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March 12, 2004/Adar 19 5764, Vol. 56, No. 25
Schwartz to build again
Community high school's plan to move is one of many changes
BETH OLSON
Staff Writer
In its third year of operation, the Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School is host to some major changes.
The board of directors recently agreed to purchase a 5.5-acre parcel of land at the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus on which a new facility for the school will be constructed. Along with plans for a new building, Janice Johnson, the interim headmaster who replaced founding headmaster Jay Schechter in June 2003, has been named permanent head of school. In addition, the school has hired Rabbi Shmuel Afek to the position of assistant headmaster.
It is anticipated that the pluralistic high school will grow out of its current location, on the grounds of Temple Chai, in the next two years.
Last year school representatives reported that they were unsure if the school would be moving to the campus.
"There were concerns about dealing with the City of Scottsdale and some of the restrictions that had been placed on the campus as a whole, as well as the other schools on the campus," said Daniel Feller, board president. "We have now seen how welcoming the neighborhood in Scottsdale has been both to the JCC and The King David School, and we look forward to taking our place there."
The new facility will likely be built to house 250 students in grades nine through 12. Plans are to include classrooms, laboratories, a library and a multi-use space for religious observance and community events. More specific information will be available in three to six months, according to Feller.
Heading the school through its move to the campus will be Johnson, an experienced administrator and former assistant superintendent for the Cave Creek School District.
Johnson was originally hired as an interim head of school while the board conducted an international search for a headmaster.
"After a six-month national and international search, it became clear to us that Dr. Johnson's abilities were equal to or superior to virtually all candidates we were considering," said Feller. "Her proven record here at the school made her the obvious choice for the position. We are thrilled to have her as the head of school."
Originally the board was in search of a Jewish headmaster for the school, based on advice from leaders in the Jewish educational world. "It was an original assumption that (having a Jewish headmaster) was really something that was necessary. Then we realized that it was not true - that a lot of schools have non-Jewish heads and they function very well," explained Feller. "I defy anyone to find someone, either Jewish or non-Jewish, who has more passion for Jewish day school education than Dr. Johnson. She has just been absolutely extraordinary in embracing the finest of Jewish behavior and principles."
Johnson said she is "honored" to fill the role of headmaster at the school.
"I very much believe in the mission of the school and the values of what we're trying to do as far as truly building and nurturing the future Jewish leaders of not just this Jewish community, but the nation as a whole," she said.
Another significant change at the school was the hiring of Afek as assistant headmaster, a newly created position. It is Afek's role to oversee both the secular and Judaic curriculum at the school, and he is in the process of "developing the four-year scope and sequence curriculum for the Judaic studies program," he explained.
Afek moved to the United States more than three years ago from Israel, where he lived for 30 years. Prior to moving to the Valley, he served as founding head of school at Chicago Jewish Day School.
He has been a Jewish educator for 20 years, with a focus on pluralistic Jewish education.
"In my graduate work and in my professional work this is what I've been doing over the last several years - trying to develop a more sophisticated version of pluralistic Jewish education at the high school level," he explained.
Afek believes that it is important to educate the students to be literate Jews, with knowledge of tradition, regardless of denominational affiliation.
"We want our students to be educated as Jews into the full range of what it means to be Jewish, at the same time being very serious about how they practice Judaism," Afek said. "It's very important to us that our families feel that their levels of observance and beliefs are respected."
Afek and his wife, Naomi Smidt-Afek, a family physician, have seven children. Two of the children live at home, Avi Shai, a fifth-grader who will attend a local Jewish day school, and Yoni, an eighth-grader who hopes to attend Jess Schwartz next year.
Current enrollment at the school is 40 students, but there will be an anticipated 65 to 70 students for the 2004-2005 school year.
Feller reports a surge of interest in the school from the community. He says more than 50 students have visited the campus to "shadow" a current student for a day, and 23 students recently participated in the first round of entrance exams for the school.
Contact the writer at beth_olson@jewishaz.com.
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