Solomon Schechter Day School of St. Louis has named Rabbi Allen Selis as its next head of school. At its April meeting, the Solomon Schechter Board of Trustees voted to offer Selis a three-year contract as head of school, which Selis accepted in May.

Selis will begin as head of school in mid-July, replacing current head of school Gail Armstrong, who in December announced to the Board that she had opted not to renew her contract so she could spend more time with her family.

Selis comes to St. Louis after serving as the Jewish Studies coordinator for the Middle School at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County, N.J.

Selis has also worked as an adjunct professor in education at Baltimore Hebrew University and as professional development coordinator at the Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School in Baltimore. Selis served as a congregational rabbi at synagogues in Rockville, Md., and in Boulder, Colo. Selis is currently completing his Ph.D. in in Curriculum Theory and Development at the University of Maryland.

The search for the head of school was conducted by an 11-member search committee, comprising board members, parents, local educators and community leaders. Jim Guller, who until May served as president of the board of trustees, said the committee looked at about 15 applicants.

After extensive reviews of candidates’ resumes and backgrounds, Guller said, the committee spent about three days conducting on-site interviews with school faculty and administrators, and numerous community leaders, including representatives of the Central Agency for Jewish Education, the Jewish Federation and local Conservative rabbis.

Guller said Selis was an excellent choice for head of school.

“We’re thrilled that Rabbi Selis has decided to become a part of our community,” he said. “He’s truly a role model, not only for our kids and our families, but also as an educator, his love of learning and experience makes him a role model for Schechter faculty.”

Selis said he was particulary interested in the head of school position during the interview process, when he found that the overall educational vision of school administrators, faculty and board members was closely aligned with his own view of integrating Judaic and general studies.

“I spoke about an integrated picture of excellence during my interview, and the fact that they responded to that made it clear that this would be a group of people that I would really be able to work with,” he said. “Educational experiences should be rich and connect one to the other.”

However, Selis said that what “sealed the deal,” was the reception he and his wife, Lisa Peckler, received when they came to visit.

“We really feel the community won us over. There’s just a sense of graciousness and just wonderful welcome. Things just felt right, and it made for an easy decision.,” Selis said. Selis’ two children, entering the third and sixth grades, will attend Schechter in the fall.

Although he will not officially take over as head of school until July, Selis was in town last week, working with Schechter faculty and administrators to ensure a smooth transition.

At Solomon Schechter of St. Louis, Selis finds a much smaller school, serving about 170 students, than the Schechter school in Bergen County, which has about 600 students.

Selis said the intimacy of the school was one of the draws for him. “I was struck when I visited the school of the level of individual attention the students receive,” he said. “Often teachers think about and refer to students in terms of classes or blocks. But here, I found teachers referring to individual students.”

“That’s the real gift of an independent school, and particularly a small school. It creates a genuine sense of community,” Selis said.