Parents of The Year
Dr. Sandy and Neil Marantz
Sandy and Neil Marantz accept this honor “as a reflection of the kindness and good will generated by the nurturing administration of WHHS, and by our fellow parents, who together have formed a community that above all promotes positive, menschlich values and growth. Our children, Keith and Ariel, have thrived in this environment, and we are immeasurably grateful to you all.”
Born in Havana, Cuba, to a Polish-born Holocaust survivor father and a Cuban-born mother (both of whose Polish families were devastated by the Nazi regime), Sandy came to the U.S. at age two and grew up speaking fluent Spanish and Yiddish. In addition to attending public schools, she attended The Workman Circle Yiddish School on Bank Street in Manhattan, spent eight summers at Kfar Masada sleepaway camp and later went to Tel Aviv University for a semester abroad. Sandy’s uniquely 20th Century Jewish immigrant experience has certainly fueled her passions, both for Zionism and for sending her children to a school where they could feel safe, strong and proud of their heritage and identity.
Aside from her family, Sandy’s true love is helping others as a psychotherapist. She received her Bachelor’s degree from NYU, her Master's degree from Columbia University and her PhD from NYU. Sandy has worked as a psychotherapist at Beth Israel Medical Center for 25 years, serving a mostly Latino clientele. She was the director of a mental health clinic in Glendale, NY, and has been an adjunct professor at both NYU and Sarah Lawrence College.
Neil was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. A graduate of NYU (where he met his lovely wife in 1978) and Fordham Law, Neil specializes in construction law, and feels quite fortunate to have the opportunity to perform challenging work for clients at the highest level of the design, construction and entertainment technology professions…all from his small office in Rye (which he opened in 2009 after practicing in Manhattan for over two decades). Neil enjoys music, sports, and driving his daughter to WHHS each morning.
Sandy and Neil are very proud to be parents of children who have attended WHHS. Keith, age 20, now attends Binghamton University, after spending a year post-WHHS graduation at Lev Hatorah in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel. Ariel is 17 and a senior. Sandy and Neil feel that aside from excellent academic preparation, the most impressive qualities of WHHS are how loving and attuned the faculty is to the students, and how lovingly the students and families interact with one another. Among other things, there is great respect for differences in levels of religious observance – the Marantz family belongs to Westchester Jewish Center, an egalitarian, conservative shul – and all are truly welcome at WHHS.
Sandy and Neil say that “inasmuch as we have inarguably received much more from the experience of our children attending this school than we ever could have contributed, it is humbling and somewhat uncomfortable to be honored…but, in reflecting this honor back to the faculty, our co-parents and our wonderful children, the students of WHHS, we feel gratified indeed.”
Finally, Sandy and Neil are truly grateful to share this honor with their friend and co-parent Dr. Barbara Coven, Stephen and Penny Block, and The Fischel Family, Bryan and Frimet Herstic and Philip Pravda who serve as powerful examples of what makes the WHHS community so special.