Faculty
ADMINISTRATION
Rabbi Yerachmiel Garfield, Ed.D.
Head of School
In 2010, Rabbi Yerachmiel Garfield moved to Houston to lead YTE. Having grown up in Pennsylvania, Rabbi Garfield continued his rabbinic studies after high school. He studied for four years in Jerusalem, under the tutelage of Rabbi Zvi Kushelevsky. After, he relocated to Baltimore, MD, where he earned a Bachelor of Talmudic Law from Ner Israel Rabbinical College. He received Smicha from Rabbi Berel Wein, which completed his Rabbinic Ordination.
In 2001, Rabbi Garfield moved with his young family to Atlanta. He began teaching ninth grade in the newly founded Yeshiva Ohr Yisrael, where he would eventually become the assistant principal. Rabbi Garfield received the Jewish Federation’s "Educator of the Year" award in 2006, representing all Jewish day schools in Atlanta. Concurrent to his teaching, Rabbi Garfield served for six years as the school counselor at the Torah Day School of Atlanta and as youth director at Congregation Ariel.
Rabbi Garfield holds a M.S. in Counseling and a Post-Masters Certificate in Supervision and Administration from Johns Hopkins University. He is also a Georgia state certified principal and has completed the Torah Umesorah National Fellowship for Principals program. He holds a Doctorate in Education from the University of Houston.
Rabbi Garfield has presented at the Torah Umesorah’s National Educators Conference and has written for Hamodia, a national Jewish newspaper. During the summer Rabbi Garfield returns to Baltimore where he serves as an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University, School of Education.
Mrs. Esti Littman
Early Childhood Director
Mrs. Esti Littman joined the staff of YTE in 2011 as a teacher, and now serves as director of the early childhood program. Since 1997, Mrs. Littman has taught children with varying learning styles and abilities in integrated preschool classrooms, dedicated resource rooms, and traditional environments. She also served as an administrator at the renowned School for Children with Hidden Intelligence (SCHI) in Lakewood, NJ. Mrs. Littman’s diverse educational experience reaching children on a wide range of developmental levels enriches her work at YTE.
Mrs. Littman graduated from Thomas Edison State College with a B.A. in Psychology and earned her M.S. in Special Education in 2001 from Adelphi University.
Rabbi Chaim Helprin
Assistant Principal Upper School and Limudei Kodesh Curriculum Coordinator
Rabbi Chaim Helprin has worked in the field of education as a rebbe/teacher, student activities coordinator, and middle school coordinator since 2003. Rabbi Helprin learned in Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim for 10 years and received Smicha from Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, Av Beth Din, Jerusalem. Rabbi Helprin holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Thomas Edison State College, Trenton NJ and a M.A. in Educational Administration from Grand Canyon University.
Mrs. Devorah Ouzzan
Girls Limudei Kodesh Coordinator/Upper School
Mrs. Devorah Ouzzan began her teaching career as an Early Childhood teacher in Toronto, Canada. She holds a Bachelors Degree from Waterloo University with a focus in social development studies. She has called Houston home since 2013 and has found her passion working as a Judaic studies teacher for both elementary and upper school grades at YTE.
Mrs. Melissa Truelove
Assistant Principal Elementary School and General Studies Curriculum Coordinator
Mrs. Melissa Truelove has been involved in Jewish education for many years, having attended the Tucson Hebrew Academy originally as a student and over the past ten years as a teacher. She holds a Bachelors Degree from the University of Arizona with a focus on psychology and has taught multiple elementary school grades and subjects for which she has received multiple national awards.
Mrs. Truelove has also served in several leadership roles including curriculum development, leading teacher teams, presenting professional development workshops and mentoring new teachers.
SUPPORT STAFF
2020–2021 FACULTY
Mrs. Devorah Avrukin
5th Grade Girls General Studies, 6th Grade Boys Math, 6th Grade Girls Math
and Social Studies
Mr. Dante Dumas
6th Grade Boys and
8th Grade Boys Social
Studies and Tech Support
Mr. Tyrone Tyson
5th Grade Boys and Girls, 6th Grade Girls, 7th Grade Boys and Girls, 8th Grade Grade Boys and Girls General Studies
