Milken Community High School
Encyclopedia
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
Jewish High School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. It is located on Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after Los Angeles pioneer civil engineer William Mulholland...
in the Bel-Air area of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Though long affiliated with Stephen S. Wise Temple
Stephen S. Wise Temple
Stephen S. Wise Temple is a large Reform Jewish congregation in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1964 by Rabbi Isaiah Zeldin with 35 families, the congregation grew rapidly. It is variously stated to be the largest, or one of the largest, Jewish congregations in the...
, a Reform
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
congregation, the school is officially non-denominational.
The school's middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
spans grades 7 through 8, while the upper school spans 9 through 12. Currently, about 200 students are enrolled in the middle school, while 600 students are enrolled in the upper school, making it the largest Jewish day school
Jewish day school
A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide Jewish children with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full time basis, hence its name of "day school" meaning a school that the students attend for an entire day and not on a part time...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
The school began as the Golda Meir School and was renamed the Einstein Academy. When the school became affiliated with Stephen S. Wise Temple, it was renamed Stephen S. Wise High School. After a large donation from Lowell MilkenLowell Milken
Lowell Milken is co-founder of Knowledge Universe, the largest early childhood education provider in the world, founder of the TAP System for Teacher and Student Advancement, co-founder and chairman of the Milken Family Foundation, and a former senior vice president in the junk bond trading...
& Michael Milken
Michael Milken
Michael Robert Milken is an American business magnate, financier, and philanthropist noted for his role in the development of the market for high-yield bonds during the 1970s and 1980s, for his 1990 guilty plea to felony charges for violating US securities laws, and for his funding of medical...
's Milken Family Foundation
Milken Family Foundation
The Milken Family Foundation is a private foundation established by Lowell Milken and Michael Milken in 1982. Lowell Milken serves as chairman and co-founder of the foundation.-Goals:...
the school was named Milken Community High School.
The Upper School was held in temporary trailers, on the lot where the new Middle School now stands, from 1994 to 1998 until the current Upper School campus was built in 1998. Until the Middle School campus was completed in 2009, the Middle School occupied temporary trailers on the parking lot of the Bel Air Presbyterian Church
Bel Air Presbyterian Church
Bel Air Presbyterian Church is a Christian megachurch located in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The church is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church currently averages more than 3,000 in attendance each weekend.-History:...
from 1981 to 2008.
The Middle School and Upper School have historically had the same name, yet after the completion of the new Middle School campus in 2009, the Middle School was officially renamed the David and Hillevi Saperstein Middle School of Milken Community High School after a subsequent donation from David and Hillevi Saperstein
David I Saperstein
David I. Saperstein is an American entrepreneur and farmer. The father of five children, he currently lives in Houston, Texas.-Biography:Saperstein was born to Jewish parents in Baltimore. He dropped out of college to sell used cars. When he got stuck in a snowstorm he came up with the idea to...
, while the Upper School remained the Milken Community High School Upper School.
On March 25, 2011, Milken Community High School and Stephen S. Wise Temple announced that the school would become independent from the temple, effective July 1, 2012.
Academics
The academic departments are English, Social Sciences, Science, Mathematics, Jewish StudiesJewish studies
Jewish studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history , religious studies, archeology, sociology, languages , political science, area studies, women's studies, and ethnic studies...
, Hebrew, World Languages (Spanish, Latin, Chinese,French), Health, Information Technology and Media Studies, Physical Education, Visual Arts, Theatre Arts, and Music. All departments offer elective courses.
Judaism
All students are required to take four years of Hebrew, of which 18 different levels are offered. Four years of Jewish studies are also required, offered at regular, honors, and high honors levels (9th-Jewish Law, 10th-Chumash, 11th-Jewish Law, 12th-Jewish Thought). Minyan takes place once a week, with varied options such as traditional-egalitarian, yoga, social action, meditation, liberal, doubters, and others. An optional daily Mincha minyan is also offered. Through the Advanced Jewish Studies Center (AJSC), numerous Judaic electives are offered, including comparative religions, intensive TalmudTalmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
study, comparative film, and others. The Kivun program, in which guest speakers lecture students on topics relating to Judaism, is offered throughout the year; students are required to attend one Kivun each semester.
Milken, unlike Stephen S. Wise Temple Elementary School, does not directly affiliate itself with Reform Judaism or any stream of Judaism in specific. It aims to cater to all streams and levels of observance of Judaism.
Tiferet Israel Fellowship
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
for the Spring semester of the 10th grade. Through a full academic program, schedule of tiyyulim (field study and trips), personalized Chuggim (individualized activities) and partnership with Israeli teens, Tiferet Israel Fellows learn inside and outside of the classroom and build relationships with the land and people of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. The semester abroad is followed by two years of additional programming. The junior year focuses on public presentation skills, training fellows how to best advocate for the State of Israel. The senior year concludes with an intensive seminar based at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, examining Israeli cultural and political issues.
Student life
The school prides itself on several self-styled Centers of Excellence including the Stephen S. Wise Music Academy and Los Angeles Youth Orchestra, its Educational Technology and Broadcast Studio Program, its Wildcats Athletics Program, the Advanced Jewish Studies Center, and the Mitchell Academy of Science and Technology. Other student organizations include The Roar student newspaper, the student-run yearbook committee, the Writes of Passage literary club, the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), National Honor SocietyNational Honor Society
The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...
, WISE, the Friendship Circle Club, and Model United Nations
Model United Nations
Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the United Nations that aims to educate participants about current events, topics in international relations, diplomacy and the United Nations agenda....
, among others.
The school has a Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
Exchange Program, an Israel Exchange Program (exclusively for the 8th Grade) and a four-month study abroad experience in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
(for the 10th Grade), called the Tiferet Israel Fellowship, based at Alexander Muss High School
Alexander Muss High School (Israel)
The Alexander Muss High School is a school in Hod Hasharon, Israel that runs special programs for Jewish high school students from overseas....
.
The FIRST robotics team, the MilkenKnights, has won four awards, including the Southern California rookie award in 2006 and the Los Angeles spirit award in 2008. In 2009, the team won the Los Angeles AutoDesk Visualization award in addition to ranking 23rd at championships. In 2010 the team became one of the first two American robotics teams to compete in the Israeli FIRST robotics regional and the only foreign team to have ever made it to the finals there. Also during the 2010 season, the team captain for the 2009 and for the 2010 seasons, Nathan Schloss, became the first winner of Los Angeles regional "Dean's List Finalist" award. This is the only award in FIRST robotics that is awarded to individual students.
The school has won at least one Pete Conrad Spirit Award for every year that the competition has been running.
The track team, after expanding to over 60 team members in 2008, won the league champions for the third consecutive year.
The Milken basketball team has had success, as well:
- CIF SS Playoffs 18 out of 19 years
- 10 League Championships
- Heritage League “Coach of the Year” 2003-2004
- Four CIF SS Final Four Appearances (for three schools)
- One CIF SS Championship
- One State Finals Appearance
During the 2010 baseball season, the Wildcats reached the CIF Championship for the first time in Milken Baseball history, and only the second time in Milken history. However, the team lost to Cornerstone Christian of Camarillo 5-1. The game was played on the UC Riverside field.
In the Fall of 2011, after the previous year held an undefeated season and championship for the Wildcats' Flag Football team, Milken began to play tackle football in the Heritage League. They play their games on Thursday nights instead of the traditional Friday night because the latter is the Jewish Sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
.
Many Wildcats have been NCAA athletes, and one, Benjamin Benditson
Benjamin Benditson
Benjamin Benditson is an American soccer player, currently without a team.-Youth and College:Benditson began playing soccer when he was five, playing club soccer for Real SoCal, and for both Oak Park High School and Milken Community High School...
, has been a professional athlete; he plays for MLS
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
's Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...
.