| Ramaz School | |
|---|---|
| ישיבת רמז | |
| Established | 1937 |
| Type | Private coeducational primary, middle, and secondary |
| Principal | Rabbi Haskel Lookstein |
| Founder | Rabbi Joseph H. Lookstein |
| Students | approx. 1,100 |
| Grades | Nursery-12 |
| Location | Manhattan, New York, USA |
| Accreditation | Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, New York State Association of Independent Schools |
| Colors | Blue and Gold |
| Mascot | The Ramaz Ram |
| Yearbook | 'Ramifications' |
| Newspaper | The RamPage |
| Website | ramaz.org |
The Ramaz School is a coeducational, private Modern Orthodox Jewish prep school located on the Upper East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan.[1] It consists of a lower school (nursery-4th grade), a middle school (5th grade-8th grade), and an upper school (9th grade-12th grade).
The Ramaz Upper School is a college preparatory school. It is located seven city blocks away from the other two school buildings, and draws students from throughout Manhattan, as well as commuters from throughout the New York Tri-State Region.
The school is affiliated with Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun ("KJ"), located on E. 85th street, which shares a building with the lower school and is across the street from the middle school.
Architect James Rossant designed the new school buildings.
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Founded in 1937 by Rabbi Joseph H. Lookstein through the generosity of New York lawyer and philanthropist Max J. Etra,[2] Ramaz takes its name from the initials of Rabbi Moses Zevulun Margolies, the grandfather-in-law of Lookstein.[3] The current principal, Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, is the son of Joseph Lookstein and was a member of the first class of six students.[4]
Classes were held in many locations over the years, including the vestry rooms of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun. After the closing of Finch College, Ramaz bought the college's campus and renovated the buildings.[5]
Rabbi Haskel Lookstein scaled back his role as Principal of the Ramaz School at the end of the 2005-2006 school year, but he remained the rabbi of the associated Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun Synagogue. He appointed Judith Fagin, formerly the headmistress of the Middle School, as Dean of the Ramaz School; she now administers day-to-day operations.
The Headmaster of the Lower School is Rabbi Alan Berkowitz, Ramaz '79, and the Headmistress of the Middle School is Smadar Seinfeld. The current Dean of the Upper School is Ira Miller. Rabbi Joshua Bakst retired in 2003 and is currently the Dean, Emeritus. Rabbi Jay Goldmintz is the Headmaster of the Upper School.[6] and Rabbi Shlomo Stochel now serves as Assistant Headmaster. Rabbi Kenneth Schiowitz is the Rosh Beit Midrash (Head of Beit Midrash).
On November 30, 2007, The Wall Street Journal listed Ramaz as one of the top schools for graduates entering the top eight universities in the country, with 10 out of a class of 100 (class of 2007) going to these schools.
The Ramaz School had proposed a -28-story project to be built in place of the Lower School during 2008-2010. The building would have replaced the current school with a new building split into ten floors used by the school and topped by 18 floors of condominiums. Air rights of the adjoining synagogue would be transferred for use by the adjoining school/condo structure. The project may have had to be scaled back following a review by the City's Board of Standards & Appeals because the height is more than what is permitted at this site.[7] The plans were withdrawn by the school in July 2008.[8]
In January 2009, the Wall Street Journal reported that Ramaz lost $6 million in the collapse of the Bernard Madoff investment scheme.[9][10]
The Ramaz School's team name is the Ramaz Rams. Ramaz fields a number of competitive and recreational athletic teams throughout the school year, such as basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball, hockey, track, soccer, tennis, and dance. In most cases, their teams are members of the Yeshiva High School Athletic League which represents many of the Jewish day schools throughout the New York metropolitan area. In addition, they play exhibition games against other schools both in the Jewish day school and non-Jewish private school communities.
Ramaz's academic teams include the Model Congress debate, College Bowl, chess, Torah Bowl, and Model United Nations, which compete solely against other Yeshiva high schools, and the mathematics, mock trial, and Model Congress, which compete against both public and private high schools. Ramaz Upper school students have also succeeded in numerous academic competitions in both the arts and sciences, including the 2004-2005 Siemens Westinghouse Competition [11] and the 2007 NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing.[12]
Ramaz's publications include: