After a nine-week assessment, the planning committee for the Rockland Jewish Academy announced that the school will open in September and enrollment will begin immediately. The Rockland Jewish Academy (RJA) will fill the gap left by the closure of the Reuben Gittelman Hebrew Day School at the end of this school year in June.
According to a statement released today by the planning committee, it determined “the conditions are favorable to launch the school” for students from Pre-K3 through fifth grade. RJA is applying for a provisional charter with the State of New York
Board of Regents. Various facets of the program are being developed such as early drop-off and extended day sessions.
The RJA will be located in unused space at the Rockland Jewish Community Campus (JCC) in West Nyack. Solomon Schechter School of Westchester (SW) in White Plains will oversee the school’s academics and educators. It has also received the support of the Rockland Board of Rabbis.
The statement notes, “RJA will be an independent community Jewish
day school and unaffiliated with any particular denomination. It will offer a full curriculum of general and Jewish studies.”
Community support has been strong from when the idea of a new school was introduced.
“The involvement of our parents is critical to the success of RJA and through the initial response we see a community already forming to tackle the challenging but exciting process of starting a school.’’ said Brenda Lender, a member of RJA’s Planning Committee. “We are certain we will deliver on our mission - To create an exceptional independent community Jewish day school, with a challenging, innovative and enriched curriculum focused on 21st century skills, infused with morals and values, and promoting a strong Jewish identity, in a warm, safe, and nurturing environment.”
The Reuben Gittelman Hebrew Day School Board of Trustees last week named ASHAR (Adolph H. Schreiber Hebrew Academy of Rockland) as the expected purchaser of the school building and property on New Hempstead Road in New City. The price for the 61,000 square foot building and 10-acre site was not provided. A contract is expected to be signed within the next few between the Reuben Gittelman school board and the Monsey-based yeshiva day school for girls and boys.
