Ida Crown Jewish Academy

Infobox School3
name =Ida Crown Jewish Academy


established =1942
type = Parochial; Coed
head_name =Dean
head =Rabbi Leonard A. Matanky
free_label = Religious Affiliation
free_text = Jewish
students = 275-350
school_colors = Red, blue and white
mascot =Aces
city =Chicago
state =Illinois
country =United States
website = http://www.icja.org

The Ida Crown Jewish Academy is an Orthodox Jewish high school in West Rogers Park, Chicago, Illinois overseen by the Associated Talmud Torahs. Its current Dean is Rabbi Dr. Leonard A. Matanky. Ida Crown places emphasis on both Judaic and Secular studies, and holds its students to high academic standards. The Academy prides itself on its college-preparatory environment, yet still encourages its students to pursue a year in seminary in Israel before attending college. Ida Crown serves students from all over the northern Chicago area, including Chicago, Lincolnwood, Skokie, Northbrook, Highland Park, Glencoe, Deerfield, Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines, and Evanston.

History

Leaders from the Associated Talmud Torahs (ATT) and Hebrew Theological College met in 1942 to address growing educational concerns. The primary problem centered around the fact that many Jewish children began to drop their studies around Bar Mitzvah time, setting the scene for rampant assimilation and a loss of tradition. They eventually established a plan: to create a high school which combined the secular studies taught in public secondary schools and Judaic studies under one roof. With a day from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., students would be the most receptive, and would not have to endure tiring evening classes at Hebrew high or similar institutions. Ideally, these students would move on to pursue Jewish higher education, or at least continue to serve the community.

The school began as Chicago Jewish Academy in September, 1942. It was first located on the West side on the corner of Douglas Blvd. and St. Louis Ave. It was a coeducational junior high school with grades 7-9, subsequent grades were added with each upcoming year. The school became a complete six-year secondary school in September, 1945. The first Commencement ceremony took place in June 1946.

By that time, the school outgrew its previous facilities. The ATT purchased the building of the Metropolitan Masonic Temple in the Garfield Park area; the school moved to the building in 1947. The three-story building was remodeled during the two-year waiting period to accommodate the needs of a modern academy. The University of Illinois officially recognized its existence shortly thereafter. Later, the State placed the Academy on the official list of accredited high schools in 1956.

Despite ample room and much progress, the West side of Chicago began to deteriorate as a whole by the early 1960s. The Academy was forced by virtue of circumstances to relocate in 1961 to the Torah Center. The move helped catalyze the institution of a new branch, a Yeshiva; a section of the high school for boys, which included intensified Talmudic studies. To satisfy the needs of parents and help hinder overcrowding, a third branch, a Girls' school, was established in September 1963.

The Chicago Jewish Academy made its final move in 1964 due to overcrowding. To fund the move, the ATT proposed a campaign to raise funds for a building to house up to 750 students. This building, in the West Rogers Park area, a center of Jewish community regionally, was named the Ida Crown Jewish Academy, after a generous donation from the Crown family. [cite web | author=Rapoport, Rabbi Shlomo| year=1967| title= A Quarter Century of Progress By the Academy | url=http://www.idacrownjewishacademy.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=8&tabid=9&ModuleID=206| accessdate=2006-04-17]

Later, the Academy would drop its junior high school, and both branches became their own separate Jewish high schools. The Yeshiva became Fasman Yeshiva High School, in Skokie, and the Girls' School became Hannah Sachs Bais Yaakov. Still, the atmosphere and philosophy has generally remained the same over more than fifty years of progress.

Ida Crown Jewish Academy may be planning another move, this time to Skokie. If so, the move would satisfy a student body which is primarily from the North Shore area, and address overcrowding at the current building. (This is still under development.)

Quick Facts

Statistics

*Days in year: 176
*Hours in day: 9.6
*Enrollment: 300 [cite web
url = http://www.idacrownjewishacademy.org/uploads/ICJAGettingtoKnow04.pdf
title = Getting to Know Ida Crown Jewish Academy]
*Current tuition ('06-'07): ~$16,000/student

Faculty

*Faculty: 57
*Percent holding graduate degrees: 68%
*Student/Teacher Ratio: 5:1

Academic Recognition

*Officially accredited Illinois high school
*University of Illinois recognized
*Recognized by the Illinois Department of Education (2003-2004) [cite web
url= http://www.isbe.net/news/2003/04_recog_nonpublic_schls.pdf
title = Recognized Nonpublic Schools for 2003-2004]
*Chicago Sun-Times rated it as one of the top ten private high schools in Illinois (2004)
*Winners of the American Mathematics Contest (2006)Fact|date=September 2007
*National Merit Scholarship Program

Recent Athletic Achievements

*Made the Championship of the YU tournament in 2007.
*Yeshiva University's Red Sarachek Tournament Champions 2008.
*Boys' basketball team won the Joseph Weiner Memorial Basketball Tournament in 1990 and 1995 and 2008; Girls' team won in 1994 [ cite web
url= http://www.btfiloh.org/weinerhallfame.htm
title= List of Tournament Champions]
*Wrestling team took second place in the XI Henry Wittenberg Invitational Wrestling Tournament (2006). The team won the tournament in 2008. [cite web
url= http://www.icja.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=2&tabid=3&ModuleID=251
title = ICJA Wrestling team win]

Associations

*Association of Modern Orthodox Day Schools and Yeshiva High Schools (AMODS) [cite web
url = http://www.amods.org/gruen_past_recipients.aspx
title = Schools benefitting from AMODS endowal fund]
*National Association of Private Special Education Centers [cite web
url = http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/quickprivate/il/5110
title = GreatSchools entry]

Notable Alumni

* Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel (aka Natie Finkel), Rosh Yeshiva of Mir yeshiva (Jerusalem) as well as a world renowned Torah scholar

* David Draiman, lead singer of Disturbed

* Rabbi Berel Wein, noted author and historian

* Dr. Lee Shulman, President of the Carnegie foundation for the Excellence of Teaching

* Yochi Dreazen, Reporter, Wall Street Journal

* David Steinberg, Vice President of Sony Productions

* Professor Kinneret Myers, Author, Chairman of the Department of English, Bar-Ilan University

* Eric Rothner, entrepneur and philanthropist

* Darrell Cohn, star of "Dating on Demand"

* David Kheradyar, MD, star of "Whammy!"

* Michael Serlin, MD, star of "Stump the Schwab"

Curricula

*Levels: 0, not calculated into G.P.A.; 1.0, Modified/Regulars; 2.0, Honors -- A is 5.0, B, 4.0, and so forth.
*Scheduling: Arrival at 8:05AM; prayer and breakfast until 9:10; followed by twelve thirty-nine minute periods. Day ends at 5:39PM.

General Studies

*Requirements: English, 4 years; Hebrew, 4 years; Physical Education, 4 years; History, 3.5 years; Math, 3 years; Science, 2 years; Arts, 1 year; Driver's Education, 1 year.
*Advanced Placement courses: 10
*Electives: Journalism, Film, Public Speaking, Advanced Art, Band, English Seminar, Graphic Design, Spanish, Psychology, Economics, Business Law

Judaic Studies

*Required.
*Single-gendered classes
*Boys' track: Four years of Tanach and Talmudic Studies
*Girls' track: Four years of Tanach; one year of mishna; three years of either Talmud or Jewish Philosophy/Oral Law; one half-year on family purity.

See also

*Jewish education

References

External links

* [http://www.icja.org Ida Crown Jewish Academy Official Website]