| Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 272 S Bryn Mawr Avenue Bryn Mawr, PA, 19010 USA |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Private |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Jewish |
| Established | 1946 |
| Head of school | Sharon P. Levin (interim) |
| Faculty | 63 |
| Enrollment | 317 total 232 Upper School 85 Middle School |
| Student to teacher ratio | 13:1 |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Color(s) | Blue and White |
| Athletics conference | Tri-County Independent School League (men) Penn Jersey League (women) |
| Mascot | Cougars |
| Website | www.jbha.org |
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy is a pluralistic Jewish Day School for grades 6 to 12 located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. It was founded in Center City Philadelphia in 1946 as Akiba Hebrew Academy and changed its name in 2007. Barrack Hebrew Academy's enrollment was 318 students during the 2007-2008 school year. On October 25, 2007, Dr. Steven Michael Brown was named to replace retiring headmaster Rabbi Phillip Field. Dr. Brown began his new position on July 1, 2008. His tenure ended on June 30, 2011 when Academic Dean, Sharon P. Levin, took over as interim head of school.[1]
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In February 2007, Akiba accepted a gift of $5 million from The Barrack Foundation, headed by Leonard and Lynne Barrack. Akiba agreed to change its name to "Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy" in honor of Leonard Barrack's deceased brother. Leonard Barrack became president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia in the fall 2007.[2] The new name was inaugurated on September 10, 2007, at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia's Radnor Campus in Bryn Mawr.[3]
In July 2007, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia announced that it had purchased the campus of American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. The American College site is 35 acres (140,000 m2) on Bryn Mawr Avenue in Radnor Township.[4] The school inaugurated the new building with a "Hanukat HaBayit" on September 14, 2008[5] at which U.S. Congressman Joe Sestak addressed the crowd.[6]
Akiba was founded in 1946 by Dr. Joseph Levitsky and co-founded by Rabbi Simon Greenberg, Rabbi Elias Charry, and Dr. Leo L. Honor. The school first met at the YM & YWHA at Broad and Pine Streets in Center City, Philadelphia. Its first class had 20 boys and girls. After four years at the YM & YWHA, Akiba moved to Har Zion Temple at 54th and Wynnefield Avenues, where it was located until 1958.[7]
In 1956, Akiba purchased a 5.3-acre (21,000 m2) property off North Highland Avenue in Merion Station, across City Line Avenue on the Main Line. The property had once been part of a large estate, "Ashdale". Ashdale had been built by William Simpson, a nineteenth century insurance entrepreneur. After Simpson's death in 1909, his family broke up the estate, and the McMenamin family purchased a 5.3-acre (21,000 m2) section on which they built a mansion that they named "Drake Linden Hall". After Akiba purchased the mansion, it converted bedrooms into classrooms. In September 2008, Akiba sold the property to the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia for $4.0 million. At the time of sale, Drake Linden Hall measured 20,247 square feet (1,881.0 m2), including additions made in the mid-1970s, the gym and "new" classrooms building.[8] Kohelet Yeshiva High School purchased the mansion in 2010 and has since renovated it and the adjoining buildings.[9]
Well known alumni include writer Mitch Albom[10], ABC News Senior National Correspondent Jake Tapper[11], Deputy Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Josh Shapiro[12], Jewish Telegraphic Agency editor-in-chief Ami Eden, scientist Dan Bricklin, "Deadliest Catch" and "Ghost Hunters" producer Yoshi Stone, rabbi and author David Wolpe, cookbook author Jamie Geller, actor Gideon Glick, and reason magazine editor Jacob Sullum.
Akiba men's sports teams (the Cougars) participate in the Tri-County Independent School League (TCISL). The girl's teams are members of TCISL as well as the Penn-Jersey League. Akiba's men's basketball team last won the championship in 1997 defeating Phelps Academy in a dramatic, come from behind win. The 1997 team was captained by Marshall Lesack and Nati Passow, and coached by Barnett Kamen.
The women's varsity basketball team was coached by former-NBA player Joe Bryant during the 1992-1993 season.[13] Bryant would leave Akiba in June 1993 to take an assistant-coach position at LaSalle University.[14]
The men's varsity Baseball team has won the Penn Jersey championship only three times in their history. They were consecutively won from 2007-2009.