Hebrew High School of New England
Encyclopedia
The Hebrew High School of New England (HHNE) is a private
Jewish high school located in West Hartford, Connecticut
, USA. The school was created by members of the New Haven
, Springfield
, Hartford
communities, and its students hail from communities throughout Central Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. The school is affiliated with the Modern Orthodox denomination but caters to a wide variety of Jewish background and religious affiliations. From its opening in the September 1996 until December 2010, the school was housed in the basement of the Agudas Achim Synagogue in West Hartford. In January 2011, the school moved into a newly constructed facility, located on Bloomfield Avenue in West Hartford across from the Zachs Campus and Mandell JCC.
Starting in the 2005-2006 school year, Rabbi Daniel Loew assumed the role of Head of School. The school currently has an enrollment of roughly 80 students.
. The property was previously owned by the University of Hartford
and included the university's Alumni house. The school received zoning approval in November 2009 to demolish the Alumni House and build a 30000 square feet (2,787.1 m²) school building in its place. An old carriage house on the property was also demolished, and a free-standing art and music center that resembled the carriage house was built in its place. The new building was designed to accommodate up to 120 students. The school moved onto the $6.8M campus over the course of December 2010, and the first day of classes in the new facilities was January 3, 2011.
The school's new main building features 11 state-of-the-art classrooms, three college-level science labs, a library and learning center, study and prayer space, and full-court gymnasium. The building was made possible through donations from Ann and Jeremy Pava, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, and Doris and Simon Konover. The campus (Pava Educational Campus) and main building (Grinspoon-Konover Building) were named in recognition on their contributions. The Zachs family of West Hartford donated the art building, named the Louise Silverman Zachs Art and Music Center.
; basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, and tennis programs; and school retreats and Shabbaton
s. Students are empowered to develop their leadership and social action skills. One example is the school's attendance at the Rally for Darfur in Washington, D.C.
, spearheaded by the students after they read Night
by Elie Wiesel.
, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Barnard College
, Brandeis University
, Boston University
, New York University
(NYU), Columbia University
, Sarah Lawrence College
, and Yeshiva University
. Also, many choose to spend a year prior to college in Yeshiva/Seminary and university programs in Israel
.
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
Jewish high school located in West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town was incorporated in 1854. Prior to that date, the town was a parish of Hartford....
, USA. The school was created by members of the New Haven
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, Springfield
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
, Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
communities, and its students hail from communities throughout Central Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. The school is affiliated with the Modern Orthodox denomination but caters to a wide variety of Jewish background and religious affiliations. From its opening in the September 1996 until December 2010, the school was housed in the basement of the Agudas Achim Synagogue in West Hartford. In January 2011, the school moved into a newly constructed facility, located on Bloomfield Avenue in West Hartford across from the Zachs Campus and Mandell JCC.
History
The Hebrew High School of New England first opened its doors to students in September 1996 under the leadership of its founding president, Ann Pava. Rabbi Zvi Kahn, who had been hired earlier that year, assumed the role of principal. The school began with 18 students in ninth and tenth grades. It also prides itself on an experienced and dedicated faculty, five members of which have won Harold Grinspoon Foundation Teaching Awards.Starting in the 2005-2006 school year, Rabbi Daniel Loew assumed the role of Head of School. The school currently has an enrollment of roughly 80 students.
Campus
In June 2007, the school purchased the property across the street from the Greater Hartford Jewish Community CenterJewish Community Center
A Jewish Community Center or Jewish Community Centre is a general recreational, social and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities...
. The property was previously owned by the University of Hartford
University of Hartford
The University of Hartford is a private, independent, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in West Hartford, Connecticut. The degree programs at the University of Hartford hold the highest levels of accreditation available in the US, including the Engineering Accreditation Commission of...
and included the university's Alumni house. The school received zoning approval in November 2009 to demolish the Alumni House and build a 30000 square feet (2,787.1 m²) school building in its place. An old carriage house on the property was also demolished, and a free-standing art and music center that resembled the carriage house was built in its place. The new building was designed to accommodate up to 120 students. The school moved onto the $6.8M campus over the course of December 2010, and the first day of classes in the new facilities was January 3, 2011.
The school's new main building features 11 state-of-the-art classrooms, three college-level science labs, a library and learning center, study and prayer space, and full-court gymnasium. The building was made possible through donations from Ann and Jeremy Pava, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, and Doris and Simon Konover. The campus (Pava Educational Campus) and main building (Grinspoon-Konover Building) were named in recognition on their contributions. The Zachs family of West Hartford donated the art building, named the Louise Silverman Zachs Art and Music Center.
School activities
Daily, students participate in a dual-curriculum program that includes four periods of Judaic studies prior to lunch, and five periods of general studies in the afternoon. In addition to the academic program, students participate in a variety of clubs such as dance and culinary arts and extracurricular activities. These include a drama society that performs at Hartford StageHartford Stage
Hartford Stage, located in Hartford, Connecticut, is one of the leading resident theatres in the United States, known internationally for entertaining and enlightening audiences with a wide range of the best of world drama, from classics to provocative new plays and musicals and neglected works...
; basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, and tennis programs; and school retreats and Shabbaton
Shabbaton
The Hebrew term Shabbaton, , may be translated into English to mean sabbatical year. In Israel, when one takes a sabbatical year, one takes the year off in search of other pursuits. It is a rest from work, a hiatus, typically 2 months plus...
s. Students are empowered to develop their leadership and social action skills. One example is the school's attendance at the Rally for Darfur in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, spearheaded by the students after they read Night
Night (book)
Night is a work by Elie Wiesel about his experience with his father, Shlomo, in the Nazi German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944–1945, at the height of the Holocaust and toward the end of the Second World War...
by Elie Wiesel.
Tuition
Tuition for the 2011-2012 year is $18,025. Breakfast is served daily, yet students bring lunch from home. Subsidized transportation from Springfield, Massachusetts and New Haven, Connecticut is also available.Post-Graduation
Virtually all students go on to four-year colleges after graduation, and HHNE students have been accepted to top schools such as Cooper UnionCooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
, Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
, Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
(NYU), Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
, and Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
. Also, many choose to spend a year prior to college in Yeshiva/Seminary and university programs in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.