N.*•,•%

4

semft.Fis

Above: The gym/lunchroom
at the old Akiva building
is full of old desks.

Above left: An empty classroom
at the old Akiva.

Left: Old sanctuary
pews sit in front of the new
lockers at Akiva.
Far left: Teacher Lynne Farber
cleans up in her new classroom.
Opposite page: Teacher Kathy
Sklar cleans out some bookshelves
at the old Akiva Hebrew Day
School - building.

The smaller chapel in the west wing
of the building will remain as it was for
day-to-day use. The lunchroom will be
in the former Schwartz Auditorium,
across the hall from the chapel.
In the old Akiva building, the
lunchroom was in the gymnasium,
which doubled as the auditorium and
meeting room. The new school's
design is more singled-minded, mak-
ing scheduling of events easier.
"It wasn't a fatal flaw, although it
caused all types of problems," Gross said
of the situation at the previous building.
Akiva leadership has raised $1 mil-
lion of its $2.5 million capital cam-
paign for the renovations. The Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit
purchased the building for Akiva.
All of the new classrooms have
Internet and cable television connec-
tions, as do a computer lab and the
science lab, which moved from the
old building. The labs could play an
important role in bolstering the
school's science program.
Greenbaum declined to speculate

on how the new physical plant might
help stave off competition from a
community Jewish high school that is
slated to open in the fall of 2000.
Gross said the move to a lighter,
brighter, better-equipped facility would
not do much by itself to retain those
lower-school students who don't enter
the high school because they think the
secular academic offerings are too lim-
ited. "They don't pick schools just
because they look good," he noted.
But "in the long range, it will help
because our facilities had been looked
at as being second-rate," he said.
Back on Southfield Road, it's busi-
ness as usual for Kleid, Akiva's office
and building manager, until the move
is finished. She's keeping busy answer-
ing the phone calls of anxious parents
whose children will be starting at
Akiva in the fall.
"We still have bills to pay and send,"
Kleid said. The main problem she's run
into has been "a lot of what parents have
been looking for is packed already."
Office necessities like the copiers and

postal machines have been moved to the
new building, making for trips to the
post office and Kinko's — conveniently
located across Southfield Road from
Akiva. "We're trying to act as normal as
possible during a big move," Kleid said.
Kleid has had to set up pest control,
lawn care and alarm service for the new
facility, as well as tend to the necessities
of phone, electricity and other utilities.
Its exciting to move into a new build-
ing," she said. "My hands are full, but
we're moving forward."
Many students, staff and parents
have been instrumental in helping the
move go as smoothly; some said they
were stunned by how the school looks.
"I'm amazed with what they've
done," said Ari Gotlib, who is return-
ing to Akiva as a 10th-grader after
three years of study at Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah and Yeshiva Gedolah.
"Teachers used to bring big fans into
the class and we could bring in little
fans because it would get so hot."
Gotlib helped pack up the library
last week, and he helped Farber move

items around her new classroom as she
unpacked Monday.
The ugliest job at the old school
went to the clean-up committee,
which got the responsibility of empty-
ing the huge basement.
"It was filled with everything imag-
inable," said David Barth, committee
chairman and father of three Akiva
students. Barth guessed that the desks
dated back to the 1950s or 1960s.
"There were also old chairs, useless
furniture, old files, bank statements
and unusable text books. We filled
four or five construction dumpsters.
Barth's committee in past summers
did some painting and repairs around
the school. "It obviously didn't make
any sense to do painting this year, so
we directed our efforts toward this."
Barth said his children haven't mind-
ed the old building, "although it is kind
of decrepit," but they welcome the move.
"A lot of alumni came back and were
sentimental because they spent their
whole school life here," said Kleid. "But
we're looking forward to a new start." ❑

,'

7/1.
199

Detroit Jewish News

7