Jewish day school

Modern Jewish educational institution

See yeshiva and Bais Yaakov for strictly Orthodox (mostly Haredi) Jewish schools.

A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide children of Jewish parents with both a Jewish[1] and a secular education in one school on a full-time basis. The term "day school"[2] is used to differentiate schools attended during the day from part time weekend schools as well as secular or religious "boarding school" equivalents where the students live full-time as well as study. The substance of the "Jewish" component varies from school to school, community to community, and usually depends on the Jewish denominations of the schools' founders. While some schools may stress Judaism and Torah study others may focus more on Jewish history, Hebrew language, Yiddish language, Jewish culture, and Zionism.

## Types

[edit]

Not all Jewish day schools are the same. While they may all teach Jewish studies or various parts of Torah and Tanakh, these studies may be taught from various points of view depending on each school's educational policies, the board of directors in charge, and the nature and make-up of both the student body and the professional teaching staff.

The majority of Jewish day schools teach classes between Kindergarten and 8th grade.[3] Some day schools may be entirely religious, and indeed most yeshivas (Orthodox schools that emphasize Talmudic studies) are day schools. However, the traditional yeshivas are different institutions when compared to Modern Orthodox Jewish day schools. While traditional Haredi and Hasidic yeshivas are only for boys, with girls attending Beis Yaakov schools, they do not encourage their students to plan for college education and professional careers. On the other hand, Modern Orthodox day schools are often coeducational and stress the secular component of the curriculum, as many parents wish to have their children educated at a high enough level to be admitted to college and university in order to train for a profession.

The Solomon Schechter Day Schools in the United States and Canada teach Judaism from the perspective of Conservative Judaism, and there are schools that similarly teach Judaism from a Reform or even non-denominational perspective. These latter are usually called pluralist day schools, and many belong to RAVSAK, a network of pluralist day schools.

Jewish day schools may be entirely secular. One of the largest day schools in the world is the King David School system in Johannesburg, South Africa that educated thousands of Jewish students, stressing the teaching of Hebrew language and Zionism, since the majority of students and the teachers are not fully religiously observant.

In many Jewish day schools, students are taught to read, speak, and understand the Hebrew language. Usually beginning in grade school, students have intensive Hebrew studies. This is challenging for many students, since Hebrew uses different letters and a different script than English, French, and other languages that use the Latin alphabet.[4]

## History

[edit]

The first Jewish day school in North America was established in 1731 at the Congregation Shearith Israel. German Jewish immigrants who arrived in the 19th century establish day schools in their own communities, but this movement to establish Jewish day schools had lost momentum by the 1870s.[5] This was caused by the perception among American Jews that not sending your children to public schools was "un-American".[6][7] Most American Jewish day schools founded in the late 19th and early 20th century were Orthodox and Ultra Orthodox institutions founded by recent immigrants, modelled after Eastern European cheders, which emphasized religious learning over general studies. During the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s, a movement began in the United States to create modernized Jewish day schools which were more secular and emphasized general studies alongside Jewish learning, as well as Liberal Jewish schools.[8] Between 1917 and 1939, over 23 Jewish day schools were founded in the New York Metropolitan area.[7]

After The Holocaust and the aftermath of World War II, the interest in Jewish day schools increased dramatically.[6] In 1944, Torah Umesorah was founded[9][10] to expand the number of Jewish day schools, especially beyond those already found in New York City.[11] Day schools[12][13] were established in great numbers in the United States and in other Western countries such as Canada, England, South Africa, Australia, and in South America. In the United States the dislike for, and decline of, the old-fashioned Talmud Torahs and a disenchantment with public schools led to a push for the formation of full-time all-day dual-curriculum schools. The Talmud Torah system of afternoon schools was deemed "failing to transmit Yiddishkeit in a compelling manner to students who arrived tired in the afternoons and were constantly subjected to assimilationist influences in American culture."[14]

White flight, caused by the Desegregation of American schools, also led to increasing numbers of Jewish day schools as parents removed their children from public schools.[15]

In 1960, approximately 60,000 children in the United States, 10% of the school age Jewish population, attended Jewish day schools.[16] By 2014, there were 861 Jewish day schools in the United States, with an enrollment of 255,000 children.[17] Chabad day schools made up 9 percent of all US Jewish day schools, but have enrolled only 5 percent of students attending such schools.[18]

## See also

[edit]

* Hebrew school
* Jewish education
* Private school
* Religious education
* Religious school
* Talmud Torah
* Yeshiva

## Further reading

[edit]

* Pomson, Alex; Wertheimer, Jack (2022). Inside Jewish Day Schools: Leadership, Learning, and Community. Brandeis University Press. ISBN 978-1684580699.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ SHARON OTTERMAN (February 19, 2015). "City Eases Pre-K Rules to Allow Prayer Breaks". The New York Times.
2. ^ "Day school definition, a school open for instruction on weekdays only, usually from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. "Day school - dictionary.com".
3. ^ "Jewish Studies in Day School: A View into the Present and Future - Jewish Theological Seminary". www.jtsa.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
4. ^ Ancient Scripts.
5. ^ "History of Jewish Schooling in America". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
6. ^ a b "Will Jewish schools finally address their segregationist past?". The Forward. 2021-01-18. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
7. ^ a b "A History of Jewish Day Schools". Tablet Magazine. 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
8. ^ Baskin, Kara. "A Local (Somewhat Brief) History of Jewish Day Schools". JewishBoston. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
9. ^ "National Society For Hebrew Day Schools". Bloomberg News.
10. ^ Daniel Judah Elazar (1995). Community and Polity: The Organizational Dynamics of American Jewry. Jewish Publication Society. ISBN 082760565X.
11. ^ Dovid Sussman (March 16, 2011). "In the Land of No, He Said YES".[permanent dead link]
12. ^ "Founded in 1969. The Day School is one of the best preschools in the ... area." "Preschool, Mothers Morning Out - The Day School".
13. ^ "It was graduation day for the Steppingstone Day School in Kew Gardens, Queens, and the 5-year-olds in their little white gowns and mortarboards ..." Michael T. Kaufman (June 23, 1993). "A Graduation Ceremony Earns Special Cheers". The New York Times.
14. ^ "This Day In History 18 Sivan/June 24". HaModia. June 23, 2016.
15. ^ Press Schwartz, Rivka (2020-04-24). "Race and Us: White Flight and Jewish Day Schools". Shalom Hartman Institute. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
16. ^ Rosenfeld Gorsetman, Chaya; Maryles Sztokman, Elana (2013-10-01). Educating in the Divine Image: Gender Issues in Orthodox Jewish Day Schools. Brandeis University Press. p. 11\. ISBN 978-1-61168-459-9.
17. ^ Avi Chai Census of Jewish Day Schools in the United States - 2013-14
18. ^ The Chabad Sociologist. (2013). "Comparing Full Time and Part Time Numbers at Chabad Schools". Chabadsociologist.wordpress.com. http://chabadsociologist.wordpress.com/2013/08/06/comparing-full-time-and-part-time-numbers-at-chabad-schools/.

## External links

[edit]

* Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education
* The Lookstein Center for Jewish Education

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Jewish education

Types of organization|

* Cheder
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Higher education|

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Jewish primary and secondary schools in the United States

Arizona|

* Phoenix Hebrew Academy
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California|

* The Brandeis School of San Francisco
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Colorado|

* Denver Jewish Day School (former Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy)

Connecticut|

* Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy of Connecticut (Jewish High School of Connecticut merged into this school)

| Closed|

* Carmel Academy (former Westchester Fairfield Hebrew Academy)

|

Florida|

* Rabbi Alexander S. Gross Hebrew Academy
* Donna Klein Jewish Academy
* David Posnack Jewish Day School
* Esformes Hebrew Academy
* Katz Yeshiva High School
* Samuel Scheck Hillel Community Day School
* Temple Beth-El School (Ormond Beach)

Georgia|

* Atlanta Jewish Academy
* The Epstein School
* The Weber School

| Merged|

* Greenfield Hebrew Academy
* Yeshiva Atlanta

|

Illinois|

* Chicago Jewish Day School
* Ida Crown Jewish Academy
* Fasman Yeshiva High School
* Telshe Yeshiva
* Rochelle Zell Jewish High School (former Chicagoland Jewish High School)

Maryland|

* Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy
* Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School
* Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School
* Talmudical Academy of Baltimore

Massachusetts|

* Gann Academy
* Heritage Academy Longmeadow
* Maimonides School

Michigan|

* The Jean and Samuel Frankel Jewish Academy of Metropolitan Detroit
* Farber Hebrew Day School – Yeshivat Akiva
* Yeshiva Beth Yehudah
* Hillel Day School
* Tushiyah United Hebrew School (CLOSED)

New Jersey|

* Bruriah High School for Girls
* Foxman Torah Institute (Cherry Hill)
* The Frisch School
* Golda Och Academy
* Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy
* Kellman Brown Academy
* Ma'ayanot Yeshiva High School
* Politz Day School of Cherry Hill
* Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County

New York|

* Abraham Joshua Heschel School
* Central United Talmudical Academy of Monsey
* Hebrew Academy of Long Beach
* Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School for Boys
* Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway
* Kinneret Day School
* The Leffell School (former Solomon Schecter)
* Mesivta Ohel Torah
* Ramaz School
* SAR Academy
* SAR High School
* Yeshiva Shaarei Torah
* Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy
* Shulamith School for Girls
* Sinai Academy
* Westchester Hebrew High School
* Yeshiva of Far Rockaway
* Yeshivah of Flatbush
* Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin
* Yeshiva Torah Vodaas
* Yeshivat Shaare Torah

Nevada|

* Adelson Educational Campus

Ohio|

* Columbus Torah Academy
* Fuchs Mizrachi School
* Hebrew Academy of Cleveland
* Yeshiva Derech HaTorah

Oregon|

* Maayan Torah Day School
* Maimonides Jewish Day School
* Portland Jewish Academy

Pennsylvania|

* Abrams Hebrew Academy
* Hillel Academy Pittsburgh
* Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy (formerly Akiba Hebrew Academy)
* Kohelet Yeshiva High School
* Mesivta High School of Greater Philadelphia
* Politz Hebrew Academy
* Rabbi David L. Silver Yeshiva Academy
* Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia
* Torah Academy of Greater Philadelphia
* Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh

Rhode Island|

* Providence Hebrew Day School

Tennessee|

* Margolin Hebrew Academy

Texas|

* Akiba Yavneh Academy
* Robert M. Beren Academy
* Beth Yeshurun Day School
* The Emery/Weiner School
* Mesorah High School for Girls
* The Schlenker School

Washington|

* Jewish Day School of Metropolitan Seattle
* Seattle Jewish Community School
* Seattle Hebrew Academy

See also: Schechter Day School Network and Torah Umesorah – National Society for Hebrew Day Schools
Template:Jewish schools in Canada
Template:Jewish schools in the United Kingdom
Template:Jews and Judaism in Australia (for schools there)

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* Schechter
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| Organizations|

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|

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Television|

* Jewish Broadcasting Service
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Websites|

* AskMoses.com
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Dating|

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Major communal activities|

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* Category

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Jewish day schools in Canada

Alberta|

| Calgary|

* Akiva Academy
* Jewish Academy

|

Edmonton|

* Talmud Torah

British Columbia|

| Vancouver|

* Richmond Jewish Day School
* Hebrew Academy
* King David School
* Vancouver Talmud Torah

|

Manitoba|

| Winnipeg|

* Gray Academy

|

Ontario|

| Hamilton|

* Hamilton Hebrew Academy
* Kehila School

|

London|

* London Community Hebrew Day School

Ottawa|

* Ottawa Jewish Community School
* Ottawa Torah Institute
* Torah Day School

Toronto|

* Associated Hebrew Schools
* Bais Chaya Mushka
* Beth Jacob
* Bialik Hebrew Day School
* Eitz Chaim Schools
* The Toronto Heschel School
* Ohr HaEmet
* Leo Baeck Day School
* Montessori Jewish Day School
* Ner Yisroel
* Netivot HaTorah
* Paul Penna Jewish Day School
* Robbins Hebrew Academy
* Tanenbaum CHAT
* Tiferes Bais Yaakov
* Ulpanat Orot
* United Synagogue Day School
* Yeshiva Darchei Torah
* Yeshivat Or Chaim

Quebec|

| Montreal|

* Akiva School
* Bais Tziporah
* Beth Esther
* Beth Jacob
* Beth Rivkah
* Bialik High School
* Bnos Yerushalayim
* Hebrew Foundation School
* Jewish People's and Peretz Schools
* Hebrew Academy
* Herzliah High School
* École Maïmonide
* Solomon Schechter Academy
* United Talmud Torahs
* Yéchiva Yavné
* Yeshiva Gedola

|

* Category
* See also: Jewish schools in Australia
* Jewish schools in the United Kingdom
* Jewish schools in the United States

Authority control databases

International|

* FAST

National|

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Other|

* Yale LUX

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