Dr. Jonathan Levy jokes that working in education is the family business. It’s somewhat true — he was raised by a mother who served as a head of school, and a Bible professor father. His brother is a teacher, and so were his aunt and father-in-law.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that Levy stepped into the role of head of school at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, effective July 1.

Levy, who lives in Silver Spring and belongs to Kemp Mill Synagogue, attended Jewish day school himself from nursery school to graduation.

During college, the Montreal native wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to do, but he knew he wanted to work with children.

“I thought maybe I should go into teaching, [or] maybe I should go into counseling and be a school counselor,” Levy said.

He earned his master’s in social work and started out as a school counselor. Ultimately, he was invited to join as a dean of students, then a vice principal.

“That’s where I spent the vast majority of my career,” Levy said of the school administrative world.

Levy worked eight years as a principal at a Toronto high school and nine years as the head of school. After a total of 17 years, he was open to new opportunities.

“Charles E. Smith [JDS] has an outstanding international reputation,” Levy said. “I had known about the school for a long time, heard wonderful things about it, and I thought if I was going to make a move, I wanted it to be a school like this.”

As the head of school, Levy spent the summer meeting the CESJDS community: staff and faculty, board members, community members and leaders, rabbis, donors and friends of the school.

He’s also settled in and sought to learn more about how CESJDS operates before students returned for the new academic year.

“Every school has a lot in common, but every school has a lot that’s different as well,” Levy said. “I’ve been meeting with as many people as I can, trying to get a sense of the many strengths of the school, what the school can do even better [and] what it means to members of the community.”

He isn’t afraid to ask questions. “Each person I meet, I ask what advice they have for me, so I believe that themes will start to emerge and I’ll have a sense of what’s happening and a chance to connect with hundreds of people that make up this incredible community,” Levy said.

CESJDS is unique in that it’s a “full educational experience,” he added. Students can attend for 13 years, from preschool through 12th grade.

“From the time kids are very small up until they’re ready for college, that’s an opportunity to help shape and mold the next leaders of the Jewish world, and I think that our graduates are the next leaders in the Jewish world,” Levy said. “To have this opportunity to teach them, to nurture them, to help them grow, to help them figure out who they are and who they want to be, I think that’s a sacred role. It is sacred work in the Jewish world to be preparing the next generation of the Jewish community.”

His personal experience with Jewish day schools helps inform Levy’s leadership. From kindergarten through sixth grade, Levy attended a pluralistic Jewish elementary school.

“I love the opportunity of being with students from different backgrounds,” he reflected. “One of the things I always found so meaningful about [CESJDS] is that it’s a unifying place where families of all different Jewish backgrounds come together and learn, share, discuss and debate sometimes … so that at the end of the day, everyone feels, I hope, strength in their own Judaism.”

Levy said he also plans to use the listening and interpersonal skills he learned from his master’s in social work.

Like many members of his family, Levy has spent his entire career in education. But it’s important for him to also build and nurture the Jewish community.

“I love the Jewish element of things,” Levy said. “Whether it’s sounding the shofar, studying a Jewish text, engaging in tefillah, having a discussion about Jewish philosophy, learning something in Jewish history or practicing my Hebrew, I think there is something really special and really rewarding about being in a Jewish school.”

Levy hopes to be involved in many programs and activities CESJDS offers throughout the year, from blowing the shofar in a kindergarten class to sitting in the sukkah with students.

“It’s such a wonderful time of the year, and I think our holidays bring such meaning and have such rich tradition,” Levy said.

Across various cities and schools, he is most proud that he’s been able to provide a robust Jewish education to students for decades while supplementing their general studies.

Only one thing is missing from the two Rockville campuses at the time of Levy’s conversation with Washington Jewish Week: the students.

“I am so excited to see the kids come in … from the youngest to the seniors, to begin to feel what the vibrant school looks like, to see the energy, the learning, to get to know the students and really start to understand firsthand how special this place is,” Levy said.

zbell@midatlanticmedia.com