If You Will It?: The Early History of Non-Orthodox Secondary Day Schools in Los Angeles

ABSTRACT

The development of non-Orthodox Jewish day schools in Los Angeles in the 1970s to 1990s can be attributed to a combination of factors, including the city’s geography, the deterioration of public education, court-ordered busing that began in the 1970s, and strong rabbinic personalities. Yet, as elementary day schools proliferated throughout the city, educators struggled to keep secondary day schools afloat. Contributing factors to the challenges secondary schools faced included sprawling city geography, lack of communal support, and parental desire to send children to established high schools with proven track records for college preparation and admission.

KEYWORDS:

• Day schools
• history
• high school
• Los Angeles

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Archives

Archives and internal records

Einstein Academy affiliation file, Bureau of Jewish Education of Los Angeles

Temple Beth Am archive

Western States Jewish History Archive

Herzl Schools affiliation file, Bureau of Jewish Education of Los Angeles

Jacob Pressman personal files

Internal records, Bureau of Jewish Education of Los Angeles

Los Angeles Hebrew High School internal records

Valley Beth Shalom internal records

Golda Meir Academy affiliation file, Bureau of Jewish Education of Los Angeles

Notes

¹ Yiddish secular nationalist schools developed in the early 20th century, founded by Jewish Russian immigrants who endeavored to pass their views on Judaism, socialism, and being American to the next generation. These schools were not religious in nature like the day schools and were common staples of Jewish communities until their decline in the mid-1900s.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sara Smith

Sara Smith is the Assistant Dean of the Graduate Center for Jewish Education at American Jewish University. E-mail: [email protected]