24 August 22 • 2019
jn
STACY GITTLEMAN
CONTRIBUTING WRITER F
ollowing the prophetic biblical
verse of enlarging the site of one’
s
tent, several Jewish day schools in
Metro Detroit welcome back students
this fall to larger facilities to accommo-
date for 21st-century learning although
overall school enrollment remains the
same.
New this year is an expansion of
leased space at the Jewish Community
Center for Frankel Jewish Academy in
West Bloomfield, a new early childhood
center wing at Hillel Community Day
school in Farmington Hills and a new
building for the girls’
school at Yeshivah
Beth Yehudah. Farber Hebrew Day
School continues its accreditation pro-
cess.
FRANKEL JEWISH ACADEMY
With a 17,000-square-foot expansion
of the school in the lower level of the
Jewish Community Center, FJA also
announced it has signed a 10-year lease
to remain at the JCC.
FJA Director of Advancement Shana
Kantor said the school has a “
great,
long-term” relationship at the JCC. For
high schoolers, the building — now with
its new café/lounge area in the main
entrance, pool, gyms, art studios and
other amenities — is the perfect setting.
She said the school, which serves stu-
dents in grades 9-12, will have a student
body of 160 this year, including about 22
freshmen.
“Throughout the entire JCC campus,
there is so much positive energy here for
our students to take advantage of and
contribute to,
” Kantor said. “Whether
they are doing STEM-related exploration
in our labs or working in our art studios
or doing community service visits with
residents in our Jewish Senior Life resi-
dences, the JCC is a happy, natural fit for
our students.
”
In its new space on the lower level,
FJA is using the area occupied by the
former library and converting it to a
multi-purpose space, making it accessi-
ble for collaborative study group work
and as a meeting place for afterschool
clubs.
The school is also converting the
4,550-square-foot-space of the Aaron
DeRoy Theatre into a black-box theater
to enhance its performing arts offerings.
The Jewish Ensemble Theater departed
the JCC last fall and opened a new loca-
tion in Walled Lake.
The high school is also changing its
schedule with a later start time, with
school days running from 8:30 to 3:15.
According to many studies on the
sleep needs of teens, starting one hour
later has been proven to have positive
outcomes on the physical and mental
well-being of teens, who are often too
sleepy to be focused for early-morning
classes. And unlike public high schools
back to school
Day Schools
Welcome
Students Back
Jewish day schools in Metro
Detroit are expanding, both
physically and academically.
TOP: A student
concentrates on an art
project at FJA.
RIGHT: Students stay
busy at the Hillel EEC.
continued on page 26