Larry Kligman

Head of School
Year Honored: 2022

Abraham Joshua Heschel Day School
Northridge, CA

Biographical Information:

Larry Kligman has been an integral part of Heschel Day School for decades. A 1985 Heschel graduate, Mr. Kligman returned after college to begin his career in education — and he never left. He served as dean of students, middle school director and associate head of school before being named head of school in 2013. In his current role, Mr. Kligman is responsible for day-to-day operations and ensuring that programs and procedures reflect the school’s core values: integrity, justice, intellectual curiosity, empathy, and individual and communal responsibility.  

At the middle school, Mr. Kligman created new leadership roles for students and expanded extracurriculars, growing enrollment from 130 to 175 students at a time when most non-Orthodox Jewish middle schools were shrinking. He chaired BJE’s Heads of School Council and is active in the California Association of Independent Schools and Los Angeles School Heads Network. He holds a bachelor’s in kinesiology from California State University Northridge (1993), as well as a master’s in education and a credential in educational administration from National University (1998). 

Partnering with families is important to Mr. Kligman. During the High Holidays this year, more than 200 family members baked challah, joined the Circle of Shofar and gathered on the beach for Tashlich. “I hope our students learn that they have a voice and need to use it for good,” he says. “I hope that with the Jewish values our students learn from our community, they will be ethical, compassionate, moral, active citizens who will be the voices for our community and for our Jewish future.” 

Note: This biography was current at the time this educator received the Award