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People On The Move - Tali Axelrod
06/27/2011 - By Paul Williams
A VISIT TO THE PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE
This school year, don’t be surprised if every child in Indian Hill School is on a first-name basis with their principal. Don’t worry—they won’t (all) be in trouble—they’ll just have a new leader that’s eager to get to know every single person and pupil at the school. Tali Axelrod will bring an element of community with her when she assumes the role of principal in July. “I look forward to getting to know everybody at Indian Hill, so I can help it continue to be a fabulous school,” Axelrod says. “I’ve always believed that I can relate well to young children, and I try to establish strong relationships with them.” Axelrod prides herself on her ability to easily communicate with everyone around her through her sense of humor, even though she admittedly laughs all the time. “My kids always tell me I don’t have a discerning sense of humor, I just laugh at everything.”
Along with her trademark smile and amiable attitude, Axelrod will carry many years of experience in the education field with her to Indian Hill. She worked the last few years as the vice principal at Von E. Mauger Middle School in Middlesex, and previously taught for seven years at Village Elementary School in Holmdel. “Getting this job is like coming home,” she says, recalling how then-principal Chris Blewjas was a great mentor to her during her first professional teaching job. But even back then, teaching children was nothing new to Axelrod. “When I lifeguarded as a teenager, I taught swimming. Initially I was intimidated because I had a group of five to eight-year-olds and me. I overcame it, came to love the kids, and it was the most fabulous job I ever had. I knew back then I would love teaching and being with kids since it was so fulfilling to watch them grow and learn how to do a skill that I had taught them. It was a powerful experience.”
Axelrod has continued to advance her own education even as she has moved into administrative roles in her career. She earned a Bachelor in Judaic Studies from Brandeis, a Masters of Instruction and Curriculum and her teacher’s certificate from Kean, and another Masters in Educational Leadership and a NJ principal certificate from Farleigh Dickinson. Axelrod recently started a Doctorate program at Rutgers on her 45th birthday, and intends to finish in three years. “I want to be as knowledgeable as I possibly can. I love education, and if there’s a way for me to educate myself more in order for me to be a powerful leader, that’s what I want. The way that I want to support kids and teachers to be their best, I feel that I need to be my best.”
And education isn’t the only marathon that Axelrod has worked toward finishing; she recently completed a 10K trail run earlier this year. “One of my favorite things in the world is to run along the boardwalk in Spring Lake,” she says, and also enjoys many kinds of aerobic activities, such as yoga and swimming.
Teaching is also a common bond that Axelrod shares with her husband of 22 years, Matt, who is a Cantor at Congregation Beth Israel in Scotch Plains. He teaches in their local Hebrew school, and instructs bar mitzvah lessons as well. Matt also previously served as a private flight instructor, and the two have taken flights to various parts of the country together. While they have also travelled several places as a family, Tali hopes to one day bring their two children, Judah, 15 and Josh, 13 to her native country of Israel. She moved to New York with her parents and two brothers when she was two years old, and stayed there until her wedding. Currently, they live in Fanwood, close to where Matt teaches.
Axelrod believes that one word that describes her best is ‘caring,’ which is echoed by her dedication to educate herself as best as she can, and to pass that knowledge, and her charming smile, down to everyone in her school. “I want to be known as somebody who has the kinds of interpersonal relationships where kids can come to me and can trust me, not this austere, removed principal that is unapproachable. That’s something that is going to be very important to me at Indian Hill, to continue to establish those relationships.”
STATS
FAVORITE RESTAURANT
Daryl Wine Bar, New Brunswick
FAVORITE MUSICIAN
Billy Joel
FAVORITE MOVIE
”Moonstruck”
PET PEEVE
Being put on speakerphone
THREE PEOPLE YOU’D LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH
Jacques Pepin, Rohinton Mistry, Michael Phelps
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