American Hebrew Academy

Infobox School
name = American Hebrew Academy


motto =
established = 2001
type = Private, Boarding
religion = Jewish
grades = 9-12
accreditation =
tuition =
principal = Dr. Gary Grandon
city = Greensboro
state = NC
country = USA
campus = Gated, 100 acres (0.4 km²)
enrollment = 150
faculty = 30
class = 10 studentsFact|date=August 2008
ratio = 5:1
SAT =
athletics = 16 Interscholastic Sports
|colors = blue, white, and red
color box|#000080 color box|white color box|#FF0000
mascot = Eagle
homepage = [http://www.americanhebrewacademy.org/ americanhebrewacademy.org]

The American Hebrew Academy opened on September 10, 2001 in Greensboro, North Carolina, as America's first and only liberal, coeducational, pluralistic Jewish boarding school. Modeled after the best college preparatory schools in the nation, AHA prepares each of its students in many aspects. The 100 acre (0.4 km²) wooded campus was the last project designed by Aaron Green, protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright. Every building on campus is built with Jerusalem stone and was specifically designed to fit into the landscape.

AHA features state of the art technology in all aspects of campus life. In every classroom there is an Interactive whiteboard (SmartBoard) and projector, ELMO Projector, teleconference-enabled camera and microphones, a wide variety of cutting-edge software, and a teardrop shaped table. The teardrop shaped table eliminates the normal hierarchies imposed on students while sitting in a formal desk setting and encourages "seminar style" discussions instead. This idea appears to originate from the "Harkness table." Both ecologically and economically beneficial, AHA also boasts the largest lake-coupled geothermal exchange well field in the United States to heat its campus.

History

Campus

Athletics

In the spring of 2005, an convert|88000|sqft|m2, $13 million athletic center and natatorium was finally completed and opened to the campus after over a year of construction. The center includes three full-sized regulation basketball courts, rock climbing walls, a racquetball court, a wrestling/dance/all purpose room, and top of the line cardiovascular equipment and exercise machines. The Natatorium features a competition-sized eight lane pool and integrated Colorado Time Systems' [http://www.coloradotime.com/] scoreboard.

AHA also features premier playing fields including: soccer stadium, all purpose stadium, baseball field, softball field, and track and field. Beginning in the summer of 2007, AHA has run sports camps during the summer. [http://www.ahasportscamps.com]

As of 2006, AHA entered into the Triad Athletic Conference, a high-school athletic league. AHA's teams now play a competitive schedule, competing against teams from all around the area.

Education

The curriculum at AHA is based on a 'dual-curriculum' model in which the secular studies (Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Languages) are taught alongside a thorough Jewish Studies program (Mishnah, Talmud, Bible, assorted Jewish Philosophy courses, and Jewish History). The schedule is a modified-block schedule wherein some classes are held daily and some every other day. The language predominately taught at AHA is Hebrew in keeping with the philosophy of the school. However, Spanish, French, and Arabic are offered as electives.

Israel Trip

Another defining program at AHA is its junior-year Israel trip. All members of the Junior class participate. Students live in Hod HaSharon, Israel for one trimester while studying at the Alexander Muss High School in Israel. This immersion program enables students to experience Israel and the Hebrew language through rigorous studies of the State's history, frequent field trips to important places, and exposure to the day-to-day life of Israelis. In 2006, AHA began requiring an intensive program in Israel as a prerequisite to graduation. Students receive their certificates of completion upon their arrival in the United States after a short slide show and a morning assembly.

External links

* [http://www.americanhebrewacademy.org/ American Hebrew Academy website]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=4334+Hobbs+Rd,+Greensboro,+NC+27410&ie=UTF8&ll=36.110802,-79.869275&spn=0.008113,0.027122&t=h&om=1 Aerial view of AHA] (note: this image is dated)