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September 14, 2001/Elul 26, 5761, Vol. 54, No. 1
Jess Schwartz H.S. welcomes community
BETH OLSON
Staff Writer
"This is a moment of supreme joy," said Jay Schechter, headmaster of the Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School, at the school's dedication ceremony held Sept. 7.
Schechter, board president Deborah Harris and keynote speaker Rabbi Nathan Laufer, president and CEO of the Wexner Heritage Foundation, all spoke of the hard work and dedication that went into opening the Valley's first Jewish community high school.
The ceremony, held at Temple Chai, opened with remarks by Daniel Miller, student body president. Miller said he was excited to be part of the opening of the school and spoke of the challenging curriculum, outstanding facilities and small class sizes.
Schechter emotionally shared his appreciation of Harris and her 15-year effort to bring a Jewish high school to the Valley.
Harris, in turn, gave thanks to many members of the community who assisted in the creation of the high school and said Schechter and Laufer "transformed our Jewish lives in our Jewish community."
The Jess Schwartz high school is part of a new "wave" of Jewish community high schools in the United States over the last 10 years, according to Laufer. Their purpose, he said, is to "reawaken Jewish pride and strengthen Jewish identity in the United States."
Classes began for the school's 22 ninth- and 10th-grade students on Aug. 21, at the high school's temporary facility located at Temple Chai. Eventually the school will move to its permanent location at the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, to be located at Scottsdale Road and Sweetwater Avenue in Scottsdale.
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