Akiba Yavneh Academy

Last updated

Akiba Yavneh Academy, formerly 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. [1] In 2019, Yavneh Academy merged with Akiba Academy of Dallas (preschool through grade 8) to become Akiba Yavneh Academy (preschool through 12th Grade). With a student body of more than 400 students from 3 months of age through 12th Grade in the 2022–23 academic year, Akiba Yavneh Academy has a dual curriculum of General and Judaic Studies. [2] [3]

Contents

History

Yavneh Academy of Dallas first opened in 1993. Yavneh was named after a now-defunct Jewish school in Cologne, Germany that closed during World War II, which itself was named for an ancient city and academy in Israel. It was Dallas's first Jewish high school, following the closing of Torah High School of Texas.[ further explanation needed ] When it first opened, Yavneh taught 9th and 10th grade, phasing in two other grades in subsequent years. Rabbi Moshe Englander, who was previously the assistant principal of a Jewish high school near Detroit, was the first principal. When the school opened, the yearly tuition was $7,000. However, this was not enough to fully finance the school’s operation, and the school used donations to cover some of its expenses. [4] Initially, it had about 12 students. By 2004, it had 81 students, [1] rising to about 100 in 2005. [5]

Yavneh Academy occupied five temporary locations before settling into its permanent home, The Schultz Rosenberg Campus, named after donors Howard and Leslie Schultz and Marcus and Ann Rosenberg. [5] The school's current campus is at 12324 Merit Drive, covering 3.8 acres (1.5 ha). [6] It shares a site with the campus of Akiba Academy, a PK-8 school. The merged campus opened its doors in 2005. The site formerly housed the Olla Podrida Shopping Village, a shopping center which closed in 1996. The Schultzes had acquired the site and transferred it to the Greater Dallas Jewish Community Capital Campaign of the 21st Century as a donation. The demolition of the shopping center was scheduled to occur in 2003, with construction of the new campuses scheduled to begin in January of the following year. [7]

The school, along with Akiba Academy of Dallas, was built with a $19 million bond issued by the Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority (CEFCA) and underwritten by J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. [8] On September 27, 2004, about 36 boxes of Jewish religious books were ceremonially buried at the school site. [9]

Donald R. O'Quinn served as principal of the school from 1998 to 2012. Dr. David A. Portnoy became Head of School in 2012 after serving as Head of School at Emery/Weiner School in Houston, Texas, and as a teacher and senior administrator at Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School and Gilman School, both in Baltimore, Maryland. [10] Following Dr. Portnoy's retirement in 2019, the school merged with Akiba Academy of Dallas to become Akiba Yavneh Academy. As of 2019, the Head of School is Rabbi Yaakov Green. [11]

Athletics and extracurricular activities

In 2016 and 2017, the Yavneh Boys Varsity Basketball Team, The Bulldogs, won back-to-back championships at the Beth Tfiloh Weiner International Invitational Basketball Tournament. [12] They also enjoyed a perfect 31–0 record in the 2017–18 season. [13] In 2020, they won the Texas State TAPPS 3-A Championship. [14]

In 2012, Yavneh's student newspaper, The Bulldog Print, was awarded “Best in Show” for broadsheet 13- to 16-page newspapers during the National High School Journalism Conference in San Antonio, Texas. [15] Its engineering team, under the auspices of CIJE, was also awarded top national honors in 2017. [16] The school's math team won first place at the JKHA Math Masters Tournament in 2019 and 2023, with several students also placing individually as well. [17] [18]

Akiba Yavneh offers several extracurricular opportunities, including a music ensemble, a mock trial team, a student newspaper, and various other student clubs. [19] They also run an annual Jewish summer camp called Camp Kulanu. [20]

College admissions, academics, and alumni

Yavneh alumni have attended Yale University, Harvard University, Stanford University, The University of Pennsylvania, and many other colleges, universities, and yeshiva and seminary programs in Israel and around the world. [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mark's School of Texas</span> Private, day, college-prep boys school in Dallas, Texas, United States

The St. Mark's School of Texas is a nonsectarian preparatory day school for boys in grades 1–12 in Dallas, Texas, United States, accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Episcopal School of Dallas</span> Private school in Dallas, Texas, United States

The Episcopal School of Dallas (ESD) is an independent, co-educational preparatory day school located in Dallas, Texas.

Warren Travis White High School is a public secondary school in Dallas, Texas (USA). W. T. White High School enrolls students in grades 9-12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodrow Wilson High School (Dallas)</span> Public high school on Dallas

Woodrow Wilson High School, commonly known locally in short as Woodrow, is a public high school located in East Dallas, Texas (U.S.). Woodrow enrolls students in grades 9–12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District (DISD). It is located adjacent to the Junius Heights historic district.

The Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School is a school for girls in Dallas, Texas. Part of the Dallas Independent School District, it is the first public all-girls school in the state and is renowned for its challenging coursework and high college matriculation rate.

Grand Prairie Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Grand Prairie, Texas, United States.

The Yavneh Academy is a Modern Orthodox Jewish day school located in Paramus, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. It educates students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The school's motto is "Stimulating the mind, Nourishing the soul." The school was originally established in Paterson, New Jersey.

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

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regents School of Austin</span> Private school in Austin, Texas, United States

Regents School of Austin is a private, classical, non-denominational Christian school located in Austin, Texas.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skyline High School (Texas)</span> Public school in Dallas, Dallas County, Texas, United States

Skyline High School is a public magnet school in the Buckner Terrace area of Dallas, in the U.S. state of Texas. Skyline is a part of the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) and serves grades 9 through 12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert M. Beren Academy</span>

Robert M. Beren Academy is a private Modern Orthodox Jewish primary and secondary school at 11333 Cliffwood Drive in Houston, Texas, United States.

Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School is a private community Jewish day school in Baltimore County, Maryland. It encompasses preschool through twelfth grade. The school has one campus in Pikesville. The campus includes the PreSchool, Lower School, Middle School, and the High School. Beth Tfiloh operated a second campus in Glyndon which was sold to Shepherd Pratt in 2007. A new 56,000-square-foot (5,200 m2) Lower School complex was constructed on the Old Court campus and was completed in January 2009. Hebrew school is also offered on the Old Court campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Emery/Weiner School</span> Jewish day school in Houston, Texas, United States

The Emery/Weiner School (EWS) is a co-educational, independent Jewish day school in Houston, Texas, United States, serving grades 6-12. The school is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest.

Beth Tfiloh Congregation is a Modern Orthodox congregation and synagogue located at 3300 Old Court Road, in Pikesville, Maryland, in the United States. With approximately 3,500 members, and seating for 1,600 worshippers, Beth Tfiloh claims it is the largest Modern Orthodox congregation in the United States.

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and has one of the largest Jewish communities in the state.

Trinity Christian School is a private Christian school founded in 1981. The campus is located at Trinity Church in Cedar Hill, Texas and is affiliated with Trinity Ministries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Baptist Academy of Dallas</span> School in Dallas, Texas, US

First Baptist Academy of Dallas is a private, Biblically integrated, college preparatory Christian school located in Dallas, Texas. First Baptist Academy opened for grades K-7 on September 5, 1972, previously in Downtown. It is now located at a new campus in East Dallas, at the current Saints Athletic Complex. FBA has been localized at the downtown location for 44 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy</span> School in Dallas, Dallas County, Texas, United States

Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy at A. Maceo Smith (BOMLA) is a magnet secondary school for boys located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas. It is a part of the Dallas Independent School District. After the Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School, it is DISD's second single gender school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harmony Public Schools</span> Charter management organization in Texas, US

Harmony Public Schools is the largest charter management organization in Texas with seventy campuses serving students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The headquarters are located in Southwest Management District, Houston, Texas,

References

  1. 1 2 "Education and Day Care." Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas. February 24, 2004. Retrieved on April 2, 2017.
  2. ↑ Akiba Yavneh Academy - At a Glance (PDF) (Report). Akiba Yavneh Academy. p. 1. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Mission & Philosophy". Akiba Yavneh Academy. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  4. ↑ Lowrance, Christine (May 31, 1993). "Jewish academy to open - High school to fill void, supporters say". The Dallas Morning News . p. 31A. - NewsBank Record: DAL1338770
  5. 1 2 Langton, Elizabeth (October 24, 2005). "Jewish schools couple form, function with new campus - N. Dallas: Academies are thrilled with work of 'spiritual architect'". The Dallas Morning News . p. 2B. - NewsBank Record: 1180173180
  6. ↑ Silverthorn, Deborah (August 1, 2001). "Yavneh Academy packs for big move". Dallas Jewish Week . Retrieved 2017-04-02.
  7. ↑ "Olla Podrida comes down so schools can go up". Dallas Jewish Week. July 24, 2003. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
  8. ↑ Albanese, Elizabeth. "Trends in the Region: Pervasive Secularism Key to Muni Deals for Religious Schools." SourceMedia , September 7, 2004. Volume: 349, Issue: 31963. Available at ProQuest.
  9. ↑ "New campus' firm foundation". The Dallas Morning News . 2004-10-06. p. 6N. - NewsBank Record: 219051191.
  10. ↑ "Former EWS head of school to lead Dallas' Yavneh Academy". Jewish Herald-Voice. May 3, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  11. ↑ Wisch-Ray, Sharon (April 18, 2019). "Akiba and Yavneh academies to merge". Texas Jewish Post. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  12. ↑ "The Weiner Family Basketball Tournament". Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  13. ↑ Florek, Michael (June 14, 2018). "Flashback: In a majority Christian state, one Jewish school's basketball powerhouse is shaping perceptions". Dallas Morning News . Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  14. ↑ "TAPPS state basketball: Frisco Legacy Christian boys win second straight 5A title; Plano John Paul II captures first in 6A". Dallas Morning News . February 29, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  15. ↑ Wisch-Ray, Sharon (November 29, 2014). "Dallas Doings". Texas Jewish Post. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  16. ↑ Wisch-Ray, Sharon (June 1, 2017). "Dallas Doings: Yavneh engineers win national competition". Texas Jewish Post. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Yavneh Places First in Day School Math Competition". Jewish Link. May 23, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Congrats to the Yavneh Academy Math Team". Jewish Link. May 18, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Extracurricular Opportunities". Akiba Yavneh Academy. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Summer Camp". Akiba Yavneh Academy. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  21. ↑ "College Acceptance List". Akiba Yavneh Academy. Retrieved August 29, 2024.