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Every year, JLA Upper School students kick off their academic journey with an extraordinary adventure in Israel, spanning from the middle of August until right before Rosh Hashanah. At JLA Ba’aretz (In-Israel), our students dive headfirst into an immersive learning experience that not only deepens their understanding of Judaism but also forges powerful connections—with each other, their Jewish heritage, and the captivating Land of Israel. This month-long expedition is strategically designed to create lasting memories and ignite a palpable energy that resonates throughout the entire school year.
Program Snapshot
JLA has partnered with the Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI), located in Hod Hasharon, a suburb of Tel Aviv, to help provide this unforgettable life changing experience for our students.
Early
Beginning every school year in Israel sets the tone of unparalleled camaraderie for the entire year.
Intensive
3.5 weeks of educational experiences, both formal and informal, seven days a week reduces the time needed for Judaic Studies throughout the year.
Immersive
Learning Hebrew, Jewish History, and Israeli culture while immersed within it, is far more effective than doing so only in a classroom, thousands of miles away.
Continuous
Five year curricular and experiential scope and sequence ensures that learning is retained over time.
The goal of JLA’s Service Entrepreneurship Program is to imbue our students with a genuine desire to do chesed, acts of kindness, as well as the skills and confidence to harness that desire into changing the world.
Each Friday students will dedicate time towards growing their experience, skills and commitment to making an impact in their world. Through a blend of training, mentorship and real-world involvement with meaningful causes, JLA students will be immersed in an environment that will encourage their ambitions to shape their world.
Sixth through Eighth grades will focus primarily on exploring the discipline of Design Thinking, an approach to problem solving employed by some of the most innovative companies across the globe to produce products that meet authentic customer needs. Central to Design Thinking is the deeply Jewish idea of empathy, the ability to genuinely walk in someone else’s shoes. Instead of using this method to design products, however, our students will learn to apply it toward identifying and solving real-world societal challenges.
Ninth and Tenth grade students will hone their Design Thinking skills by focusing on other areas of service entrepreneurship including gaining substantive experience with a non-profit of their choice. They will also begin improving their leadership skills through personality assessments and teamwork challenges.
Students in Eleventh and Twelfth grade will be given the tools to build their own 501c3, including mentorship from and exposure to accomplished leaders and successful non-profit professionals.
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
– Pablo Picasso
“Never doubt that a
small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”
– Margaret Mead
The overarching theme prevalent in each aspect of a JLA education is leadership. Whether one is in the classroom, on the field, or serving the community through one of the various programs, every student is actively working at developing and exercising their leadership skills.
More over, students participate weekly in leadership training, where compassion, communication, inspiration, reasoning, cooperation, and self-evaluation are considered the stepping stones to becoming a respected leader. Developing these skills takes place through role-playing activities, group programs, exercises in character development, and additional opportunities embedded in the JLA curriculum which are designed to assist each student in uncovering their leadership potential. Among these opportunities, our JLA Speaker Series is focused on granting students in-person access to real-world leaders from various fields and disciplines.
JLA believes that students need guidance in every aspect of their lives. Our counseling program focuses on three specific areas:
JLA tends to the social and emotional growth of students by assigning each student an advisor and devoting a period each week to working on developmentally appropriate social and emotional goals.
All students will also have dedicated guidance counselors whose role is to establish trusting and open relationships with students and their families, to help them successfully navigate the challenges they may be facing inside or outside of school, with the objective of creating a positive impact on student well-being and achievement.
JLA Counselors have an open-door policy, and will always be available to students for support of any kind.
College Guidance
College guidance at JLA begins at the end of 9th grade, when a college counselor will begin conversations with every student and his or her family about their aspirations for college and the best pathways for achieving them. The goal of JLA’s college guidance program is to help every student identify the colleges and universities that are the best fit for their individual interests, desires, and needs, and to help position them for the best possible chance of being accepted.
Academic Support
In addition to the social, emotional, and college counseling offered at JLA, academic support for every class is offered through JLA’s tutorial program. Every JLA teacher will be available after school to answer any questions a student might have regarding course material and assignments.
“Intelligence and skill can only function at the peak of their capacity when the body is healthy and strong.”
– John F. Kennedy
Mental and physical well-being are inseparable, and as such JLA is dedicated to fostering growth in the body as well as the mind
The Athletic Department endeavors to establish and maintain an environment in which students’ athletic activities are conducted as an integral part of the over-all educational experience. Emphasis is placed on academic integrity, classroom performance, social responsibility and excellence in athletics while following the ethical standards and philosophies put forward by the Jewish Leadership Academy.
If the body is healthy, the mind can flourish. Through its mandatory four-day-a-week Physical Conditioning program, students at JLA will learn of the benefits of eating a nutritional diet, living an active lifestyle, and developing healthy habits. Activities such as basketball, dance, soccer, and volleyball will provide fun, fast-paced opportunities to learn about various sports and creative expressions. Disciplines such as yoga, martial arts, and self-defense will connect body and mind.
Physical training with proper stretching techniques before and after workouts, weight training, and cardiovascular conditioning will educate students about their active bodies through safe and developmentally appropriate lessons. As a daily subject, Physical Conditioning at JLA ensures the health of the body along with the mind and spirit.
JLA values the lessons that have been taught through competitive athletics: the pursuit of excellence through personal development and teamwork, ethical and responsible behavior on the field and off, adherence to the spirit of rules as well as to their letter, leadership and strength of character, and sportsmanship -respect for one’s opponents, acceptance of victory with humility, and acknowledgement of defeat with grace. In teaching these lessons, JLA instills habits which will lead students to better and healthier lives.
Competitive sports for boys and girls at JLA will include:
While winning is not an end in itself, the Athletic Department at the Jewish Leadership Academy believes that the efforts by our student-athletes to be their best will lead them to succeed throughout their lives.
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