Our daughter had a wonderful kindergarten year at the Jewish Academy of Wake County. Her academic growth, especially the reading level she achieved, was nothing short of stunning. Equally gratifying as a parent was the special attention paid to her social development and the joyful Jewish identity she came with every day. This is a fantastic, close knit school, and if you're wondering as a Jewish parent where to send your children, I assure you, you can do no better.
Jewish Academy has been amazing. My son was in public school before we had the opportunity to join the JAWC family and every day it was a chore to get out the door to school. Our first year was so amazing that every day he could not wait to go to school. In our 3rd year, his brother is now old enough to attend and they both have enjoyed the singing and joy of learning in a warm, welcoming place where everyone is a friend. As a parent, the best thing I find with the Jewish Academy is that everyone who is a part of the school really wantsto be there - from the teachers and volunteers, to the students and parents, to the administrators and community supporters. Jewish Academy is a real community school with students and teachers from all walks of life. My boys have excelled both academically and socially from the personal attention that comes with smaller classes to the joy of attending after school at the JCC and belonging to that larger community. If you have a chance to visit the school; you will be amazed by how much pride the children take in their school and how they are challenged to do their personal best in all subjects.
Because of the individual attention, our daughters gained confidence and are thriving academically and socially. Their teachers have instilled in them an enthusiasm and love of learning.
J. arrives and leaves school with a smile. At JAWC he is growing spiritually, emotionally and academically. (At JAWC) we never have to worry about his academic growth being stunted or his being bored. If he is ready to do work in the next grade level, his teachers accommodate him. I love that the learning achieved there is not one dimensional. He is able to have his imagination to soar, to express his thoughts and ideas, and to be heard. One year when students were doing standardized testing, and it was not his year to participate, he was curious and asked if he could also take the test. He was not only permitted to go ahead, but was encouraged to do so, and he scored very well on them.
The school’s quality faculty give the children individual attention, recognizing their strengths and helping them where they need it. The kids were well behaved, happy and worked together on collaborative learning projects.
We chose JAWC because we believed that a small class of children, whose parents hold both education and Judaism as family priorities, would provide our daughter with the best learning environment possible. We like the joyful atmosphere at JAWC. We like that our daughter has learned more about Judaism than we could have taught her ourselves, and that she loves being Jewish. Besides the fact that we believe our daughter is getting wonderful general studies, she is incredibly happy.
Religious [observance and instruction] is very gentle. They teach everything about Judaism but they don’t push. We are not religious and are accepted how we are. Our son knows a lot about the Torah. He likes the way it is taught. He is blossoming. It’s something special.
Our son likes to go to Kindergarten. I went into the new classroom today and I was amazed and very excited. Because I am a teacher, I saw the class and it made me miss my work. It is warm. It is rich. The rules are very clear. The teacher is always smiling. She is teaching him at the level he needs in reading and mathematics. He is doing mathematics in his head. The science labs are wonderful.
We love the school because our son loves it. He wakes up excited about going to school. He is also doing very well there – I am amazed at how well he is reading and how much he loves to read.
I like that the class is small and our son gets more attention. I like that it has all the different classes: Hebrew, Judaica, Music, and P.E. Morah Erin does a great job teaching the kids. Also, we like the family feeling of the school.
We chose Jewish Academy for several reasons. The first and foremost being we wanted our daughter to have a Jewish education. We liked the family setting. Another reason is that Rabbi Aaron Herman has an active role in the school. He has earned our trust with his approach to teaching people of all ages and stages. He has a genuine appreciation for where you and your child are in your journey. The facilities may not be state of the art but the value of the education is out of this world! Our daughter excels with the small class and personal attention. The kids and staff have become an extended family to us.
The Jewish Academy is the most warm and loving environment! Learning is facilitated in a hands-on experiential model… Torah ideals are lived and taught and this school encourages our children to be loving, compassionate individuals who cherish the Torah and the Jewish way of life.
We wanted a small class and a loving environment for our daughter who was beginning kindergarten. We have not been disappointed. Our daughter, and our family, has been welcomed and accepted for who we are. We are not observant but this has not been an issue. Our daughter is thriving academically and socially. She is confident and happy.
I was observing in the classroom last week while Morah Erin and the kids discussed the meaning “well-balanced.” To add a visual example, Morah Erin used a scale, adding a marble for each activity of a typical school day: one side for work and the other side for play. The scale was unbalanced at the end. The kids felt many of their academic lessons were play…reading, journaling, science and PE were all viewed as PLAY. This indicates to me that the school is doing the job properly. Learning is FUN!
We chose the Jewish Academy of Wake County because of the small class size. Our daughter was in a large preschool and was always very shy and introverted. We feared that if she continued in a large classroom setting that she would never gain the type of confidence that she would need to succeed in life. Our decision to enroll in the Jewish Academy of Wake County was not an easy one but in the end the promise of a small loving environment won out. Almost immediately our daughter came out of her shell. Her happiness was tangible each morning as she prepared for school and in the evening as we sat around the dinner table discussing the day’s events. My daughter is a totally different person because of the small class size and loving environment of the Jewish Academy of Wake County. She is no longer shy or introverted but rather she now exudes a quiet confidence that she too can succeed and be happy regardless of the circumstances.
I used to think that my daughter needed public school to provide diversity and the ‘real-life’ experience of hard knocks, but I discovered that she was actually losing confidence, independence and motivation in public school. This was because expectations were so much lower and the environment was driven more by rules and regulations than it was by a love of learning.
The school provided an island of sanity and a moral compass that my children need in these critical formative years. I’m pleased that the rabbi and teaching staff respect the range of Jewish observance.
