Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy

Coordinates: 40°54′14″N 73°54′40″W / 40.90389°N 73.91111°W / 40.90389; -73.91111

Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy (SAR Academy)
ישיבת סער
Established	1938
Type	Private coeducational primary, middle, and secondary
Principal	Rabbi Binyamin Krauss
Students	approx. 1,100
Grades	PreK-12
Location	Riverdale, New York, USA
Colors	Blue and White/ Black and Yellow
Mascot	The SAR Spirit
Website	www.saracademy.org

Not to be confused with SAR High School.

Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy is a coeducational, private Modern Orthodox Jewish day school. The school is located in the Riverdale section of the New York City borough of the Bronx. It is well known for having no walls dividing the classrooms, which is part of the school's philosophy of creating an "open" educational environment. There are lots of stairs. S.A.R. creates a great learning environment. S.A.R. gives an excellent education and makes sure the students are having fun while doing so.

Its name derives from the three schools which merged to form it, Salanter (named after Rabbi Yisrael Salanter), Akiba, and the Riverdale Academy, all Orthodox yeshiva day schools. The schools merged in 1968 and adopted the current name.

The founding principal was Rabbi Sheldon Chwat, who was followed by former Assistant Principal Rabbi Yonah Fuld, who was then succeeded by then assistant principal Rabbi Joel Cohn, all of whom subsequently moved to Israel. The principal since the 2005–06 academic year has been Rabbi Binyamin Krauss, who is helped by associate principals Sharon Richter and Milly Rosner.^[1]

The school is closely affiliated with SAR High School, which is headed by the former assistant principal of the Academy, Rabbi Naphtali Harcsztark, and is made up mostly of students from the elementary school.

The SAR Academy building has no walls and features an ultra modern floor plan that has received many awards for architecture, design and programming.^{[citation needed]}

SAR requires students to take a dual curriculum, taking both general studies courses as well as Judaic studies. General Studies classes include math, science, English and social studies. The Judaic Studies courses are Hebrew language, Mishnah, Talmud (Gemara) and Bible studies (Tanach).

Awards and honors

During the 1991–92 school year, Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,^[2] the highest award an American school can receive.^[3][4]

Notable alumni (people who went here)

• Brian Ash, screenwriter, producer
• Ari Gold, singer-songwriter
• Ralph Lauren, fashion designer (Salanter).^[5]
• Achinoam Nini, singer-songwriter
• Chaim Potok, author (graduated from Salanter)
• Regina Spektor, singer-songwriter
• Jonathan Tropper, novelist
• Shira Smiles, Lecturer and Author [1]
• DJKING, famous DJ and entrepenuer
• Rav Zvi Sobolofsky, Rosh Yeshiva RIETS

Notes

1. ^ SAR | Contact and Administration
2. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed May 11, 2006.
3. ^ CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department, Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
4. ^ Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
5. ^ Gross, Michael. "Genuine Authentic", via Google Books, p. 41, HarperCollins, 2004 ISBN 0-06-095848-0. Accessed December 31, 2008.

External links

• SAR Home Page
• SAR Contact and Administration