Rabbi Avi Pekier
Head of School
Rabbi Avi Pekier has joined Torah Day School after more than two decades working in elementary and high school. Coming from Milwaukee, Rabbi Pekier has more than a decade of teaching 6 – 8th grade, and has taught at all levels of high school at WITS Yeshiva.
Rabbi Pekier is a passionate believer in doing whatever it takes to help a student succeed, and has initiated many programs to help bring excitement to the school environment.
Chana Ruderman, Ph.D.
Principal
Dr. Ruderman has been involved in the administration of TDSD since the school’s opening in 2003, serving as Academic Dean until 2017 when she became its Principal. She earned her doctoral degree from the University of Chicago’s interdisciplinary Committee on Social Thought, specializing in English literature. Dr. Ruderman also has a master’s degree in Education from the University of North Texas, specializing in gifted and talented instruction and in student assessment. She holds a B.A. Magna Cum Laude in history from Carleton College. Dr. Ruderman has published a book on the novels of Jane Austen, and a contribution to an anthology on literature and politics. Previous to TDSD, she taught at Colgate University, Cornell University, Yavneh Academy and Akiba Academy and has worked as a curriculum consultant.
Rabbi Deon Nathan
CFO & COO
Rabbi Deon Nathan joined the professional staff of TDSD in 2017 after serving for 3 years as a member of its Board of Trustees. A Dallas native, Rabbi Nathan brings a unique, community-focused perspective to the school. In addition to being a certified Mohel, Sofer STAM, Shochet, and Mashgiach Kashrus, Rabbi Nathan has an MBA in International Business from Bar Ilan University and previous experience in private banking and Israeli startups.
Mrs. Becky Udman
Preschool Director
Becky Udman has been the Preschool Director at TDSD since 2006, and previously taught Pre-Kindergarten classes at Torah Day School. After her first teaching positions in New York and Baltimore, Mrs. Udman taught for 12 years in the preschool program at Akiba Academy in Dallas before joining TDSD. As a certified “Love and Logic” instructor, she teaches classes and presents workshops to teachers and parents around the country on the subject of discipline and parenting. Mrs. Udman completed a seminary program at Bnos Torah in Jerusalem and studied at Stern College in New York.
For information about our preschool program and faculty, please visit our Preschool page or contact Becky Udman at budman@tdsd.org.
Kindergarten
Grade 1
Erin Laizerovich, General Studies (Boys)
elaizerovich@tdsd.org
Yochana Fried, Judaic Studies
yfried@tdsd.org
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Jennifer Coulonge, General Studies
jcoulonge@tdsd.org
Rabbi Cohen, Judaic Studies – Halacha (Boys)
mcohen@tdsd.org
Specialties
Math
Language Arts
Science
History
Judaic Studies (Boys)
Judaic Studies (Girls)
Aliza Shmueli, Chumash
6th/7th/8th Girls
ashmueli@tdsd.org
Aliza Shmueli, Parsha
7th/8th Girls
ashmueli@tdsd.org
Jenny Quinn, Weekly Electives Class
8th Girls
jquinn@tdsd.org
Mrs. Shimon, Ivrit (Hebrew)
6th/7th/8th Girls
oshimon@tdsd.org
Aliza Shmueli, Navi
7th Girls
ashmueli@tdsd.org
Batya Epstein, Yahadus
6th/7th/8th Girls
bepstein@tdsd.org
Batya Epstein, Parsha
6th Girls
bepstein@tdsd.org
Specialties
Educational Secretaries
Administrative Support
The Board of Trustees is a group of parents and non-parents who volunteer a wide variety of experience and skillsets in support of the school’s educational mission and administrative needs.
The Board’s primary areas of responsibility include:
- Oversight of the school’s financial assets and real property
- Hiring and setting/evaluating performance objectives of the Headmaster
- Approval of the school’s annual budget
- Approval of the tuition schedule
Current membership as of 2019-2020 includes:
- Salomon Banarer (President)
- Steven Rosson (Vice President)
- Toby Grossman (Secretary)
- Shachar Gargir (Treasurer)
- Rabbi Yehudah Abrams
- Joshua Quinn
- Sarah Sagal
To contact the Board, please email board@tdsd.org.