Paul Adler joins Harvey as new head of school

Paul Adler is the Harvey School’s new head of school, effective July 1. Adler, who comes to Harvey after having served as principal at Suffern High School in Rockland County since 2023, earned his bachelor’s degree from Tufts University, his master’s from Harvard University, and his M.Ed. and Ed.D. from Teachers College at Columbia University.

Adler began his career in education in 2001 as a seventh-grade math teacher at Davis Middle School in Compton, Calif. In 2004, he became a founding math teacher, math department chair and head basketball coach at Brooklyn Preparatory High School, where, in 2007, he also served as assistant principal for a year. From 2008 to 2015, he served as founding principal of Achievement First Brooklyn High School. From 2015 to 2023, he worked as the senior director of executive follow-on support at BES, where he coached and supported more than 40 founding principals of elementary, middle, and high schools in underserved communities.  

In a personal message to the Harvey School community upon learning he was chosen as their new head of school, Adler said, “I am deeply moved by the trust you have placed in me. To students, faculty, staff, trustees, parents, alumni, and friends: thank you for the dedication and heart that make Harvey a school like no other. I cannot wait to join you as we pursue Harvey’s mission with purpose and carry the school to new heights.”

Adler succeeds outgoing head of school William J. Knauer, who guided Harvey for the past 10 years.