Eric Bassin (MS 1990), High School Principal
High School Principal Eric Bassin first stepped foot on the campus of Schechter Westchester in 1981. That happened to be the Lower School campus, and at the time, he was just starting kindergarten.
After graduating from the Middle School in 1990, Bassin returned 11 years later to teach high school history. Since that time, he has held roles including history department chair, grade-level dean, dean of students, newspaper advisor, Mock Trial advisor, assistant tennis coach, and assistant principal. This spring marked Bassin’s 20th year at The Leffell School/Schechter Westchester, which was celebrated at the Annual Fundraiser in May.
Bassin recalled that on his first day home from kindergarten, he almost got off at the wrong bus stop before he was redirected by a teacher, a memory that is emblematic of this kehilah for him.
“In that moment, my kindergarten teacher took care of me and embraced me,” Bassin said. “That kind of care and attention to the individual was part of my experience for the next nine years. At the same time, it was a rigorous academic experience. When I went to public high school, I remember feeling that ninth and 10th grades were so much easier than sixth and seventh [grades] had been in many ways. There was this combination of a lot of academic rigor—even at a young age—and high expectations, combined with a lot of nurture and care.”
Bassin attended Woodlands Senior High School and then Harvard College before moving to Los Angeles to begin teaching at Milken Community School, where he worked for three years. When his mother told him they were breaking ground on a high school campus in Hartsdale, where she still lived, Bassin reconnected with former Headmaster Dr. Elliot Spiegel to learn more.
“[I was drawn to] the idea of being part of a visionary effort,” Bassin said. “Dr. Spiegel led the school when I was a kid. And the same person was now opening a high school. I liked the idea of thinking together with a team of educators about what the high school would be. What would be special or distinctive about it?”
The first class that graduated from the High School in 2005 was composed of 55 students who also helped craft the school’s customs, paving the way for alumni to follow.
“As freshmen, we were able to shape school decisions, start traditions, and lead clubs, which is really unusual,” Leora Kalikow (Class of 2005) said. “We were also extremely close with the faculty, since many of them ‘moved up’ with us; it was common in those years to have the same teacher for three or four years.”
Bassin drew on his own high school experience to help create some of the same opportunities for students at the new Schechter Westchester High School with his colleagues, including newspaper, Mock Trial, and student government.
“Everything we were doing was from scratch; it was listening to students, it was thinking about what other schools were doing, it was building a very vibrant, active, not only Jewish school, where one’s Jewish identity was at the forefront, but also an American high school,” Bassin said. “From the earliest days, it was clear that if you were going to be a teacher here, you had an opportunity to be part of shaping a school and its future—and to work with a group of students who similarly were excited about the prospect of being pioneers in a new school."
Bassin reflected on the baseball team’s advancement to the State finals in 2005 when it started to compete in a public school sports league (which it does to this day).
“The game ended up being scheduled on Shabbat and we had to navigate through that,” Bassin said. “How do we uphold that identity: American and Jewish? How do we play a game on Shabbat without sacrificing any of our halachic norms, not only for the players, but for the community as well? Those are very powerful and transformative experiences for all involved in that, not just the players. The coaching staff, the parents, the alumni in later years, and what have you.”
While Bassin has certainly held a variety of responsibilities over the years, his favorite part of his work is time in the classroom.
“I have a love for just teaching students—learning with them, studying with them,” Bassin said. “It is still exciting to me. I’ve been teaching now for 23 years and it’s not an exaggeration to say that I’m really excited when I walk into a classroom to teach.”
Bassin's passion for teaching was clear to his colleagues and former students alike. Kalikow recalled that Bassin was extremely dedicated as a teacher, which extended beyond the classroom.
“He was deeply invested in all of us and never gave less than 150 percent of his time and energy,” Kalikow said. “It would be challenging to find someone who has worked harder, or cares more. For all of us in the first graduating class, Mr. Bassin had a major impact on our high school journey. In addition to being my teacher, he was the faculty advisor of The Lion's Roar, which I was a part of for four years. The learning opportunities he facilitated as our advisor inspired me to choose journalism as my college major.”
Ari Sasson (Class of 2005) shared this sentiment, recognizing Bassin’s impact on his growth at Schechter Westchester which continues to last today, over 15 years since his high school graduation.
“In that moment, my kindergarten teacher took care of me and embraced me,” Bassin said. “That kind of care and attention to the individual was part of my experience for the next nine years. At the same time, it was a rigorous academic experience. When I went to public high school, I remember feeling that ninth and 10th grades were so much easier than sixth and seventh [grades] had been in many ways. There was this combination of a lot of academic rigor—even at a young age—and high expectations, combined with a lot of nurture and care.”
Bassin attended Woodlands Senior High School and then Harvard College before moving to Los Angeles to begin teaching at Milken Community School, where he worked for three years. When his mother told him they were breaking ground on a high school campus in Hartsdale, where she still lived, Bassin reconnected with former Headmaster Dr. Elliot Spiegel to learn more.
“[I was drawn to] the idea of being part of a visionary effort,” Bassin said. “Dr. Spiegel led the school when I was a kid. And the same person was now opening a high school. I liked the idea of thinking together with a team of educators about what the high school would be. What would be special or distinctive about it?”
The first class that graduated from the High School in 2005 was composed of 55 students who also helped craft the school’s customs, paving the way for alumni to follow.
“As freshmen, we were able to shape school decisions, start traditions, and lead clubs, which is really unusual,” Leora Kalikow (Class of 2005) said. “We were also extremely close with the faculty, since many of them ‘moved up’ with us; it was common in those years to have the same teacher for three or four years.”
Bassin drew on his own high school experience to help create some of the same opportunities for students at the new Schechter Westchester High School with his colleagues, including newspaper, Mock Trial, and student government.
“Everything we were doing was from scratch; it was listening to students, it was thinking about what other schools were doing, it was building a very vibrant, active, not only Jewish school, where one’s Jewish identity was at the forefront, but also an American high school,” Bassin said. “From the earliest days, it was clear that if you were going to be a teacher here, you had an opportunity to be part of shaping a school and its future—and to work with a group of students who similarly were excited about the prospect of being pioneers in a new school."
Bassin reflected on the baseball team’s advancement to the State finals in 2005 when it started to compete in a public school sports league (which it does to this day).
“The game ended up being scheduled on Shabbat and we had to navigate through that,” Bassin said. “How do we uphold that identity: American and Jewish? How do we play a game on Shabbat without sacrificing any of our halachic norms, not only for the players, but for the community as well? Those are very powerful and transformative experiences for all involved in that, not just the players. The coaching staff, the parents, the alumni in later years, and what have you.”
While Bassin has certainly held a variety of responsibilities over the years, his favorite part of his work is time in the classroom.
“I have a love for just teaching students—learning with them, studying with them,” Bassin said. “It is still exciting to me. I’ve been teaching now for 23 years and it’s not an exaggeration to say that I’m really excited when I walk into a classroom to teach.”
Bassin's passion for teaching was clear to his colleagues and former students alike. Kalikow recalled that Bassin was extremely dedicated as a teacher, which extended beyond the classroom.
“He was deeply invested in all of us and never gave less than 150 percent of his time and energy,” Kalikow said. “It would be challenging to find someone who has worked harder, or cares more. For all of us in the first graduating class, Mr. Bassin had a major impact on our high school journey. In addition to being my teacher, he was the faculty advisor of The Lion's Roar, which I was a part of for four years. The learning opportunities he facilitated as our advisor inspired me to choose journalism as my college major.”
Ari Sasson (Class of 2005) shared this sentiment, recognizing Bassin’s impact on his growth at Schechter Westchester which continues to last today, over 15 years since his high school graduation.
“Besides the fact that he has probably held every role at The Leffell School since it opened, Bassin cares so much about making the school more than just a place of learning and ensuring that in shaping young minds, he is also building a stronger community,” Sasson said. “He truly goes above and beyond to do more than just teach and to make every experience an opportunity to reinforce Jewish values and human decency. I can confidently say that he had a large part in shaping the man I am today and I'm sure many others would say the same. He is a rare pure soul and truly a wonderful person. The Leffell School community is beyond lucky to have him."
When asked to describe this community as an alumnus and as a faculty member himself, Bassin couldn’t just select one word.
“As an alum, it’s more about the memories,” Bassin said. “Words like supportive, nurturing, menschlichkeit, impact, warm, identity. Many of those words would be echoed for faculty. In addition, we try to build collegiality and camaraderie among faculty. We’re a team. We care about kids. We care about education. Other words that come to mind as a faculty member are appreciative, exciting, demanding, hard work, being able to laugh. And ultimately just trying to develop a love of the place. Seeing it not just as a job but as a real love or passion.”
Despite his 20-year tenure at The Leffell School/Schechter Westchester, Bassin said that the school’s identity hasn’t changed too drastically.
When asked to describe this community as an alumnus and as a faculty member himself, Bassin couldn’t just select one word.
“As an alum, it’s more about the memories,” Bassin said. “Words like supportive, nurturing, menschlichkeit, impact, warm, identity. Many of those words would be echoed for faculty. In addition, we try to build collegiality and camaraderie among faculty. We’re a team. We care about kids. We care about education. Other words that come to mind as a faculty member are appreciative, exciting, demanding, hard work, being able to laugh. And ultimately just trying to develop a love of the place. Seeing it not just as a job but as a real love or passion.”
Despite his 20-year tenure at The Leffell School/Schechter Westchester, Bassin said that the school’s identity hasn’t changed too drastically.
“The school continues to be grounded in certain core values which have always been core to the school,” Bassin said. “The larger community is probably a little more religiously diverse now than in the earlier days when the school was officially affiliated with the Conservative movement. Our Upper School draws from a larger area than when we only had a kindergarten through eighth grade. We can be a fitting place for people from a variety of different Jewish backgrounds. Dr. Spiegel said something that always stuck with me: one thing that would make the school distinctive was the attention we would be able to give individual students. I love the size of the school—it’s big enough to be this vibrant, active place. It is not the 19 kids I had in my class, but it’s small enough to give individual kids attention and to be this warm, nurturing place.”
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