After just five weeks of teaching at Shalhevet, math teacher Dr. Ron Sorace was replaced by two other teachers this week at the end of Sukkot break. His AP Statistics classes are being taught by Judaic Studies teacher Ms. Atara Segal, while his three other courses have been taken over by a new teacher, Ms. Royanne Levy.
Ms. Segal is keeping her 9th Grade Honors Tanach classes but gave up her 10th grade Tanach class to make statistics work in her schedule. Dr. Sorace’s departure thus led to a shuffling of Judaic Studies classes as well, also involving Judaic Studies teacher Mrs. Ruthie Skaist.
“Mrs. Skaist will teach 10th grade Tanakh while Mrs. Segal will teach AP Stat,” said Judaic Studies principal Mr. Noam Weissman.
General Studies Principal Mr. Roy Danovitch said Ms. Segal taught AP Statistics at Beren Academy in Houston before moving here in 2011 with her husband, Head of School Rabbi Ari Segal. But taking on math classes at Shalhevet was complicated because she also teaches Chumash, Mishnah and Navi to the seventh and eighth grade at Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy.
“She has taught [AP Stat] for years,” said Mr. Danovitch, adding that Mrs. Segal’s Beren students earned top AP Scores. “She has always wanted to teach AP Stat, but because she was at Hillel her schedule was really tricky.”
Ms. Levy now teaches Dr. Sorace’s Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and Geometry classes.
Mr. Danovitch said Dr. Sorace’s position had been a stretch for him, partly because he had come out of retirement.
“He had five classes, which was a really big load for a teacher,” said Mr. Danovitch. “It is lot of work, which is another thing that I think is overwhelming for any teacher, particularly him with his age.”
“When he came into Shalhevet he was very realistic,” Mr. Danovitch added. “He wanted to give it a shot, and we gave it to him because he had a lot of ability.
“After the first month or so he felt a little uncomfortable. This past week he came to the conclusion that it was not something that he wanted to continue with.”
Students in Dr. Sorace’s classes seemed to have been aware of how he was feeling, partly because they knew he had taught college in the past. At Shalhevet he taught Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and Geometry in addition to two sections of AP Stat.
“It was a very different atmosphere for him,” said sophomore Jillian Einalhori. “I understand why he would make this decision.”
Sophomore David Ohana agreed.
“Teaching high schoolers was new for him,” David said. “He will be missed, and I hope he has success elsewhere.”
Meanwhile, Ms. Segal’s Tanach students were sorry to lose her and said her math students would gain a great teacher.
“She’s a great teacher — I’ll miss her class,” said sophomore Rebecca Elspas, “I will miss Mrs. Segal’s weekly Shabbat parties.”
“I am excited to have Mrs. Skaist,” she added. “She is a really nice person, and I like her classes.”
Seniors were looking forward to the change.
“I never had Mrs. Segal as a teacher,” said senior Marcella Bijou, “I heard she is a really good math teacher.”
“I am excited to be given a new perspective on Math,” said senior Jojo Fallas, “I heard that she was a great math teacher in Houston so I am excited to have her.”
Mr. Danovitch said the school knew that Dr. Sorace would be making a decision to stay or leave before Sukkot break.
“He had the best interest of the school at heart,” Mr. Danovitch said. “He wanted Sukkot as a time to reflect about wether or not he wanted to stay.”
“We wanted to give him the benefit of some time because usually when you want to make a change like that it can be very discombobulating for the students,” said Mr. Danovitch.
