In the autumn of 1960, a tiny group of children in kindergarten and first grade met in the basement of a Milwaukee West Side Orthodox synagogue, Congregation Anshe Sefard.
They were the first classes of Hillel Academy, a new attempt to create a Milwaukee Jewish community day school after two previously unsuccessful tries.
Today, some 600 graduated students later, Hillel Academy, recently renamed The Academy, marks its 50th school year of existence. It will celebrate with a dinner scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 14, 5 p.m., at The Pfister Hotel.
Dr. Alfred Bader, one of the founders and financial supporters of the school, and his sons David and Daniel, who were among Hillel’s first students, will be the honorees.
From Anshe Sefard on 51st Blvd., in Milwaukee, the school grew and moved to several different locations — the Beth Am Center on the West Side, a building on 45th and Good Hope Rd., a building on Port Washington Rd. near the Milwaukee River — before finding its current home as part of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation-owned Karl Jewish Community Campus in 1988.
Many people have led the school during these years, some born and trained in North America, some of them Israelis.
It has also had ups and downs in enrollment, going from the handful in its first class to a high of more than 200 in the 1970s (227 in 1979, according to the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle, Sept. 20 of that year).
Enrollment dropped to 76 in 2004, but it has been climbing, reaching 97 this year, according to the 2010-2011 Milwaukee Jewish School Census, prepared by the Coalition for Jewish Learning, the education program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
But the school’s influence upon the Milwaukee Jewish community is not measurable by such numbers. As the first successful Wisconsin Jewish day school, it “changed the landscape of our community,” according to B. Devorah Shmotkin, principal of the school since 2004 and a veteran teacher there.
And it has shaped the parents almost as much as the children they send. Said Jonathon Gelfman, a board member and parent: “Hillel has permeated and helped our home grow. We are learning as much as our children are learning from the school.”
The current president of the board, Bruce Glaser, has been involved with the school for many years, long after his children graduated; and he clearly takes pride in the school’s achievements. “It’s really a school for everyone,” he said.
Based on standardized test scores, it ranks higher than the surrounding suburban public schools in reading, math and science. What makes it Jewish, of course, is that its students also study Hebrew and Jewish texts as part of their daily curriculum.
In 2004, the school established a “strategic alliance” with Lubavitch of Wisconsin (see Chronicle, Aug. 27, 2004). The organization’s administrative resources have provided accounting services, grant request applications, and coordination of volunteers for the school.
Shmotkin as principal has instituted an individualized approach to education. “Each child has an individualized learning plan,” she said. “The education is about the whole child — every aspect of the child — for them to be able to take their learning and truly make it part of their life.”
Shmotkin said the school has taken many of the “best practices” utilized in secular teaching and applied them to Hebrew and religious studies. Classrooms utilize learning stations, guided reading, and other strategies that help students become strong, independent learners.
The small class sizes and the values of the school contribute to an acceptance and appreciation of individuals within classrooms despite their diverse backgrounds and upbringings, said Shmotkin. Even students that have joined Hillel in the eighth grade have found inclusion and acceptance, and experienced much personal and academic growth, she said.
The curriculum also includes a wide variety of after school enrichment activities. A few of the options include: pottery, soccer, baseball, basketball, T-ball, Wii Fitness, dance, and African drums.
The school runs from kindergarten through eighth grade, and culminates in an eighth grade class trip to Israel. Rabbi Nachman Levine, a long-time Judaic teacher at Hillel, has led the trip in the past few years.
Gershie Pevnick, a 2009 graduate, said, “It was the trip of a lifetime. It was awesome.” Avi Gelfman, who just returned from the class of 2011 trip to Israel, loves the “amazing opportunities” Hillel provides. Avi also noted the small class sizes at Hillel, allowing for the students and teachers to “feel so close together.”
Graduates of Hillel have become successful in many realms of life. Many graduates integrated their Judaic learning into their daily lives, raising Torah observant families.
Bruce and Peggy Glasers’ daughters are among the examples. Aliza attended two years of seminary in Israel, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in psychology in her new home in South Africa. Rebecca has a business degree and is just beginning her career. Jessica earned a master’s degree in psychology and counseling from Northwestern University following her two years of seminary studies in Israel.
Another alumna, Talia Jaspan Mashiach, has started numerous businesses while simultaneously raising her family. Her latest endeavor, Eved Services, is listed as in the top 500 businesses by the magazine Inc.
Hillel’s graduates have attended prestigious universities, seminaries and yeshivot world-wide. The list includes Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Oxford, Stanford, Columbia, Keren B’avnei, Meviserat Zion, Michlelet, and many more.
The school began at the urging of one of Milwaukee’s most revered rabbis, Daivd S. Shapiro (1909-1989), the long-time spiritual leader of Anshe Sfard. While he was Orthodox, the school from the beginning was envisioned to be a community school open to students from all Jewish religious movements.
That trait remains to this day, said Shmotkin. “Our school has diversity in religious observance — 50 percent of our families are non-shomer Shabbat, and 10 percent are non-Caucasian,” she said. “Our student body runs the entire gamut of the Milwaukee Jewish community.”
“That’s the beauty of this place. The unifying factor is the Jewish piece,” she said.
The theme for the dinner is “Generations of Jewish Education-Honoring the Past Fifty Years.” For more information and to make reservations, contact the school, 414-962-9545, or visit www.theacademywi.org.
Diana Kahn is a Milwaukee educator and freelance writer.
Loading ...