ROSENBERG IS NEW HCSC CEO

NEW YORK – The Hebrew Charter School Center has hired Jonathan Rosenberg – a leader in the education reform, civil rights, and Jewish communities – as the organization’s CEO and President.
Most recently, Rosenberg spent 2012-13 as the Executive Director of ROADS Charter High Schools, which created and supports two public charter high schools in New York City serving over-age, under-credited students, most of whom are juvenile court-involved, in foster care, homeless or in transitional housing, pregnant/ parenting, and/or have special needs.

Rosenberg formerly served as a senior attorney in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights under President Clinton, as Deputy General Counsel of Edison Schools Inc., and as the Executive Director of Roads to Success, a career and college readiness program, before going on to become CEO of Repair the World, a national organization supporting Jewish service-learning programs. Earlier in his career, Rosenberg worked for the Legal Aid Society and The Children’s Aid Society.

“We could not dream of a better leader than Jon Rosenberg to build on the solid foundation our organization has established in the last few years and realize our vision for the Hebrew charter school movement,” said HCSC Board Chair Sara Berman.

“Above and beyond his unmatched mix of applied knowledge and leadership skills, his life’s work – which has been dedicated to promoting educational excellence, equal opportunity, and American pluralism — perfectly personifies the values that animate our movement.”

Rosenberg’s hiring was part of a long-planned expansion for the HCSC leadership team that took effect as of January 1st. Current executive director Aaron Listhaus — who formerly served as the chief academic officer for the NYC Department of Education’s charter school office — is shifting into the role of Executive Director for Education, enabling him to focus his efforts on academic, program and organizational support for schools in the Center’s network as well as on the development of new school planning groups and charter school applications.

Rosenberg, who lives in New Jersey with his wife and two children, will be primarily responsible for expanding the Center’s public profile, partnerships, and funding, while ensuring that its staff and resources are deployed effectively to support the creation and quality of Hebrew language charter schools.

“As someone deeply committed to education as a core civil right, to the potential of meaningful integration to advance understanding and citizenship, and to the vitality of dual language and Israel-focused education, I am both humbled and thrilled at the opportunity to help lead the Center through its next phase of growth and impact,” Rosenberg said.

“I hope to bring my own experiences — as an education reformer and civil rights lawyer, as an advocate for a more just and inclusive society, and as a member of a multiracial family – to bear in helping the Center succeed in expanding its network of diverse, high-achieving schools and exposing more children of all backgrounds to Hebrew language and culture.”

ABOUT HCSC – The Hebrew Charter School Center is dedicated to building a movement of academically rigorous dual-language charter schools across America that teach children of all backgrounds to become fluent and literate in Modern Hebrew and prepare them to be productive global citizens.

CONTACT: Morris Ardoin, 212-792-6235