Eleanor Kolitz Hebrew Language Academy will be the first Hebrew language charter school in Texas when it opens in San Antonio in August 2013. (Learn about others in the U.S. in this earlier post.)
The charter school will take over the space at the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Campus of the San Antonio Jewish Community that was formerly occupied by the Eleanor Kolitz Academy, a private school. “Area’s Jewish families debate educational options for children”, Abe Levy, San Antonio Express-News, June 15, 2013 (at mysanantonio.com).
As a charter school, Eleanor Kolitz Hebrew Language Academy will be open to all students—Jewish and non-Jewish. The Barshop Jewish Community Center “will offer students an afternoon class in Jewish faith and culture, which officials said was an entirely independent program,” notes the Express-News.
The new charter school will offer kindergarten through eighth grade and have up to 250 students in its first year. It has received more than 200 applications to date. The school will add a grade each year, eventually including a high school and up to 700 students. Instruction will be in Hebrew and English and include study of Israel.
More information in this FAQ and another FAQ.
So, while Eleanor Kolitz is becoming a public open-enrollment charter school, the Torah Academy of San Antonio is forming as a new Jewish day school at Congregation Rodfei Sholom.
Note: the charter application used “Ben Yehuda Academy” as the proposed school name, but it looks like the organizers are sticking with “Eleanor Kolitz” as the public name for the new charter school.
