Schechter welcomes head of school
By Jason Cohen
June 6, 2008
In the fall of 2008, Solomon Schechter Academy of Greater Monmouth County will have a new head of school. Cory Chargo will replace Chaya Friedman, who led the school for 20 years, July 1.
Chargo said this is the perfect opportunity for him.
"I am very aligned with the values of Solomon Schechter," Chargo said. "The school is an icon in the area; it has a great reputation and enrollment, and I want to work with kids that range in age and grade from nursery to 8th grade."
He told The Jewish State that he is very excited to take over the top job at Schechter.
"My wife, Abby; my daughter, Emily, who is 5; my son, Lev, who is 1; and I are moving to Marlboro on June 16," Chargo said.
Chargo has a lengthy history in Jewish schools. Most recently he was the head of school at the
"After only working with young children in grades pre-K through 5th while at
Chargo said he is also looking forward to implementing some of the changes he has planned for the school.
"I see myself transforming and developing the school to not only become a top notch school, but a top notch private school where we excel in development and learning," he said.
One area he mentioned was the curriculum.
"I plan to tighten everything up, update the textbooks, strengthen the curriculum, but most importantly our objective is not only to meet the standards of the state but to exceed them," Chargo said.
He said that social life and social interactions are a huge part of the school.
"I want to develop the school socially and create more electives, such as teaching Mandarin," Chargo said.
Most importantly, Chargo wants to make Schechter a great private school that excels in education.
"I want to make it a great private school that has a solid Jewish environment," Chargo said. "But, I feel that learning Hebrew and being able to speak it, read it, and write it by the time they finish 8th grade here is a vital part of our school."
Chargo said he wants to improve the technology in the school and integrate new forms of it in the school as well, such as adding a "smart board" to each classroom.
The "smart board" is a touch-sensitive display that connects to a computer and digital projector to display the computer image. Computer applications can then be controlled directly from the display, write notes in digital ink, and save your work to share later.
"The 'smart board' enhances the children's learning and engages the children to learn a lot from technology," Chargo said.
Chargo said he expects to receive a warm welcome from the town.
"The school is a wonderful place and every time I went there I was treated very well by the students, teachers, and the community and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there," he said.
Chargo brings a musical background to Solomon Schechter as well, having played the jazz trumpet for 35 years, and the guitar and piano as well. He feels that music and the performing arts are important to the school.
"I'd like to see the music program in our school developed where we have kids playing instruments and ensembles and an orchestra forming," he said. "Also, I would like to see plays and performing arts integrated into our school."
Chargo said that the reason he chose Solomon Schechter of Greater Monmouth County was that Jewish education is his passion, which is why he chose to be the head of school there rather than a public school.
"SSDS helps you become Jews in life, and the eight year program creates a foundation for Jews to continue learning in high school, college, and life itself," he said.
In 1982, he attended the
In 1998, he obtained his second graduate degree in Jewish education from