Heschel West School embraces Jewish faith

Photo courtesy of Heschel West Day School CORE VALUES TAUGHT—Students at Heschel West Day School in Agoura Hills tackle a rigorous academic curriculum, but the school places equal weight on character development by stressing a strong Jewish identity. The Jewish population in the Conejo Valley is growing rapidly and Heschel West Day School in Agoura Hills is striving to meet the educational needs of today’s—and tomorrow’s—Jewish students.

According to Brian Greenberg, past president of Heschel West, the Conejo Valley is now home to more than 65,000 Jewish residents, but demographers expect the population to double within 20 years.

Heschel West Day School was opened in 1994 with 14 kindergarten students at the FourSquare Church on Agoura Road. By the fourth year, the school had run out of space and moved to their current location in a pastoral setting off Liberty Canyon.

But the school continued to grow and added new grade levels each year. In 2005, the middle school was launched with a sixthgrade class. According to Judy Einbund, director of admissions, Heschel expects to open a seventh-grade class this year, and an eighth-grade class in 2007.

With the growth, however, came problems with space. Heschel now educates 218 students, but Einbund said they had to turn away students this year.

“It goes against our mission and philosophy,” Einbund said.

The school owns land next to Old Agoura and wants to build a school to accommodate 750 students from kindergarten through eighth grade. Old Agoura residents oppose the school altogether and Agoura Hills officials would like changes to the size and location of the proposed school.

The philosophy of the school is based on six core values, including community, character, curriculum, critical thinking, creativity and continuity.

The school offers students the opportunity to give back to their community in a variety of ways. Students involved in Project Caring bring Shabbat service to the seniors at the Agoura Hills Senior Center. The curriculum integrates community service at every grade level, said Einbund.

Other community projects include planting trees, collecting food for the homeless and bringing Thanksgiving baskets to needy families. “We believe it’s important to give back,” Einbund said.

Creativity is nurtured through the school’s theater arts, music and fine arts programs. Art and music are taught daily. The students are immersed in Hebrew from pre-kindergarten through middle school.

By fourth and fifth grade, all students are able to converse in Hebrew, Greenberg said. . The school’s “Quest in Science” program is designed for elementary students. The school employs a team of teaching specialists who work directly with firstto fifth-grade students.

In addition to the four science disciplines—physical science, life science, Earth science, and investigation and experimentation— students are taught to think about environmental ethics and social conflicts stemming from science and technology.

Technology is state-of-the-art at Heschel West. Heschel is the first middle school in the country to use a computerized, interactive “smart” board, which transmits lessons directly to the laptop computers of middle school students. Handwriting on the board is recognized on the computers.

In addition to an integrated general and Judaic education, middle school students study American government. Political leadership is introduced in sixth grade, and students learn how laws are created, how to meet with politicians and how to follow bills through until they become law. Character education is instilled in students via a strong Jewish identity and life-long learning. The literature states that the school is “committed to tikun olam (repairing our world),” and students participate in local charities as well as groups supporting Israel.

Although such comprehensive private education doesn’t come cheap—tuition is between $7,000 and $15,000 per year— Einbund said the school “tries to make it work for anyone who wants to be in the program.” The school offers a variety of scholarship programs.

For further information, contact Heschel West at (818) 707-2365.