Morah Sarah Fried

Early Childhood EC3 Teacher
sfried@tdshouston.org

Mrs. Elisa Goldstein

1st Grade Judaic Teacher
egoldstein@tdshouston.org

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Elisa Goldstein received her Teaching Certification from Bnos Yisrael Seminary in Yerushalayim, Israel and graduated with a BA degree in Psychology.

Elisa has been a teacher in Torah Day School since she moved to Houston in 1998. She has taught various Judaic subjects to middle school and has been the Kita Aleph teacher for over 12 years.

She, together with her husband and family, are Chabad Shluchim to Houston and run the Chabad CHAI Learning Center of West Houston which serves the West Houston Jewish Community with Services, Adult Education, Hebrew School and Holiday Programs. Her involvement in the community includes the founding of Friendship Circle, directing the annual Friendship Walk and directing Camp Gan Israel for the past 11 summers.

Elisa is married to Rabbi Dovid Goldstein and has 5 children Sima, Avrami, Chaya, and Zalmi (all TDS Alumni), and Rozie, a student at TDS.

Mrs. Kaila Horowitz

Early Childhood Assistant

Mrs. Kathryn Howell

6th Grade English and History Teacher

Kathryn Howell is originally from Houston, Texas. She received a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin where she majored in both English and psychology. She also minored in education and earned her Texas teaching certificate while at UT. Mrs. Howell then earned her M.A. in English literature from the University of Houston. She has over 15 years of teaching experience including middle school, high school, and college. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and reading.

Mrs. Stacey John

1st Grade Secular Teacher
Sjohn@tdshouston.org

Mrs. Sherilyn Jones

Middle School English and History Teacher
sjones@tdshouston.org

Mrs. Jones was born in North Louisiana, and moved to Texas when she was four. She grew up in Lake Jackson, near the Gulf of Mexico, until 8th grade when she moved to Houston. She graduated from University of Houston with a Bachelors in English and is certified to teach both English and History. She has taught Middle school and High School English and History in both Atlanta Georgia and Houston, TX. She stumbled into TDS looking for a part time teaching position in 1992, and that turned out to be where she has spent most of her adult life.

Mrs. Jones says "I am starting my 31st year at TDS, teaching English and history, my college major and minor at the University of Houston.  I have loved the relationships I have made with families during these years, and it's amazing to now be teaching the children of former students.  TDS has blessed and enriched my life greatly." She has three sons and two grandchildren that all live in Texas.

Mrs. Chana Leeba Karp

Early Childhood PreK Teacher
ckarp@tdshouston.org

Chana Leeba Karp was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia! Her mother has a childcare center in Australia so education has always been a huge part of her life. She and her siblings grew up helping around the school and later held different teaching positions there. Chana Leeba received her teaching certification in Australia. She spent the last three years in New York as an assistant teacher in Yeled v'Yalda.

Ms. Esther Lax

Middle School Girls Judaic Teacher
elax@tdshouston.org

Rabbi Zally Lazarus

Middle School Judaic Teacher
zlazarus@tdshouston.org

Mrs. Debra Novosad

Middle School Math Teacher
dnovosad@tdshouston.org

Mrs. Debra Novosad, a native of San Antonio, received her education at Baylor University. She has advanced the study of mathematics as a middle and high school math teacher, a math department chairman, a testing coordinator, and a math helping teacher who instructs other teachers. She has written district-wide assessments and curriculum. She comes to us from Fort Bend ISD, where she taught for 18 years. She was hired by TDS just one week after "retiring." Although Mrs. Novosad has seen many changes during her career, the one thing that has never changed is her love for helping students and teachers.

Morah Tirtsah Orgis

Early Childhood EC1 Teacher
torgis@tdshouston.org

Tirtsah has been teaching at TDS for going on 6 years. Before she came to work at TDS she was a stay at home mom and homeschooled her two boys until they went to Yeshivah. She has a CDA for teaching in preschool. She has a love for working at TDS and watching all the kids grow up.

“It is such a pleasure to be a part of their lives and make an impact on their love for learning”.

Mrs. Rita Ramsay

Middle School Science Teacher
rramsay@tdshouston.org

Mrs. Judy Reid

5th Grade Secular Teacher

he comes to us with over 30 years of teaching experience, from public and private school settings including both special needs and gifted programs. She has trained at Neuhaus Education Center to teach students with reading challenges. Her model lesson was a quilting lesson incorporating geometry and critical thinking.

Mrs. Jennifer Ruiz

Kindergarden Teacher
jruiz@tdshouston.org

Mrs. Chani Skura

PreK Teacher

Ms. Paige Smith

4th Grade Secular Studies

Paige graduated from the University of Houston's Honors College with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in May of 2022. Currently, she is attending the University of Houston Clear Lake and earning a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

“I am so excited to be able to continue working with students and watch them grow over the course of this year”.