Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy
| Yeshiva University High School for Boys The Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
2540 Amsterdam Avenue , 10033 | |
| Information | |
| Type | Private High School, Yeshiva |
| Established | 1916 |
| Principal | Rabbi Mark Gottlieb |
| Faculty | 38.1 (on FTE basis)[1] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 288 (as of 2005-06)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 7.6[1] |
| Color(s) | Blue and White |
| Nickname | Lions |
| Accreditation | Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools |
| Affiliation | Modern Orthodox Judaism |
| Information | 212-960-5337 |
| Website | School website |
The Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy, also known as MTA or TMSTA , is a Modern Orthodox Judaism Jewish day school (or yeshiva), the boys' high school of Yeshiva University (YU) in the Washington Heights neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan.
As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 288 students and 38.1 faculty members (on an FTE basis), resulting in a student-teacher ratio of 7.6.[1]
History
The Talmudical Academy (TA), as it was originally called, was founded in 1916 by Rabbi Bernard Revel. He had become president of the institution that was to become Yeshiva University a year earlier, in 1915, when the "Rabbinical College of America" (a short-lived name) had been formed from the merger of two older schools, an elementary school founded in 1886 and a rabbinical seminary founded in 1896. As the elementary school soon ceased to exist, the high school is thus one of the oldest components of the University.
TA was the first Jewish high school in America, and the first ever to feature a dual curriculum, now standard in Jewish schools, of Judaic and secular studies. It was originally located on the Lower East Side, and moved to Washington Heights with the rest of Yeshiva in the late 1920s. The building originally planned for the High School alone was shared with the other schools of the University for many years before the campus expanded; today, that building is almost entirely occupied by the High School, and the other buildings of the University's main campus (including a dormitory for MTA students) surround it.
TA was later joined by a brother school, the Brooklyn Talmudical Academy ("BTA"), founded in the 1940s. While the Manhattan school remained, officially, "TA," it became popularly known as "MTA," the Manhattan Talmudical Academy, and, rarely, the Uptown Talmudical Academy, or "UTA." While the name "MTA" has never been official, it remains the most popular name for the school. Two girls' high schools were founded as well, Central Yeshiva High School in Brooklyn in the 1950s and a Manhattan school in the 1960s. Eventually, all four were eventually simply named by borough and gender, e.g., "Yeshiva University High School for Boys- Manhattan," but the popular names remained.
The Brooklyn schools, which had moved to a joint campus in 1967, were closed and merged in the 1970s into their Manhattan counterparts; still later, in the 1980s, the girls' school was merged into a Queens school. The latter is now called "Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls" (or simply "Wang"), but is still commonly referred to as "Central," while the boy's school, since the 1970s, has been known as "The Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy- Yeshiva University High School for Boys" (or simply "TMSTA" or, more recently, "MSTA"), but is still commonly referred to as "MTA."
The school's golden age was during the 60s and 70s. However, by 1999, Rabbi Norman Lamm, President of Yeshiva University, wanted to close the high school down. When word of the imminent closure leaked out, Rabbi Michael Taubes, MTA's principal at that time, together with senior instructor, Rabbi Yitzchok Cohen, led a student protest and recitation of Psalms in front of the YU's main building at that time, Furst Hall. Although the protest led to Taubes' dismissal, and eventually to the dismissal of Cohen as well (both are currently instructors in other divisions of Yeshiva University), their prompt action is credited with swaying Rabbi Lamm to not close the school. Nevertheless, the school was still in trouble due to both financial problems and issues with students.
Rabbi Michael Hecht, who had been teaching at the school for many years and also served as a Dean in Yeshiva College, became Dean of MTA and effectively saved the school. In September of 2005, Rabbi Mark Gottlieb, formerly the Principal of Maimonidies Day School in Boston, assumed the role of Head of School. Under his charge the school has continued to build on its storied legacy. In the past two years, about 20 new faculty members were hired lowering the school's faculty-student ration from 10:1 to 5:1. The average class size is now just 15.3. A new Grade Dean system was implemented in which each grade is assigned an educator who periodically meets with each student, and meets with the full grade faculty every two weeks. The system insures that each and every student is looked after. In November 2007, the school inaugurated it's brand new state of the art biology and chemistry laboratory. Many other new changes have occurred as well as the school continues to build on its greatness.
Current status
MTA is currently led by Rabbi Mark Gottlieb, Head of School; Mr. Yaakov Sklar, Principal; Rabbi Shalom Richter, Assistant Principal for Judaic Studies; Dr. Seth Taylor, General Studies Coordinator; Rabbi Jon Green, Director of Student Activities, Rabbi Mayer Schiller, Mashgiach Ruchani; and Mr. Shuey Jacoby, Associate Director of Admissions.
Values
The main value of the school is based on that of the university, Torah Umadda. This idea emphasizes teaching both Limudei Kodesh (Torah studies) and general (secular) studies. Limudei Kodesh classes are taught in Jewish studies including Gemara (Talmud), Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), and Halakha (Jewish law). These classes comprise the morning session of the day. In the afternoon session, the students participate in a general studies program. Many of these classes end with Regents or Advanced Placement tests.
Classes
The school offers morning classes in Gemara and Tanakh. In the afternoon the school offers secular classes, including an AP course in 12th grade. Students can take AP European History and AP American History in 10th and 12th grade respectively. The 11th grade may take courses in AP Calculus, AP Physics, AP Biology, and AP Computer Science. Additionally, seniors have the option to take courses in Yeshiva College and Sy Syms School of Business.
Beit Midrash Katan
In the '06-'07 school year, MTA started an advanced Talmud Shiur for the top 12th grade students called the Beit Midrash Katan. The Beit Midrash Katan, commonly referred to as "BMK," has more hours for Torah study and a shortened breakfast and lunch period. The purpose of the program is to give the school's top Talmud students a feel for a real beit midrash, which many of the students will be enrolled in the following year and possibly many more. The Beit Midrash Katan also encourages its students to develop 'Habits of budding Talmidei Chachamim.'
Student activities
The students in the school are able to participate in many extracurriculars. On the athletic side, the school fields Varsity and Junior Varsity basketball, hockey, and softball, as well as baseball, wrestling, bowling, and soccer teams. For the more intellectually inclined, there are College Bowl, Torah Bowl, Mock Trial, Model UN, Model Congress, chess, Debate, Extemp, @Club (the computer club), and Math teams, as well as the Business and Finance Club. The students also publish a number of publications including The Academy News (school newspaper), Shema Koleinu (weekly Dvar Torah newsletter), The Scope (school magazine), Yagdil Torah (Torah essay journal), Currents (current events magazine), HaTzioni (Zionist publication), Pearls of Wisdom (book of students' literary works), and the Elchanite (yearbook).
Recently, the school has been supervising international trips for select groups of students. In 2004, a group of seniors spent Shavuot in Belarus in coordination with YUSSR. In 2005, the HaTzioni club, in cooperation with the Palau Mission to the United Nations, arranged a trip for its members to travel to Palau to show the Jewish community's gratitude for Palau's support of Israel. Recent years have seen MTA delegations being sent to Turkey, Germany, and Israel.
Notable Alumni
- Shalom Auslander, author.[2]
- Elon Gold, actor and comedian of Stacked fame
- Alan Dershowitz, (attended BTA) lawyer, author, professor at Harvard Law School
- Meir Kahane (attended BTA), rabbi and former Knesset member
- Dr. Jonathan Zizmor, dermatologist
- Richard Joel (class of 1968), president of Yeshiva University
- Yosef H. Yerushalmi, Jewish historian and Salo Wittmayer Baron Professor of Jewish History, Culture and Society; director, Institute for Jewish and Israel Studies at Columbia University
- Stan Kasten, president of the Washington Nationals[3]
Security
Burns Security, the same company found in Yankee Stadium, patrols the Yeshiva University campus.
References
- ^ a b c d Data for Yeshiva University High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed March 11, 2008.
- ^ Brawarsky, Sandee. "An Orthodox 'cast-off' holds God accountable", The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles , October 19, 2007. Accessed February 14, 2008. "By the time he was in high school, the Manhattan Talmudic Academy, he was shoplifting the kinds of expensive clothing his classmates wore, smoking dope and skipping classes to go to museums, bookstores and porn shops."
- ^ YU Commentator