Founded in 1979 to serve the Greater Los Angeles Jewish community, Yeshiva University High School of Los Angeles (YULA) is a college-preparatory, Modern Orthodox Jewish high school accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). It has no affiliation with Yeshiva University in New York City.
The school is financially independent of, and separately incorporated from, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, despite their juxtaposition. As of 2018, YULA is focused on three main strategic goals: Primacy and Relevancy of Torah Studies, Uncompromising General Studies, and Character development.
Video Yeshiva University High Schools of Los Angeles
History
Shortly before Rabbi Marvin Hier and his family arrived in Los Angeles in July 1977, he proposed establishing a school and a center to honor Simon Wiesenthal. YULA was intended to be an affiliate of Yeshiva University offering secondary and tertiary education, but ultimately, it became solely a high school. As time passed, the Los Angeles Orthodox Jewish community perceived that Hier had placed more attention on developing the Wiesenthal Center, as opposed to the educational center. The school was ultimately founded in 1979.
Yeshiva University of Los Angeles purchased a $2.25-million facility for high school classes, located on Robertson Boulevard, in late May 1990. Rabbi Hier had outbid Sephardic Jewish and Sikh organizations for the site. Prior to the purchase, Hier had asked for $5 million in additional federal funding for the Wiesenthal Center. In response, there were serious considerations for establishing a new Orthodox Jewish high school in Los Angeles, and some parents at YULA had threatened to remove their children.
Maps Yeshiva University High Schools of Los Angeles
Campuses
YULA has separate campuses for boys and girls within the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles.
- Jack and Gitta Nagel Family Boys Campus
- Gindi Family Girls Campus
YULA Boys' school has 15 classrooms with three science labs. All classrooms have ceiling mounted projectors, while select classrooms have Smart Boards. YULA has an outdoor basketball court as well as a student lounge, with a flat-screen TV, vending machines, a student run store, and kitchen appliances. YULA also has a Beit Midrash and a Sephardic Beit Midrash which serve as locations for davening and assemblies. A new addition to the campus is currently in progress
YULA Girls school has 15 classrooms with two science labs. All classrooms have ceiling-mounted projectors, while select classrooms have Smart Boards. YULA has an outdoor courtyard where students eat and relax, a full-size auditorium for assemblies and productions, an art studio, the Kestenbaum Library, which houses over 6,000 volumes of text, a gymnasium, and a large kosher kitchen and cafeteria with hot meals daily.
Tuition
The cost to attend YULA is approximately $34,000.
Faculty
Boys School 46 Full and part-time faculty all of whom hold a B.A. and/or B.S. degree
- 16 Master's degrees
- 5 PhD
- 1 Juris Doctorate degree (JD)
- 14 Rabbinic degrees
Girls School 48 Full and part-time faculty
- 14 Master's degrees
- 2 PhD
- 1 Juris Doctorate degree
- 9 Rabbinic degrees
Student body
Each school has a student body of approximately two hundred students from different areas of Los Angeles. Many students live in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, Beverlywood neighborhood, and the San Fernando Valley.
Curriculum
The YULA curriculum is split into two parts. One part is devoted to general studies such as history, mathematics, science, and English, while the other part of the day is devoted to Judaic studies, with a curriculum of classes on Jewish texts. Sections of Chumash, Navi, Mishnah, Gemarah, and Halakha and Tanakh.
Student life
Extracurricular activities include:
- Literary/creative arts journal
- National Model United Nations Conference
- Drama
- Bible Newsletter
- The Panther Post (school newspaper)
- Varsity Robotics
- Junior Varsity Robotics
- Israel Weekly (newsletter)
- Yearbook
- Student council
- Community social action programs
- Likutei Ohr (Weekly Torah Newsletter)
- Polymatheus (Interdisciplinary Academic Journal)
- Aspiring Medical Practitioners of America Club
- Fundraising/charity drives
- Speech and debate club
- Career days
- Ethical Leadership Seminar
- Global Awareness Club
- National Basketball Tournament
- Parent/student learning nights
- Retreats
- Program with Simon Wiesenthal Center
- STEM Science Research Seminar
- Mock trial
- Official Swim Team
- YULA Israel Advocacy Club (YIAC)
- YULA Math Team
- Motzei Shabbos Learning
- 3 minute morning Mishna Chaburah
College placement
The majority of YULA High School graduates go on to higher education. Typically, ninety percent of all YULA graduates enter a four-year college or university; ten percent enter a local community college.
Prior to entering college, the majority of YULA graduates take a gap year to study in a seminary or yeshiva.
Sports
The school has sports teams in the following sports: basketball (varsity & junior varsity), baseball, tennis, volleyball, cross country, flag football, golf, and soccer.
In 1997, the school asked the California Interscholastic Federation to move the November cross-country championships to a day other than Saturday; Orthodox Jews would not participate if the competition was held on a Saturday.
Technology
Beginning in 2009, YULA began the adoption of a One-to-One laptop program with the help of Apple Inc.
Some of the technology utilized at YULA includes:
- Apple MacBook for every student
- Wireless printing
- Interactive Smart Boards in select classrooms
- Technology Support Lab for questions and repairs
- Ceiling-mounted Projectors in every classroom
- Apple's iWork productivity suite & Microsoft Office
- Innovation Lab
- Robotics area
Notable alumni
- Ben Shapiro, political commentator, nationally syndicated columnist, author, radio talk show host, and attorney.
- Noam T. Wasserman is a Professor of Clinical Entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California and the director of USC's Founders Central Initiative
See also
- History of the Jews in Los Angeles
References
External links
- YULA.org
- Articles about "Yeshiva University High School" at Los Angeles Times
Source of article : Wikipedia
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