Limited Availability Remaining for the 2023-2024 School Year.
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Admissions

תנאי קבלה

Jewish leadership begins here.

Admission to JLA is based on the combination of a student’s demonstrated academic ability and interest, as well as their character and potential for leadership.

While every JLA student must be able to thrive in an academically rigorous educational environment, success at JLA is predicated on far more than a student’s test taking ability. Therefore, the admissions process will feature multiple components designed to help us know each unique applicant deeply and holistically.

These include an optional portfolio to demonstrate a students’ talents and passions, a character assessment tool, and a day of onsite collaborative activities, in addition to more standard measurement tools such as grades, standardized testing, and recommendations. 

Admissions Timeline

September

Applications Open

  • Personal Statement
  • Teacher Recommendations
  • Portfolio
  • Transcript
  • Character Skills Snapshot (CSS)

October –

February

Visit 1 to JLA Office:

  • MAP Testing*

*Applicants will attend one of the  available dates.

Visit 2 to JLA Office:

  • Parent and Student Interviews
  • Writing Sample
  • Collaborative Challenge

January

Application Deadline for First Round

 

March

First Round Decisions Announced

March 1st, 2023

Application Process

We are now accepting applications for remaining spots on a  rolling basis based on space availability. Apply here. 

September
Complete and submit a new student application online, including the following documents*:

  • Personal Statement
  • Teacher Recommendations
  • Transcript
  • Portfolio (optional)
  • Copy of your child’s birth certificate
  • Character Skills Snapshot Test (CSS)**

*Applicants will only be considered for admission once all of the above documents have been completed. 

** Click here to learn more and sign up for the CSS Test

October – February
Applicants who have submitted a complete application, including supporting documentation, will be invited to participate in the following steps:

Visit to JLA Offices for:

  • Parent Interview
  • Student Interview
  • Collaborative Challenge
  • Writing Sample
  • MAP Testing

March
First Round of Admission Decisions Announced

Questions? Contact JLA’s Admissions Office at 305-306-2660 or email us: admissions@jlamiami.org

Don’t think you can afford JLA? Think again.

If applying for Indexed Tuition

  • Submit your indexed tuition application through our online portal, including all required tax forms and supporting documents by February 10, 2023
  • If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact JLA’s Business  Office at 305-306-2660 or email us at jsharp@jlamiami.org

Admissions FAQs

Our grades are capped at 45 students per grade, with an average class size of 15 students.

The application online portal goes live on September 6th, 2022 and all materials must be submitted by January 9th, 2023. Please refer to the flowchart and to the application checklist for a list of materials due. 

We have purposely provided a long application period in order to allow families enough time to complete the application. If you missed the deadline, please contact admissions@jlamiami.org, however we cannot guarantee that your application will be considered. 

There is a $100 non-refundable application fee per applicant, which can be paid online when you submit your application. We are committed to accepting all mission appropriate students irrespective of their family’s ability to pay. To request a waiver of the application or CSS fee, email the Director of Admissions at 

Once you have completed your application, you will be prompted to schedule an interview with JLA’s Director of Admissions in our admissions portal. 

 A JLA student will possess exemplary character traits, high academic ability, a genuine interest in learning, and a passion for knowledge. In addition, they will demonstrate the potential for leadership and a genuine desire to grow Jewishly. Moreover, the family of a JLA student must be supportive of the school’s mission and excited to join the JLA community as positive, contributing members.

Your child should apply. Every child has strengths and weaknesses and we fully understand that at JLA. Though every class at JLA will be taught at an honors level and above, there will be a Learning Specialist on staff to support students with learning differences and every student will have the opportunity to work with their teachers during afternoon tutorial should that be a need in some academic areas. 

Absolutely. These evaluations can be very helpful to the JLA admissions team and provide us with pertinent information required to assist your child and determine their learning needs.

We want to know as much as we can about all of our prospective applicants. The portfolio, though not required, is an opportunity for a student to showcase their talents and passions. Students can be creative with their portfolio, but they must be able to submit it to us digitally.

We welcome anecdotal reports, mastery, and competency based progress reports. Please ask the school to send us whatever progress report they use to measure student growth.

The MAP assessment is a one hour long adaptive standardized test which will automatically adjust the questions to a student’s ability so as to provide a more accurate representation of their current level and ability.

The MAP test is a crucial component of our admissions process, as it ensures an even playing field amongst all applicants. It is therefore mandatory.

We want to see your child’s most current results. As such, we require that the student is tested during the application process at JLA.

Character and personal growth are an integral part of a JLA education. The Character Skills Snapshot gives us richer holistic information and illuminates areas where JLA can help your child grow and thrive.The CSS is an assessment tool developed by the makers of the SSAT to measure critical qualities such as empathy, integrity, agreeableness and grit. For more information click here.

All applicants to are required to take the CSS. Once you have received your CSS results, you must send the results to admissions@jlamiami.org through the parent/guardian portal you used to register for the Character Skills Snapshot. We will not accept copies of the Character Skills Snapshot report by mail, or as an email attachment. 

 

There is no preparation required for any of the assessments we will be conducting. Our best advice is to encourage your child to relax, be themselves, and have fun.

No. Admission to JLA is based on a holistic assessment of every student and the school’s assessment of their likelihood to succeed in our program. Academically, JLA is looking for students who demonstrate that they can succeed in Honors level courses across all disciplines.

Many academically able and ambitious students have proven that they can succeed in an Honors level English Course even if English is their second language. The twice-weekly tutorial during Option 9 will provide such students with the opportunity to get feedback on their writing and help with their reading if such is necessary.

Families who can afford to fully fund their investment will be required to do so. However, we do not believe that ability to pay should be a criteria in the admissions process, and we are committed to enrolling every student that is accepted into the school, regardless of their financial means. The admissions process will therefore be “need blind” and JLA is dedicated to fully integrating mission appropriate students from all socio-economic backgrounds into the fabric of school life.  

Applications for our Indexed Tuition Program are confidentially administered through a third party.

In order to facilitate transparency between JLA and prospective families, we’ve created a tuition estimator to give a sense of what their Indexed Tuition tier may be. While a final determination can only be made after a review of your completed Indexed Tuition application, this tool will help to provide an estimate based solely on the parameters shared with us below. Click here to access the Indexed Tuition Calculator.

JLA will be accepting FTC, FES-EO and FES-UA scholarships, administered through either Step Up for Students or AAA Scholarship. Click here for more information, or contact the business office at 305-306-2660 ext. 102 or jsharp@jlamiami.org

Our campus will open its doors to welcome 6th, 7th, 9th, and 10th grade in the Fall of 2023.

Our decision is based on our feeling that students benefit greatly from having their 8th grade experience in the school that they’ve been attending for the previous three, eight, or even ten years. Furthermore, our experience is such that 8th graders are often focused on what comes next for them by midway through their 8th grade year, while we want our inaugural classes to be fully focused and vested on creating and building the culture in their respective divisions of JLA. Our 7th graders in 23-24 will become our first 8th grade in 24-25.

No. JLA is committed to accepting mission appropriate students who seek to grow in their understanding of and appreciation for Judaism, irrespective of any prior experience with Jewish learning and irrespective of their or their family’s personal level of observance. Students whose mother is Jewish or who have had an Orthodox conversion, regardless of current affiliation, observance or prior knowledge will be welcome at JLA. For the purposes of kashrut, tefillah, and other areas of Jewish law, JLA will operate in accordance with a Modern Orthodox approach.

Prior knowledge of Hebrew is not a prerequisite for acceptance. Conversational Hebrew (Ulpan) is a mandatory class for all JLA students and an assessment will be conducted to place the student in the appropriate level.

We consider each student individually regardless of sibling acceptance. It is critical to the success of our program that all students accepted to JLA be mission appropriate.

Interested in applying? Want to learn more?

Reach out and let us know.

We are now accepting applications for the ’23-’24 school year.