'Montessori-Style' Jewish School to Expand to 8th Grade

An eclectic Prospect Heights school that combines the content of a traditional Orthodox Jewish education with the method of the Montessori movement is set to expand this year.

The Luria Academy of Brooklyn is a non-denominational Jewish elementary school that opened five years ago and recently moved to a new building at 238 St. Marks Place.  

The school is "purposely diverse" in both staff and students, said Bryna Leider, the school's Education Director. It welcomes children of all backgrounds, both Jewish and non-Jewish, and all levels of observance, she added.

Luria currently serves children from age 2 through fifth grade.  The plans are to continue to expand each year, with the ultimate goal to include children through the eighth grade, Leider said.

The school represents a combination of Montessori philosophy with content that is "similar to an Orthodox day school,"  Leider said.  Subject areas for the younger children include Hebrew language, Jewish holidays, and the weekly Torah portion.  Older students are introduced to more advanced Jewish texts, and also "learn about the history and geography of Israel as well as its roots in our tradition and as the modern homeland of the Jewish people," according to the school's website.

The older children spend approximately 20 minutes to half an hour daily at prayer, Leider said.

Luria is also an "initiate" member of the American Montessori Society, Leider said. The "initiate" status, she added, is due to that fact that it is difficult to find teachers who have already been trained in the Montessori method, so many of Luria's teachers are currently in the process of that training.  All the "lead" teachers at the school have Master's degrees or are currently completing them, and all are New York State certified, she said. 

The children are taught in mixed age groupings rather than by grade, and students work independently or in small groups for most of the day. The curriculum is "fully integrated," meaning, for example, that Hebrew language is taught in various subject matter classes throughout the day rather than in separate classes.  Leider said that Hebrew is taught by native-Hebrew speaking teachers, and the older children are able to read and write in the language.

The informal style of the school is also unlike most Orthodox Jewish schools. Boys are not required to wear yarmulkes and girls need not wear skirts. However, Leider noted that the informality does not mean that the school is unstructured.  The Montessori method entails a detailed set of rules that the children are required to abide by.  

In a visit to the school in early February, the classrooms were quiet and appeared structured, with each child working separately on individual projects. There is one  teacher for every  five children in the youngest class;  the oldest class has one teacher to eleven children.  In addition, interns, therapists, and specialists are present in the classrooms.

The school generally does not use testing.  Instead, teachers assess each student's progress individually, Leider said.

A hot lunch is available for those who wish to purchase it;  those who don't can bring lunch from home, as long as no meat is included.  The school enforces a "no sharing" policy on food, as each family observes the laws of kashrut – Jewish dietary laws – differently.  

The level of Jewish observance in the homes of the students covers a very broad range, Leider said.  Families are not asked about their level of observance when they apply, she added.

Private schools in New York are not required to administer the state-wide subject tests that have taken on such significance in the lives of public school students and their parents in recent years.  However, Luria decided to administer the ELA and math tests to its students last year.  Those students who had been in the school since its inception had never encountered a state-wide test before, Leider said, and the school did not prepare the children for the tests. The children's results on the tests "far surpassed expectations," Leider said. The school does not publish the scores, she added.

Tuition is currently $13,500.  The school does offer financial aid, Leider said.

Editors Note: The story was updated on March 15 at 8:25 a.m. to clarify that the school accepts both Jewish and non-Jewish students.