New principal for VTT

Perry Seidelman is a man who wears many administrative hats and constantly juggles his many responsibilities as vice-principal of Eric Hamber secondary school. He is also a man who has more than 30 years of experience in the Vancouver school system and is now looking forward to bringing this expertise to his new job as principal of Talmud Torah high school.

A young and vigorous-looking 59, he says, "I don't feel like someone who should be retiring." So, although he officially retires from the Vancouver School Board on June 30, he assumes his new duties with Talmud Torah July 1, a job he describes as "an excellent opportunity that came along at just the right time."

Seidelman was approached about the position over a year ago and is excited about being in a school with an expected 90 students versus the 1,600 at Eric Hamber. He is looking forward to getting to know all the students, something he couldn't do at Hamber.

His connection to Vancouver goes back three generations to a pioneer grandfather who arrived here in 1885. And his connection to the Vancouver School Board goes back three decades. As a social studies teacher, he has taught in Sir Sanford Fleming, David Thompson, Vancouver Tech, Templeton, Lord Byng, Sir Charles Tupper, Windermere, Magee and Eric Hamber, where he has been vice-principal for the last three years. Wherever the school board sent him, he went and the result is an impressive career along with contacts all over Vancouver. He has mixed feelings about leaving this part of his career behind.

"It's been a great 30 years," he said. "I've loved what I've done and have a huge respect for the people I've worked with.

It's hard."

Born in 1944, Seidelman went to Churchill school and graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1966. He started teaching in 1971, spending the first two years in Surrey and then entering the Vancouver school system.

His goals for Talmud Torah reflect his philosophy about education.

"I want it to be a place where people want to send their kids," he expalined. "Not because of a fear of the public school system, as so many are, and some of it justified. But I want it to be a place where kids can get an excellent education, can be happy socially and where they feel safe and secure."

Seidelman has also been involved in planning the new school building, which could be finished in September 2004. He has had input in the planning of several construction projects in the past as well, at Tupper, Magee and Eric Hamber.

"I have an opinion on science labs, on different types of classrooms, both for direct teaching and seminar rooms, and on recreational areas," he said. "It needs to be a social place as well, where kids can relax and have places to go in between classes. We also have to be economically astute and have multi-purpose spaces, like a lunchroom that doesn't stay vacant during non-lunch hours but can provide for a variety of activities."

His formal list of job duties at Eric Hamber has 24 items on it and he says that doesn't even take into account his unofficial leadership duties.

"The role involves keeping abreast of whatever is going on regarding educational development and progress and implementing it into the school to make it a better place."

On top of managing the day-to-day stuff Seidelman has to stay up to date on new research in education, such as the management of teachers, their supervision and evaluation.

"I keep up with this stuff and encourage others to keep up with it and make it work for us," he said. "On top of that there is the hiring of teachers, getting desks, getting books, getting supplies, staying within the budget, making sure the kids respect their teachers and each other, and communicating with parents."

It's a busy job that requires that he be a diplomat too, and he loves the challenge of it. Eventually, having a new building will be nice, he said, and the staff and students are looking forward to it, but he advises "that isn't what makes a good school." His philosophy revolves around the students.

"I know it sounds like a cliché, but I really believe it and that is that every kid should have the opportunity to reach their full potential," he explained. "They may be the most brilliant kid or severely disabled, may have English as a second language and may come from diverse family situations, it doesn't matter. Every kid should have that opportunity.

"They should feel comfortable and safe and bullying should not go on. I want Talmud Torah to be a place where, when kids wake up in the morning, they are delighted to come."

On top of the B.C. curriculum, the emphasis is also on a rich curriculum of Judaica. Seidelman has a Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver report on his desk, published in Montreal in 1998, showing some interesting statistics about Jewish high schools. Fewer than five per cent of graduates were likely to intermarry, versus the more than 22 per cent from non-Jewish high schools. As a member of Beth Israel and as a Jewish educator, those statistics mean something to him.

Soon his commitment and enthusiasm will be at Talmud Torah's disposal. Until then, it is a busy end-of-the-year wrap up and retirement farewell time. No time for hobbies, he says. He's got to keep all those balls in the air. Seidelman lives in Richmond with his wife Shelly, who is a physiotherapist, and their three kids, Michael, 26, Jodi, 23, and Sara, 19.

Jannette Edmonds is a Vancouver freelance writer.