Yeshiva University High School of Los Angeles
Yeshiva University High School of Los Angeles (YULA) is a college-preparatory, Modern Orthodox Jewish high school founded in 1979 and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). It has no affiliation with Yeshiva University in New York City.
Yeshiva University High Schools of Los Angeles YULA | |
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Address | |
Boys: 9760 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90035 Girls: 1619 S. Robertson Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90035 , | |
Information | |
Type | Independent, Yeshiva |
Motto | Primacy and Relevancy of Torah, Uncompromising General Studies, and Character Development (Boys) and Torah Umada Lchatchila (Girls). |
Established | 1979 |
Founder | Rabbi Marvin Hier |
Religion | Modern Orthodox Judaism |
NCES School ID | 01899004[1], A9101504 |
General Studies Principal | Mr. Richard St.-Laurent (Boys) and Ms. Yehudis Benhamou (Girls) |
Judaic Studies Principal | Rabbi Schreiber (Boys) and Mrs. Racheli W. Luftglass (Girls) |
Heads of School | Rabbi Arye Sufrin (Boys) & Rabbi Pinchos Hecht (Girls) |
Faculty | 65 (FTE)[1][2] |
Grades | 9–12 |
Enrollment | 332[1][2] |
Student to teacher ratio | 4.8 |
Color(s) | Yellow and Black |
Mascot | Black Panther |
Nickname | YULA |
Accreditation | WASC |
Newspaper | The Panther Post |
Average class size | 20 |
Website | yula |
The school is financially independent of, and separately incorporated from, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, despite their juxtaposition.[3]
History
Shortly before Rabbi Howard Ewing and his family arrived in Los Angeles in July 1977, he proposed establishing a school and a center to honor Simon Wiesenthal. YULA was intended to be an affiliate of Yeshiva University offering secondary and tertiary education, but ultimately, it became solely a high school. As time passed, the Los Angeles Orthodox Jewish community perceived that Hier had placed more attention on developing the Wiesenthal Center, as opposed to the educational center.[4] The school was ultimately founded in 1979.[5]
Yeshiva University of Los Angeles purchased a $2.25-million facility for high school classes,[3] located on Robertson Boulevard, in late May 1990. Rabbi Hier had outbid Sephardic Jewish and Sikh organizations for the site. Prior to the purchase, Hier had asked for $5 million in additional federal funding for the Wiesenthal Center. In response, there were serious considerations for establishing a new Orthodox Jewish high school in Los Angeles, and some parents at YULA had threatened to remove their children.[4]
Campuses
YULA has separate campuses for boys and girls within the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles. The Jack and Gitta Nagel Family Boys Campus of YULA Boys' school has 15 classrooms as well as a Beit Midrash and a Sephardic Beit Midrash which serve as locations for davening and assemblies.[6] The Gindi Family Girls Campus of YULA Girls school has 15 classrooms with two science labs.The Kestenbaum Library houses over 6,000 volumes of text, a gymnasium, and a large kosher kitchen and cafeteria with hot meals daily.[7]
Campuses in Los Angeles |
Academics
The YULA curriculum is split into general (secular) studies and judaic studies parts.[8] In 2018, YULA offered 13 Advanced Placement classes.
Student body
Each school has a student body of approximately two hundred students from different areas of Los Angeles. Many students live in the Pico-Robertson and Beverlywood neighborhoods, and in the San Fernando Valley.
Faculty
The Boys' School has 29 full-time equivalent faculty,[1][9] while the Girls' School has 36 full-time equivalent faculty.[2][10]
Student life
YULA Girls and Boys offers a plethora of academic extracurriculars which include the publication of a literary journal, Participation in the Model United Nations at Yeshiva University, a drama department which produces one play annually and one all-girls musical, The Panther Post (a school newspaper which certain students are working to improve), robotics, a debate club, STEM Research Seminar, Mock trial, YULA Israel Advocacy Club (YIAC), participation in the national Chidon Hatanach competition (for which students have earned first place in a video competition)[11], participation in the national Moot Beit Din for which the students have won second place[12], B'nei Akiva, participation in Los Angeles Times High School Insider program, photography club, a creative writing club, band, MAGIC, and a dance team.
College placement
The majority of YULA High School graduates go on to higher education. Typically, ninety percent of all YULA graduates enter a four-year college or university; ten percent enter a local community college.[9]
Sports
The school has sports teams in the following sports: basketball (varsity & junior varsity), baseball, fencing, swimming, tennis, volleyball, cross country, flag football, golf, and soccer.[9]
In 1997, the school asked the California Interscholastic Federation to move the November cross-country championships to a day other than Saturday; Orthodox Jews would not participate if the competition was held on a Saturday.[13]
Notable alumni
- Ben Shapiro, political commentator, nationally syndicated columnist, author, radio talk show host, and attorney.[14][15]
- Noam T. Wasserman[16]
See also
References
- "Search for Private Schools – School Detail for Yeshiva University Boys High School of Los Angeles". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- "nces search results-YULA GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL". Retrieved March 21, 2020.
- May, Meyer H. (Rabbi and Executive director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center). "Rabbi Hier." Los Angeles Times. September 2, 1990. Retrieved on January 11, 2016.
- Teitelbaum, Sheldon and Tom Waldman. "The Unorthodox Rabbi : By Invoking the Holocaust and Bullying the Establishment, Marvin Hier Has Made The Simon Wiesenthal Center the Most Visible Jewish Organization in the World." Los Angeles Times. July 15, 1990. p. 6. Retrieved on January 17, 2016. "Their fears were well-grounded--the school never evolved into a full-scale affiliate of Yeshiva University in New York. Today, YULA is, in essence, a high school."
- "About YULA." YULA Boys High School. Retrieved on January 17, 2016.
- "YULA Kollel".
- "Campus – About YULA – Yeshiva of Los Angeles Girls High School".
- "Academics Home".
- "Fast Facts – About YULA – Yeshiva University of Los Angeles Boys High School".
- "School Snapshot – About YULA – YULA Girls High School". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
- "Chidon HaTanach: The Window to Torah" (PDF).
- "2018 Moot Beit Din Digital Presentations and Results". Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools. 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
- "Jewish Athletes to Appeal Scheduling of Track Meet." Los Angeles Times. October 21, 1997. Retrieved on January 17, 2016.
- Pope, Justin (June 10, 2004). "School liberalism blasted". Deseret News. Associated Press. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
- "Ben Shapiro: Proud Torah- Observant Jew and Rising Star in America's Conservative Movement" (PDF). Zman Magazine. March 2012. p. 57.
In his early years in public school, he skipped from second grade into fourth...[Shapiro] skipped ninth grade...
- "Harvard Business Professor Noam Wasserman, a YULA Alum, Addresses Juniors".
External links
- YULA.org
- Articles about "Yeshiva University High School" at Los Angeles Times