MARCH 10 • 2022 | 11
OUR COMMUNITY
F
arber Hebrew Day
School (formerly
Yeshivat Akiva) in
Southfield, has been accred-
ited for the first time by
ISACS, the Independent
School Association of the
Central States.
Farber provides general
and Jewish instruction in a
Modern Orthodox/Zionist
context for 290 students from
pre-kindergarten through
high school.
“This is a wonderful mile-
stone in the history of Farber
Hebrew Day School and
establishes the school as an
institution with high stan-
dards and professional oper-
ations,” said Rachel Tessler
Lopatin, acting director of
marketing and communica-
tions.
The school’s 90 staff and
faculty spent more than a
year working on the self-
study and various reports
required by ISACS. The pro-
cess began in the summer
of 2019, on the initiative of
Rabbi Scot Berman, former
head of school.
The self-study involved a
dozen different areas, from
finances to physical plan,
personnel, curriculum and
teaching. The committee
undertook an in-depth
analysis of operations more
detailed than anything the
school had done previously,
Lopatin said. All the com-
mittees involved in the self-
study completed their reports
by June 2020.
Normally, a site visit by
representatives of other
ISACS-accredited schools
would have been done the
following fall, but because of
COVID, it was postponed a
full year, Lopatin said.
The visiting committee was
chaired by Steve Freedman,
head of school at Solomon
Schechter Day School of
Bergen County in New Jersey,
and included five others from
schools around the coun-
try. Only Freedman, who
was head of school at Hillel
Day School of Metropolitan
Detroit until June 2019, was
able to visit in person, with
the other committee members
visiting virtually.
“I am a huge proponent
of schools being a part of
ISACS, as it indicates the
school’s commitment to
growth and excellence,”
said Freedman, adding
that Farber “made the right
choice to go through the rig-
orous process to become an
ISACS-accredited school.”
Lopatin said ISACS accred-
itation is a “stamp of approv-
al” that makes the school
eligible for certain grants and
professional development
opportunities. It also helps to
promote the school as prac-
ticing “an identified standard
of excellence among private
schools in the Midwest area.”
Hillel in Farmington
Hills and
Frankel Jewish
Academy in West
Bloomfield are
also accredited by
ISACS.
Nachshon
Wyman, a history
and physics teach-
er, chaired the Farber accredi-
tation steering committee. He
said the most challenging part
of the process was maintaining
momentum when the COVID
pandemic added an entire year
to the process. “Students and
staff alike were left wondering
when and how the results of
our work would finally come
together,” he said.
He said he enjoyed getting
to know the nitty-gritty of
every aspect of the Farber pro-
gram. “I have come to realize
just how incredible Farber
Hebrew Day School really is,”
he said, adding that Farber is
second to none among mixed
Judaic-general studies pro-
grams in the area.
“The ISACS process
enabled us to shine a spot-
light on ourselves, celebrate
what we do well, identify
areas for growth,
listen closely to
all of our stake-
holders and
plan for a better
tomorrow,” said
Josh Levisohn,
PhD, Farber’s
head of school.
“We were so grateful for the
kind comments from the
visiting committee about the
school, and we look to go
from strength to strength in
the next stage of the ongoing
process.”
Farber Hebrew Day School
earns accreditation.
Stamp of
Approval
“THIS IS A WONDERFUL
MILESTONE IN THE HISTORY OF
FARBER HEBREW DAY SCHOOL. ”
— RACHEL TESSLER LOPATIN
Nachshon
Wyman
BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Farber Hebrew
Day School
Dr. Josh
Levisohn