For Rachel Zivic, the Head of School of the Kellman Brown Academy in Voorhees, New Jersey, her background heavily influenced her decision to enter the Jewish professional space. Both of her paternal grandparents survived the Holocaust, and she was raised in Chicago in a tight-knit Jewish family.
“It was really important to my grandparents that my siblings and I went to a Jewish day school, so they were extremely proud [that we did] that,” she said.
Zivic is now raising her own children; Yael, Ari and Ilan. The older two attended and matriculated from Kellman Brown, while the third is currently a fifth grader at the school. Zivic’s husband, Micah Peltz, is the head rabbi at Temple Beth Shalom in Cherry Hill.
“We don’t have a ton of free time, we’re really busy with our three kids,” Zivic laughed.
As residents of South Jersey, Zivic and her family are proud of their vibrant Jewish community.
“This has been our home for 18 years now and I think people come back and invest in it because it’s wonderful and tight knit and people really care about its future,” she said. “There are so many Jewish organizations, programs and educational opportunities here.”
Zivic is focused on making Kellman Brown a source for some of these programs and opportunities. The head of school and her team are especially proud of KBA’s Jewish Leadership Academy. Opened during the 2023-24 school year, originally serving just sixth graders but now seventh graders too, the leadership academy organizes leadership training and community service internships in collaboration with nearby Jewish agencies and organizations.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind, hands-on, internship-based program for middle school students that allows them to pursue their interests while making a real difference in the community,” Zivic said.
Next year, the Jewish Leadership Academy will serve eighth graders, too. The sixth grade curriculum consists of leadership courses with guest speakers, an introduction to the school’s philanthropy program and the creation of individual portfolios with reflections on leadership and Jewish values. Seventh graders work on learning about financial literacy and spend two weeks working at an agency that is a part of the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey. The eight grade program beginning next year sees students work with a mentor on a year-long impact project.
“We plan to continue to grow the academy,” Zivic said.
As a parent of Kellman Brown students as well as the head of the school, Zivic is as involved with the community as she could possibly be. She said she sees the education that the school offers as a top-notch option for families who believe education should be grounded in Jewish values.
“When a child knows who they are, they gain the confidence to engage with others and make a real difference in the world, which is especially important in the challenging times that we’re in right now,” she said. “Jewish day schools provide an environment of both physical and emotional safety. Our students learn to celebrate their identity as Jews without fear, and because of this, they’re better equipped to face whatever challenges they might encounter in high school, on college campuses or in their [adult] lives.”
But, the job is not all serious, of course. Zivic said that there are so many moments that just make her smile, and remind her why she got into education.
“What could be better than getting to see children running off the bus each morning with a smile on their faces, excited to come to school? I’ve gotten to watch children really grow up during my time at this school,” she said.
Zivic laughed as she recalled one story that brightened her day recently.
“Our early childhood center coordinator recently shared a story with me in which one of her students told her that he wanted to help with dismissal at the end of the day so that he could use the ‘hookie tookie,’” she said.
After some deciphering, the teacher figured out what the student wanted to try: her walkie-talkie.
Ultimately, this job has allowed Zivic to grow closer to her own worship.
“I have had the honor of sharing what I learned in helping students and their families forge their own connections to Judaism,” she said. “They say the best way to learn something deeply is by teaching it, and I have learned so much about the depth and richness of Judaism over the course of my professional career.”
