26 August 22 • 2019 jn whose bus schedules are dictated by the needs of an entire school district, FJA, with no bus service, is freed from these constraints. Kantor added that the later start allows for room in a student’ s schedule for more electives and advanced placement coursework throughout the day. More than 90 students, including freshman, enroll in AP courses, thus allowing them to better pursue their passions and sample what learning will be like at the college level, Kantor said. HILLEL DAY SCHOOL Matching the renovations in recent years on other parts of the school, Hillel Day School in Farmington Hills on Aug. 27 will hold a grand opening and introduce the community to its new 6,000-square- foot early childhood center. The school’ s ECC started 10 years ago with 69 stu- dents. This year, it welcomes 173 stu- dents. The K-8 program will have 401 students. “We offer a values-based program that builds self-confidence in young children, and allows children to be inquisitive, guided by experienced staff that have been with us for 10 years, ” said Hillel Director of Early Education Robin Pappas. “ Additionally, they are integrated into the larger Hillel community from the start. When you offer high-quality pro- gramming, it serves a purpose and fills a niche that young Jewish parents are looking for. We give the Jewish and edu- cational foundation that sets up young children as lifelong learners. That’ s why we’ re so excited to have more space now to offer Hillel’ s program to more fami- lies. ” At the end of the last school year, ECC teachers attended a seminar in Italy to learn how to tap into the innate knowledge-seeking, resilient qualities of children to learn from nature and the world around them. Other teachers were trained in “Responsive Classroom” methodologies to sharpen skills in creating a better classroom environment. “Responsive Classroom will pro- vide a community-based approach to social-emotional learning across our school, ultimately building even stronger student-teacher relationships, improving student engagement and motivation, and providing tools and strategies to enhance students’ abilities to critically solve problems, effectively collaborate and persevere through challenges, ” said Melissa Michaelson, principal of Hillel Day School. After the departure of Head of School Steve Freedman, following 16 years at his post, the school welcomes Nathan “Naty” Katz as its interim head administrator. Katz served as the exec- utive director and head of school from 2008 to 2018 at Maimonides School in Brookline, Mass., a preschool through 12th grade Jewish day school with 500 students. YESHIVAH BETH YEHUDAH The area’ s largest Jewish day school, with a combined 2019-2020 student body of 1,050 children from preschool to high school, awaits the completion of its new girls’ Bais Yaakov K-8 building by spring of 2020. The first floor of the building will be 53,333 square feet (an increase from the current 45,875 square feet). The building will stretch from 10 Mile Road to I-696. The addition of a second story of about 35,000 square feet will bring the total square footage to approximately 90,000. The building will include 24 class- rooms, two cafeterias (one for ele- mentary and one for middle school), a gymnasium, a library, computer labs and a science lab. Eighty-six parking spaces will be constructed along the Church Road side of the building. The site plan also says Yeshiva Beth Yehudah may build a third-floor addi- tion after five to 10 years. Bais Yaakov students for at least the first half of the school year will continue to attend classes at the Glenn Schoenhals school, a former Southfield public ele- mentary school on Lincoln Road that closed in 2016. Yeshiva Beth Yehudah used the Schoenhals facility to house its boys’ school during construction of its new building, which opened in September 2017. “ As construction projects go, delays like this are expected, ” said YBY Dean Rabbi Yitzchok Grossbard. “We were very fortunate to have available to us the Schoenhals school and our girls are faring well there. We were lucky it is only a block away from our main campus and that we did not have to utilize trailer classrooms as we await the opening of our new girls’ school. ” FARBER HEBREW DAY SCHOOL This year, Farber Hebrew Day School enters year two of a three-year accred- itation process with the Independent School Association of the Central States (ISACS). If it is approved in the 2020- 2021 academic year, it will join the ranks with other ISACS-accredited Jewish day schools such as Hillel and Frankel Jewish Academy. ISACS accreditation standards are developed for independent and private, not public schools. The process involves a peer review conducted by those who understand the unique qualities of each independent school and the contribu- tions made by faculty and administra- tors. Unlike public schools, where school improvement is measured by test scores, the school’ s overall process involving childhood growth and learning is exam- ined instead. Head of school Rabbi Scot Berman explained that the ISACS accreditation process is an undertaking that compels all members of the school communi- ty — from faculty and staff to students, parents and alumni — to be reflective on the practice of teaching to best deter- back to school FJA students work on a STEM project. Hillel student Jessica Lovy, seventh grade, shows off basil plants in the greenhouse. The Yeshivah Beth Yehudah girls K-8 building, scheduled for opening in spring 2020 on the Nancy Grosfeld Beth Jacob Campus continued from page 24