Alison Hazut joins the Schechter School of Long Island as Lower School Principal, bringing over thirty years of experience as a teacher, principal, and educational leader in public and private schools.

Mrs. Hazut is committed to placing teaching and learning at the heart of school life, creating nurturing and intellectually engaging environments, and fostering collaboration and reflective practice among faculty.

Before joining Schechter, she served as Director of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction in Wantagh and held principal positions in the Cold Spring Harbor, Mamaroneck, and New York City school districts. From 2014 to 2017, she and her family lived in Israel, where she consulted for the Ministry of Education, providing professional development to strengthen English language instruction.

She earned a B.S. in Education from SUNY Oswego, an M.S. in Leadership for Educational Change from Bank Street College of Education, and is currently pursuing an Ed.D. in Leadership at St. John’s University.

Mrs. Hazut enjoys partnering with faculty, students, and families to foster a vibrant and inclusive Lower School community where every child can thrive.

Mr. Thorgersen brings to our community 25 years of teaching high school English courses. Additionally, he has taught freshman composition, research, literature, and rhetoric courses in colleges and universities including Yeshiva University, SUNY Suffolk, and CUNY York. These experiences helped him build Schechter’s senior-year College Writing course, which prepares our students for higher education and affords them one of several opportunities to earn college credit while still in high school. His background in writing for and producing professional children’s theater informs his speech and drama courses and his experience as a writer and editor for local newspapers and magazines aids in advising for our own journalism programs. More recently, Mr. Thorgersen earned his certification as a school building leader; he now also serves as dean of the high school and as a supervisor for new faculty. His doctoral work focuses on the use of games and gameplay as learning tools.