Metro Schechter Academy
Encyclopedia
Metropolitan Schechter High School was a Conservative
coeducation
al college preparatory school in Teaneck
, New Jersey
that was the result of the combination of the Solomon Schechter High School of New York
in Manhattan
and the Schechter Regional High School
in Teaneck. Its started in the fall of 2006, had its first graduating class in the Spring of 2007, and never reopened after the Summer of 2007.
In early May 2007, parents were informed that there was the possibility that the school would cease operations and not reopen for the 2007-2008 school year. For those students who came from Solomon Schechter High School of New York
, this would have meant two years in a row of switching schools, with the closure once again announced at the end of the school year. A meeting was held on the evening of May 7, 2007 with parents and board members. It was announced that only 9 students had enrolled for the upcoming entering class, and that the school needed an additional $1.5 million in order to get through the upcoming school year. The board promised the parents that they would allow the school to stay open if ten students enrolled in the incoming 2007 freshman class by May 11, 2007, and $500,000 was raised by September 1, 2007. In late August, the school board announced that a long-time major donor had backed out from a pledge because of "personal financial losses," and the school was closed down.
, Tanakh
(Bible), and Talmud. In addition, students studied foreign language (French
or Spanish
), the arts, and physical education. A high priority was placed on scientific inquiry, on integrating Jewish and general studies, and on promoting Hebrew both as a living language and as a portal to advanced Jewish study. The core curriculum was be complemented by a variety of elective courses in the arts and sciences.
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
coeducation
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
al college preparatory school in Teaneck
Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, and a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 39,776, making it the second-most populous among the 70 municipalities in Bergen County....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
that was the result of the combination of the Solomon Schechter High School of New York
Solomon Schechter High School of New York
Solomon Schechter High School of New York was a coeducational Jewish high school located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The school, which was affiliated with the Conservative Movement of Judaism and a member of the Solomon Schechter Day School Association, merged in 2006 with the New...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and the Schechter Regional High School
Schechter Regional High School
Schechter Regional High School was a small, coeducational, Conservative Jewish High School, located in Teaneck, New Jersey, United States. It was founded in 2003, as an outgrowth of two lower Schechter elementary and middle schools in existence for the past 20 years. The school was led by Jay...
in Teaneck. Its started in the fall of 2006, had its first graduating class in the Spring of 2007, and never reopened after the Summer of 2007.
In early May 2007, parents were informed that there was the possibility that the school would cease operations and not reopen for the 2007-2008 school year. For those students who came from Solomon Schechter High School of New York
Solomon Schechter High School of New York
Solomon Schechter High School of New York was a coeducational Jewish high school located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The school, which was affiliated with the Conservative Movement of Judaism and a member of the Solomon Schechter Day School Association, merged in 2006 with the New...
, this would have meant two years in a row of switching schools, with the closure once again announced at the end of the school year. A meeting was held on the evening of May 7, 2007 with parents and board members. It was announced that only 9 students had enrolled for the upcoming entering class, and that the school needed an additional $1.5 million in order to get through the upcoming school year. The board promised the parents that they would allow the school to stay open if ten students enrolled in the incoming 2007 freshman class by May 11, 2007, and $500,000 was raised by September 1, 2007. In late August, the school board announced that a long-time major donor had backed out from a pledge because of "personal financial losses," and the school was closed down.
Curriculum
The school's core curriculum focused on English, history, math, science, HebrewHebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
(Bible), and Talmud. In addition, students studied foreign language (French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
or Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
), the arts, and physical education. A high priority was placed on scientific inquiry, on integrating Jewish and general studies, and on promoting Hebrew both as a living language and as a portal to advanced Jewish study. The core curriculum was be complemented by a variety of elective courses in the arts and sciences.
The School's Closing
In late August, 2007, the board of trustees of Metropolitan Schechter High School called a meeting to announce that a donor had had some significant financial trouble and they no longer had the proper funds to keep the school running. The students who had been planning to attend the school were forced to find other schools a few days before the 2007-2008 school year began.External links
- Press release re proposed merger
- Moving To The ‘Burbs: Manhattan’s Solomon Schechter High merges with New Jersey counterpart; will New York kids cross the Hudson?, The Jewish WeekThe Jewish WeekThe Jewish Week is an independent weekly newspaper serving the Jewish community of the metropolitan New York City area. The Jewish Week covers news relating to the Jewish community in NYC and has world-wide distribution.-Editorial staff:...
, May 5, 2006.