Changes abound in local day schools
BETH OLSON
Staff Writer
As the 2001-2002 school year approaches, local Jewish day schools are preparing to open with a host of changes, including the opening of a new high school and the expansion of two elementary schools.
The most significant change is the opening of a new school, the Jess Schwartz Community High School, serving students in grades 9 and 10. The school will open its doors Aug. 20 at a temporary location in a brand-new facility on the grounds of Temple Chai in Phoenix. Eventually, the school, which will add one grade per year, will move to its permanent location at the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus to be located at the corner of Scottsdale Road and Sweetwater Avenue in Scottsdale.
Headmaster Jay Schechter says the school has 22 students committed to attending as of July 20. The school will have 17 staff members, five of them full-time faculty.
The pluralistic school has equal representation from each of the affiliations, says Schechter. The majority of the incoming students were already attending local Jewish day schools - nine from Phoenix Hebrew Academy and three from King David - with the rest coming from public schools.
Another substantial change locally is the opening of the Pardes Jewish Day School's middle school at Temple Kol Ami in Scottsdale. The campus will serve grades 5-7, with an eighth-grade class being added for the 2002-2003 school year. Grades kindergarten through fourth will continue to be housed at Pardes' current location at Temple Solel in Paradise Valley.
Tobee Waxenberg will serve as middle school director for the campus, which will serve 34 students this fall (total enrollment for Pardes is approximately 130-135 students). The new facilities include a science lab and a computer lab.
The new campus will have several full-time staff members, with some teachers traveling between the elementary and middle school divisions. Additionally, all of the Reform rabbis in the Valley will teach at the school as part of the Jewish studies staff.
Expansions at Pardes' elementary division include the addition of first- and second-grade classes - grades kindergarten through second will now offer two classes at each grade level.
The Tri-City Jewish Community Center Day School has also expanded by one grade and now serves students through third grade. The school plans to add an additional grade each year, through grade six. The school has hired a new teacher, Emily Zappa, to teach the second- and third-grade combination class of 14 students.
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