Jewish Community High School of the Bay
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| Jewish Community High School of the Bay | |
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| Established | 2001 |
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| School type | Private |
| Head of School | Rabbi Sheldon Dorph |
| Location | 1835 Ellis Street |
| Students | approximately 145, estimated by administration in May 2006 |
| Faculty | 32 [1] |
| Mascot | Wolves |
| Website | http://www.jchsofthebay.org |
The Jewish Community High School of the Bay (commonly known as JCHS) is a coeducational, college preparatory high school located in San Francisco, California. It is WASC accredited.
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[edit] Vision statement
According to the JCHS website, the vision of the school is as follows:
"The Jewish Community High School of the Bay (JCHS) is a co-educational day school providing a rigorous, college preparatory curriculum in general and Judaic studies. We are committed to an extensive enrichment program, including the arts and athletics. JCHS serves the San Francisco Bay Community and is open to all Jewish students regardless of prior Jewish educational experience. JCHS is guided by the rhythms of the Jewish calendar, culture and tradition and by an inextricable link to the land of Israel. Our goal is to provide our students with the education necessary to gain acceptance into the finest colleges and universities and to engage in life-long Jewish learning enabling our graduates to employ the skills and lessons taught within our walls to their lives within both the Jewish and the wider community." [2]
[edit] Required Courseload and Curricula
In order to comply with UC 'a-g requirements' and its vision statement, JCHS requires its students to complete over their stay at JCHS 4 years of the humanities (English and the Social Sciences), one year of fine arts, four years of Hebrew (although for the 2006-2007 school years, seniors are given the option of taking Hebrew Literature in English), four years of Tanach and Talmud, as well as three years each of math and science and a fourth year of one of the two. In addition, the school maintains a physical education and health education requirement.
The math curriculum has five levels - Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Precalculus, and Calculus, while the science curriculum is Physics, followed by Chemistry and Biology.
Beginning in the 2006-2007 school year, juniors and seniors will have the option to replace Talmud and Tanach, with Judaic or theological classes such as a course on Zionism or on comparative religion.
[edit] Facilities
In the fall of 2002, JCHS moved into its current permanent facility at 1835 Ellis Street in San Francisco’s Western Addition. The campus was built on the former site of the California College of Podiatric Medicine[3].
The school has an art studio fully equipped with a dark room, a kiln, and a printing press. In 2003, JCHS opened dance and music studios. There are over 16 classrooms and 3 science laboratories. An auditorium is used for school assemblies and lectures. Outside, students enjoy a Jerusalem Stone courtyard and outdoor basketball courts. Students often joke about the blinding sunlight reflected by the Jerusalem Stone on clear days. Indoors, the student commons is where students and faculty eat lunch and hang out. There is also a parking garage for students, faculty and staff. The entire campus is wired for WiFi Internet connections. A performing arts theater is under construction, and is tentatively scheduled to open in May 2007.
The campus also features a kosher organic cafeteria. However because of the departure of Jessie Alper, and the bringing in of Michael Shapiro, the lunch program has taken a tumble, especcialyl in the fact that all the food now tastes the same.
The school houses the Jewish Community Library of San Francisco, which has over 25,000 volumes[4].
The school has been described by students as “isolated,” and an “island in the middle of a city” for it is surrounded by imposing iron fences. A high security presence and a strict no off campus lunch policy has drawn ire from students, who would like more freedom to explore the surrounding neighborhood. Despite the criticism, students recognize and appreciate the need for security. Students have even criticized security personnel for being unequipped and unprepared.
[edit] AP Program
The Advanced Placement program has expanded over JCHS's five years of existence to cover a number of subject areas, including Studio Art, U.S. History, English Literature and Composition, Biology, Calculus, and Chemistry. The 2006-2007 school year will see the addition of an AP English Language and Composition class, created in response to demand by the incoming junior class.
[edit] Tefillah (Prayer)
Students are required to attend 30 minutes of tefillah every morning. Multiples types of tefilah classes are available, ranging from a traditional minyan with a mechitzah to a "funky" tefillah, which incorporates pop culture into Jewish tradidtion.
[edit] Athletics
The JCHS boys varsity basketball team has been by far the most successful JCHS team, being the only one to win a league championship, as of February 2007. The team has won the Small School Bridge League Championship for 2 consecutive years, in 2006 and 2007. The school also fielded a a girls basketball team, a golf team, a baseball team, a soccer team, and an ultimate frisbee club.
However, the JCHS girls volleyball team has proved itself strong. Every school year, the team opens up the season with intense practices and action-packed games. Traveling all over the Bay Area, the JCHS girls volleyball never fails to bump, set, and spike their way into the hearts of their opponents. In seasons 2004 and 2005, Dalya Heller and Alex Hettena exhibited true sportsmanship and leadership as the team captains. Exemplary plays made by these two were often matched by the team's secret weapon, Helen Feldman[, whose rocket arm did extensive damage. With these three superstars long gone, the team relies on current JCHS seniors Janelle Bercun and Hila Peretz and junior Gabby Hettena to keep the lady wolves in the game. A JCHS girls volleyball game is always filled with so much spirit, energy, and passion that the fans can be seen holding up painted signs, singing the JCHS fight song, and overall supporting the lady wolves to victory.
[edit] College Admissions
JCHS's classes of 2005 and 2006 have been accepted into the following colleges: American University, The University of Arizona, Boston University, Brandeis University, University of British Columbia, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UCLA, UC Merced, UC Riverside, UCSD, UCSB, UCSC, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California State University, East Bay, California State University, Long Beach, California State University, Monterey Bay, California State University, Northridge, California State University, Sacramento, Chapman University, Clark University, University of Colorado at Boulder, Dominican University, Drexel University, Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts, Foothill College, The George Washington University, Goucher College, Hampshire College, Hofstra University, Humboldt State University, Ithaca College, Johns Hopkins University, Lawrence University, Lewis & Clark College, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Menlo College, New York University, Northeastern University, Oberlin College,Occidental College, University of Oregon, Pitzer College, University of Puget Sound, University of Redlands, University of Rochester, San Diego State University, San Francisco State University, University of San Francisco, San Jose State University, Santa Clara University, Sarah Lawrence College, Skidmore College, Sonoma State University, Southern Oregon University, Stanford University, Suffolk University, Syracuse University, Tulane University, and the University of Washington.
