy Kornhauser
Mrs. Kornhauser graduated from Washington University with a B.S in economics, and from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S.E. in Civil Engineering with a concentration in Landscape Architecture. She taught in the Torah Academy elementary school for 13 years and is in her fourth year teaching in the high school. Currently, Mrs. Kornhauser is teaching the art elective classes in 9th and 10th grade.
Mrs. Shira Kupfer
Mrs. Shira Kupfer is a graduate of Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University. As a Yeshiva University Distinguished Scholar and Joseph S. Gruss Life Monument Scholar, she concentrated her studies in the Pre-Health Sciences earning a B.A. degree in Biology. Mrs. Kupfer is certified by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a private school teacher of biology and chemistry. Now in her 5th year at Torah Academy, Mrs. Kupfer teaches the Standard and Honors level courses in 9/10 grade Chemistry, as well as the 11/12 AP Chemistry class.
Mr. Leib Meadvin
Mr. Meadvin is a graduate of Rutgers University, CCAS, where he earned a B.A in Fine Art, and of Temple University, where he earned an M.A. in Mathematics. Mr. Meadvin has taught for 6 years at Temple University and has tutored middle and high school students from pre-algebra to calculus. In his third year at TAGHS, Mr. Meadvin teaches 9th grade Honors Geometry, 10th grade Geometry, 11th grade Pre-Calculus, and 12th grade Functions and Computer Graphics.
Mrs. Brendy Siev
Mrs. Siev is a graduate of Bnos Chava Teacher's Seminary in Jerusalem and of Barnard College, where she earned undergraduate degrees in English and Biology. Prior to joining the Torah Academy Girls' High School Faculty in 2003, Mrs. Siev taught English at Reenas Bais Yaakov High School, and worked as a writer in the fields of journalism and public relations. She has also been involved in developing literature textbooks for Orthodox Jewish high schools, in conjunction with Textword Press. Mrs. Siev teaches Standard English 11, Honors English 10, and A.P. English in the 12th grade. In addition, Mrs. Siev spearheads P.R. and marketing for TAGHS.
Mrs. Lauren Somers
Mrs. Ettie Wachs
Mrs. Wachs is the Guidance Counselor for the Girls' High School. A licensed Clinical Social worker, Mrs. Wachs attended Michlalah Jerusalem College for Women, received her B.A degree in Jewish Studies and Social Work from Stern College for Women, and earned a Master's degree in Social Work (MSW) at Wurzweiler School of Social Work of Yeshiva University. She received additional training in the Extern Program in Family Therapy at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Center. Mrs. Wachs has many years of experience as a psychotherapist, working with individuals, couples, families, children, and adolescents. She has also been a visiting lecturer for the Eitz Chaim Center for Jewish Studies. In addition to her role as Guidance Counselor, Mrs. Wachs teaches a senior course in A.P. Psychology.
