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Hebrew language academy charter school
Hebrew Language Academy Charter School is a public Charter school in Brooklyn, New York chartered to teach the Hebrew language "and aspects of Jewish culture" but like all public schools will not provide religious instruction and will neither encourage nor prohibit religious devotion. The enrollment is 35% black, 6% Hispanic, 55% white, and 4% other.
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History
The school is the latest development in a trend to establish publicly funded Hebrew language and culture charter schools, the first of which was the Ben Gamla Charter School, which opened in Hollywood, Florida in 2007. Whereas Ben Gamla ignited controversy over church-state issues, the Hebrew Language Academy will focus on the modern Hebrew language and Jewish cultures throughout the world similar to other dual-language schools in New York City that organize studies through the prism of particular languages and cultures.
Philanthropist Michael Steinhardt funded the school's planning and application process. Sara Berman, Steinhardt’s daughter, was the lead applicant.
The New York State Board of Regents approved the application for the Hebrew Language Academy Charter School on January 13, 2009.
The school's principal, Maureen Gonzalez-Campbell, has extensive experience in dual-language education and served as the director for bilingual education for Community School District 27 in Queens, NY. She speaks Spanish and will begin learning Hebrew in the summer of 2009 in Middlebury College's intensive Hebrew immersion program.
The school opened in the fall of 2009 with Kindergarten and first grade classes and added a grade each year through the fifth grade.
Evaluation
In November 2013, the school received an F on its New York City Department of Education Progress Report, which is issued to all City public schools. The school was one of 23 New York City elementary and middle schools to get an overall grade of F for the 2012-13 school year. In the past, schools with an F were placed on a watch list and subject to closure, but Mayor Bill deBlasio said that no schools would be closed on the basis of the progress report.