Yeshiva University High Schools of Los Angeles

Yeshiva University of Los Angeles (YULA) is a private Orthodox Jewish high school in Los Angeles, California, not affiliated with Yeshiva University in New York City. YULA was founded in 1979.

Campus

YULA has separate campuses for boys and girls within the Pico-Robertson district of the city.

Faculty

As of 2011 the principal of the boys division was Rabbi Heshy Glass and the principal of the girls division was Rabbi Avraham Lieberman. Mrs. Sherry Singer is the general studies principal for the boys school and Mrs. Bluma Drebin is the general studies principal for the girls school.

YULA has both Jewish and non-Jewish staff. Notable staff include:

• Rabbi Nachum Sauer - head of the Kollel of Los Angeles
• Dr. Paul Soifer, Ph.D - author of books on US Government and US History as well as "Soviet Jewish folkloristics and ethnography: An institutional history, 1918-1948 (Working papers in Yiddish and East European Jewish studies)". Dr. Soifer is also the winner of the 2011 YULA teacher award for excellence in education.
• Bluma Drebin - recipient of the Milken Award for Education.

General Studies Departments

The five departments are: History, English, Science, Math, and Hebrew.

2010 dismissals

At the end of the 2010 school year, former math department chair Manny Katz and Judaic studies teachers Rabbi Ephraim Niehaus and Carol Bess were relieved of their positions. All three had been with the school since its founding in 1979.

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 neighborhood, Fairfax District, and the San Fernando Valley.

Curriculum

The YULA curriculum is split into two parts. One part is devoted to general studies such as history, mathematics, science, and English, while the other part of the day is devoted to Judaic studies, with a curriculum of classes on Jewish texts. Sections of Chumash, Navi, Mishnah, Gemarah & Mishnah-Brurah/Halachah are studied daily at the Boys school.

Extracurricular activities

Extracurricular activities include (but are not limited to):

• The Young Philosophers Society
• The Mock Trial team
• Model UN team
• The YULA Drama Society (Boys Division & Girls Division) is led by Ouriel Hazan, a YULA Drama Alumnus. Each campus produces one play per year, both directed by Oruiel Hazan
• The newspaper called The Panther. In the past, the Boys School and Girls School printed separate publications. In recent years the Editors decided to combine their efforts and produce one YULA Magazine. Although there are very few issues of the YULA Magazine the content is always top of line.
• The Bio Club (Founded by Josh Razi).
• Music (previously headed by Daniel Haik).
• Intramural Basketball

YULA Sports

The school has sports teams in the following sports: Basketball (Vasity & JV), Baseball, Tennis, Volleyball, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, & Bowling.

The varsity basketball team has won the annual Miliken tournament, Y.U. Red Sarachek Highschool tournament, and Memphis Tounament.^{[citation needed]}

Student Council

The YULA Boys & YULA Girls have separate Student Councils. The student council is made up of esteemed members of the current Senior class. Elections are held at the end of every school year, usually in late May. As of the 2010-2011 school year the Student Council at the YULA Boys school is headed by three Co-Presidents rather than a President and a VP. The 2011-2012 Student Council looks very promising going into the new school year, already the Student Council has made many preparations for the start of school in the fall.

Technology

Since the 2009-2010 school year the school has implemented Apple's Education Professional Services, providing every student and faculty member with a laptop computer and both campuses have Wifi access. Classrooms have either Smart Boards or over-head projector units.

External links

• YULA.org