Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy

Last updated
Berman Hebrew Academy
Berman Hebrew Academy Main Building.jpg
Front Entrance
Address
Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy
13300 Arctic Ave

Aspen Hill (Rockville address)
,
Maryland

United States
Coordinates 39°4′25″N77°6′1″W / 39.07361°N 77.10028°W / 39.07361; -77.10028
Information
Type Private
Established1944
LocaleResidential area
HeadmasterRabbi Dr. Hillel Broder
Grades2N-12
Color(s)Blue, orange and white
AthleticsCougars
Website www.bermanhebrewacademy.org

The Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, referred to locally as Berman or The Hebrew Academy, is a coed Modern Orthodox Jewish day school serving the greater Washington area. It is in Aspen Hill, Maryland, with a Rockville postal address. [1] [2]

Contents

The school has grades from Pre-K to 12. It was founded in 1944. The school moved to its current location in Aspen Hill in 1999, site of the former Robert E. Peary High School. It changed its name from the Hebrew Academy of Greater Washington to its current name after its benefactor Melvin J. Berman in the process. The student body consists of roughly 700 students, including about 190 in the Upper School. [3] There were about 200 students in the 2014-2015 school year. The school has a dual curriculum including secular subjects and judaics, with the school day generally split in order to cover both curricula. The NETA program serves as the Hebrew language curriculum for the school. [4] As of 2020, the high school is ranked as one of the top 50 Jewish high schools in the nation. [5]

History

The Hebrew Academy was founded in 1944 at 1202 Decatur Street, NW Washington, D.C by a group of Orthodox Jewish leaders and was one of the first Jewish Day Schools founded outside of the greater New York area. As the school has expanded in size, it has moved several times before arriving at its current location in Rockville. [6]

Administration

The Berman Hebrew Academy is split into four main sections. The Pre-school is directed by Rebecca Gautieri. The Lower School, grades kindergarten to five, is run by Suzy Israel. The Middle School, from grades six to eight, is run by Dr. Shira Loewenstein, replacing Rabbi Shields. Finally, the High School recently hired a new principal, Rabbi Allan Houben, to replace the former principal Malka Popper. [7] [8] Rabbi Dr. Hillel Broder took over as head of school the summer of 2023 from Rabbi Dr. Yossi Kastan who began with the 2018-2019 school year. Rabbi Dr Kastan replaced Dr. Joshua Levisohn.

Subjects

Grades 1, 2, and 3 consist of two classes: General (English) Studies and Jewish (Hebrew) Studies. Beginning with grade 4, there are four classes: English, Chumash, Hebrew and Navi. In grade five, there are five classes: English, Hebrew, Chumash, Navi and Mishnah. Middle and Upper school students take nine classes. Most students take English, History, Math, Science, Chumash, Navi, Talmud, Hebrew language, and an elective.

Extra-curricular programs

There are many extracurricular programs and clubs available at the Berman Hebrew Academy including mock trial, Model United Nations, Hamodiya newspaper, Hebrew Academy Dramatic Arts Society (HADAS), debate team, student council, Math leagues, a cappella, Girl Up, Israel action committee, medical ethics club, engineering club, rock climbing, coding club, slam poetry club, finance club, robotics team, and more.

Robotics

Berman Hebrew Academy boasts both a middle school and high school robotics team. The middle school uses lego robotics and participates in the First Lego League. The high school has a vex robotics team, which participated in the Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education league this year. In its first year, the high school team won second place in its winter competition [9] .

Athletics

The MJBHA fields cross-country, soccer, basketball, track and field, ultimate frisbee, baseball, and volleyball teams. The teams compete in the Potomac Valley Athletic Conference, the ISBVL for boys volleyball, and the WAFC for ultimate Frisbee.

Mission to Israel

Starting in 2004, every four years the entire Berman Upper School is brought to Israel for a ten-day long trip. The trip is meant to both connect the students to the land of Israel, some of whom may never have been before, and encourage students to "go to Israel for the year after high school and beyond." [10] The most recent mission occurred in 2022.

The Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy changed its logo and school colors from blue and yellow to blue and orange. This new logo which emphasizes a big "Berman" is meant to reflect, according to the Berman Hebrew Academy website, their "enthusiasm at being the Modern Orthodox Day School of the Nation's Capital." [11]

Notable alumni and faculty

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Joshua Heschel School</span> Private school in New York, New York, United States

The Abraham Joshua Heschel School (AJHS) is a pluralistic nursery to 12th grade Jewish day school in New York City named in memory of Abraham Joshua Heschel, a major Jewish leader, teacher, and activist of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway</span> Private school in Lawrence, New York, United States

The Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway (HAFTR) is a Modern Orthodox Jewish day school on the South Shore of Long Island in New York, United States, serving male and female students in preschool through twelfth grade. It is a private school in the Five Towns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy</span> Private, yeshiva, day school in New York, NY, United States

The Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy, also known as Yeshiva University High School for Boys (YUHSB), MTA or TMSTA, is a Modern Orthodox Jewish day school and the boys' prep school of Yeshiva University (YU) in the Washington Heights neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is the brother school to the Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls.

The Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy is a coeducational Modern Orthodox Yeshiva Day School located in Livingston, New Jersey. The Academy is dedicated towards developmental education and religious growth, for both boys and girls from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 8. The affiliated Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School serves students in grades nine through 12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeshivah of Flatbush</span> School in Brooklyn, New York, United States

The Yeshivah of Flatbush is a Modern Orthodox private Jewish day school located in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, New York. It educates students from age 2 to age 18 and includes an early childhood center, an elementary school and a secondary school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy</span> School in New York City , New York, United States

Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy, better known by the acronym, SAR Academy, is a coeducational, private Modern Orthodox Jewish day school. The school is located in the Riverdale section of the New York City borough of the Bronx.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SAR High School</span> Private high school in Bronx, New York City

Salanter Akiba Riverdale High School is a Modern-Orthodox Jewish day school located in Riverdale, New York City. It was founded in 2003 by Rabbi Naftali (Tully) Harcsztark. The school is affiliated with SAR Academy, which is also in Riverdale.

Kehillah Jewish High School is an independent college preparatory high school located in Palo Alto, California. "Kehillah" is a Hebrew word meaning "community." The school is one of a series of pluralistic (community) Jewish day schools in the United States at the high school level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy</span> Private, Jewish day school in Bryn Mawr, PA, United States

Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy is a coeducational college-preparatory and religiously pluralistic Jewish day school for grades 6 through 12, located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

The Rabbi Alexander S. Gross Hebrew Academy, is a private coeducational college preparatory yeshiva and Modern Orthodox Jewish day school located in Miami Beach, Florida. The school has been awarded a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School</span> School in North Bethesda, Maryland, US

The Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, often referred to as CESJDS or JDS, is a private, pluralistic Jewish JK-12 school located in two campuses in North Bethesda, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1966, the school's namesake is Charles E. Smith, a local Jewish philanthropist and real estate magnate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Jean and Samuel Frankel Jewish Academy of Metropolitan Detroit</span> Jewish high school in metro Detroit

Frankel Jewish Academy(FJA), named after its major benefactors Jean and Samuel Frankel, is a college-preparatory independent Jewish day school in West Bloomfield, a city in the Detroit metropolitan area. Opened in 2000 primarily for providing continuity of Jewish education for the graduates of Hillel Day School, a local Conservative K – 8 school, it became the first multi-denominational Jewish high school in Michigan. It provides both secular and Judaic studies instruction for ninth through 12th grade students coming from various denominations within Judaism, including Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shulamith School for Girls</span> Private, jewish day school

Shulamith School for Girls is a Centrist Orthodox Jewish school. It was the first Orthodox Jewish elementary school for girls in North America. The name Shulamith is a feminine form of the Hebrew name Solomon, which loosely translates to "peace". As of July 2010, the organization was divided into two separate institutions which operate independent schools in Brooklyn and Long Island.

Katz Yeshiva High School (KYHS) is a private Jewish high school yeshiva located in Boca Raton, Florida, in Palm Beach County. The school provides a Modern Orthodox education and has both male and female students in grades 9–12.

The Talmudical Academy of Baltimore or TA is a K–12 yeshiva founded in 1917. Its present campus, located at 4445 Old Court Road, includes a pre-school building, an elementary school building, a middle school building, a high school building, three gymnasiums, a dormitory, two computer labs, and two study halls which double as prayer sanctuaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeshiva of Greater Washington</span> Private school in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States

The Yeshiva of Greater Washington (YGW) is an Orthodox community-based Jewish Day School that is located in Silver Spring, Maryland. It was founded in 1964 by Rabbi Gedaliah Anemer. It consists of separate high schools for boys and girls and a beis medrash.

Rav Teitz Mesivta Academy, commonly known as RTMA or JEC High School, is a Yeshiva high school located in Elizabeth, New Jersey and a branch of the Jewish Educational Center. Founded in 1955 by Rabbi Pinchas Mordechai Teitz, RTMA adheres to the tenets and practices of Orthodox Judaism. It is one of the country's earliest and leading Modern Orthodox Yeshiva high schools. RTMA's dual curriculum offers courses in Torah studies, as well as college preparatory academics. Most of its students reside in the Orthodox Jewish communities of New Jersey and New York. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 2008 and is accredited until January 2024.

Yavneh Academy of Dallas is a coeducational, college preparatory Jewish private school in Dallas, Texas. It is guided by the tenets of Modern Orthodox Judaism. In 2019, the school merged with Akiba Academy of Dallas to become Akiba Yavneh Academy. With a student body of more than 400 students from 3 months of age through 12th Grade for the 2021–22 academic year, Akiba Yavneh Academy has dual curriculum of General and Judaic Studies.

Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School for Boys is an Orthodox Jewish high school in Woodmere, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eitz Chaim Schools</span> Elementary school in Canada

Eitz Chaim Schools is a private, Orthodox Jewish elementary school in Toronto and Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. The school receives funding from the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, primarily based on the amount of tuition subsidies provided. In addition to the regular Ontario curriculum, the school teaches various Jewish-related topics including Chumash, Mishna, and Dinim. Some Hebrew language and Navi, is also taught, particularly with the girls.

References

  1. ↑ "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Aspen Hill CDP, MD" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved 2020-10-25. - Compare to the street address.
  2. ↑ "Home". Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy. Retrieved 2020-10-25. Harry A. Epstein Campus 13300 Arctic Avenue Rockville, MD 20853 - Compare to the map.
  3. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-02-18. Retrieved 2019-02-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ↑ http://www.mjbha.org/about_mjbha/MJBHA%20Profile%202007-2008.pdf%5B%5D
  5. ↑ "2020 Best Jewish High Schools in America". Niche. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  6. ↑ The Record, Volume 20, 1993-1994, pp. 29-38 by Evelyn Becker
  7. ↑ "Berman Hebrew Academy: News: New Upper School Principal Announce..." www.mjbha.org. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  8. ↑ "Berman Hebrew Academy: Our Administration". www.mjbha.org. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  9. ↑ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  10. ↑ "Entire US high school due in Israel for 10-day mission - Jewish World - Jerusalem Post". www.jpost.com. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  11. ↑ "Berman Hebrew Academy: News: Our New Look and Logo". www.mjbha.org. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  12. ↑ Leftley, Nick (13 January 2015). "Ari Shaffir interview: 'You wouldn't want to tape a special on mushrooms'". TimeOut. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  13. ↑ Holzel, David (2015-05-13). "Neshama Carlebach brings music festival audience to its feet". Washington Jewish Week. Retrieved 2019-11-01.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.