H eadlines
Longtime Central High School President
Sheldon Pavel Dies at 74
OB ITUARY
ANDY GOTLIEB | JE MANAGING EDITOR
SHELDON PAVEL, who
presided over Central High
School for nearly three decades,
died Feb. 7 at his Elkins Park
home. He was 74.

Pavel was the longest-
serving president — that term
is used at Central instead of the
more common principal — in
the school’s 185-year history,
serving from 1984 until his
retirement in 2012. He was the
first president to lead Central
after it became co-ed.

“He was a man who loved
his students and school and
family,” his wife, Paula, said,
Pavel’s love for the school
was deep-seated within him,
daughter Shani Bardach said.

“He read every kid’s appli-
cation. All he wore was Central
gear,” she said, adding that the
family once ran into a Central
graduate at the Great Wall of
China. “That was his entire
world.” Pavel ’s deat h prompted
Sheldon Pavel and the Phillie Phanatic after Pavel threw out the first pitch
at a game
Courtesy of the Pavel family
an outpouring of recognition
from the school’s community.

“Dr. Pavel’s contributions
to Central are countless — he
was a consistent positive voice
of support for our commu-
nity,” the Associated Alumni of
Central High School wrote. “He
was an advocate for inclusivity,
maintaining that all students
and faculty — including women
who attended and taught at our
beloved school — were respected.

He was devoted to making a
difference at Central and cared
deeply for each student — and
he made every encounter feel
uniquely personal.”
A native of Wynnefield,
the Akiba Hebrew Academy
(now Jack M. Barrack Hebrew
Academy) graduate earned an
undergraduate degree at Temple
University and a doctorate in
education administration at
the University of Pennsylvania.

From left: David Bardach, Rocky Bardach, Shani Bardach, Yoshi Bardach,
Paula Pavel and Sheldon Pavel visit Israel in 2019.

He taught English and math
and later served as an assistant
principal at several Philadelphia
high schools before being
elected by an alumni committee
to head Central.

In a 2012 Jewish Exponent
article marking his retirement,
Pavel credited Akiba with
shaping him as an educator
and a human being.

“How to treat people is what
is important, how to look at
issues and make decisions from
See Pavel, Page 27
Name: Gratz College*
Width: 9.25 in
Depth: 3.62 in
Color: Black plus one
6 FEBRUARY 18, 2021
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