Milken Community School (originally Milken Community Schools, colloquially Milken) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

and

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

. It is located on

Mulholland Drive Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer William Mulholland. The western rural portion in Los Angeles and Ventura counties is n ...

in the Bel Air area of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. It is one of the largest

Jewish day school A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide children of Jews, Jewish parents with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full-time basis. The term "day school" is used to differentiat ...

s in the United States. Long affiliated with Stephen S. Wise Temple, a

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

congregation, the school is officially non-denominational, and became independent from the temple in July 2012. Despite the separation, Milken Community Schools continues to be the school in which many Stephen S. Wise students are enrolled. In 1998, Milken was the largest non-Orthodox Jewish high school in the United States.Duke Helfand
"Milken High Is Dedicated by Founders: The $30-million campus is largest non-Orthodox Jewish high school in U.S."
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', September 14, 1998. As of 1994, Milken was the only Reform Jewish high school in the United States and was a part of the only K-12 Jewish education program west of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

that was not a part of

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Oral, as literally revelation, revealed by God in Ju ...

.Dart, John.
EDUCATION : Reform Jewish High School Moving to Hills
" ''

''. November 6, 1994. Retrieved on July 9, 2016.

History

The school began in

Van Nuys Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1 ...

in 1984 as the Golda Meir School, and was later renamed the Einstein Academy. When the school became affiliated with Stephen S. Wise Temple, it was renamed Stephen S. Wise High School. After a large donation from Lowell and

Michael Milken Michael Robert Milken (born July 4, 1946) is an American financier. He is known for his role in the development of the market for High-yield debt, high-yield bonds ("junk bonds"), and his conviction and sentence following a guilty plea on felony ...

Milken Family Foundation The Milken Family Foundation is a private foundation established by Lowell Milken and Michael Milken in 1982. Lowell Milken serves as chairman and co-founder of the foundation. Goals The foundation is focused primarily on supporting education ...

in 1995, the school, then reported to be the "largest non-Orthodox Jewish high school in the country", was named Milken Community High School.John Dart
"Jewish School Renamed for Milkens"
''

'', September 9, 1995. At the beginning of the 2013–2014 school year, the school was renamed to Milken Community Schools, with the intention of creating a name that encompassed both the middle school and the high school. The Upper School was held in temporary trailers, on the lot where the new Middle School now stands, from 1994 to 1998 until the current Upper School campus was opened in 1998. This campus had a cost of $30 million. Until the Middle School campus was completed in 2009, the Middle School occupied temporary trailers on the parking lot of the

Bel Air Presbyterian Church Bel Air Church (also known as Bel Air Presbyterian Church) is a Presbyterian Church (USA), Presbyterian church located in Los Angeles, California. Its campus is located on Mulholland Drive in the Encino, Los Angeles, California, Encino neighborh ...

from 1981 to 2008. The Middle School and Upper School have historically had the same name, yet after the completion of the new Middle School campus in 2009, the Middle School was officially renamed the David and Hillevi Saperstein Middle School of Milken Community High School after a subsequent donation from David and Hillevi Saperstein, while the Upper School remained the Milken Community High School. On March 25, 2011, Milken Community High School and Stephen S. Wise Temple announced that the school would become independent from the temple effective July 1, 2012.

American Jewish University American Jewish University (AJU) is a Private university, private Jewish university in Los Angeles, California. It was formed in 2007 from the merger of the University of Judaism and Brandeis-Bardin Institute. AJU's academic division includes ...

had a campus at 15600 Mulholland Drive, Bel Air, directly across the freeway from the Milken campus. Milken had long sought an arrangement to share facilities with the university, but unsuccessfully. In February 2022, AJU announced plans to sell the location. Milken made a bid of approximately $60 million, but was outbid by a Swiss learning company. That deal fell through amid community opposition. On Tuesday, December 26, 2023, Milken announced that it had successfully reached a deal to buy the campus.

Judaism

All students were required to take four years of Hebrew, of which 18 different levels are offered; but as of the beginning of the 2018 school year, the new administration dropped this requirement. Hebrew is now optional as a course, but many students still choose to partake in it. Four years of Jewish studies are still required, and are offered at college-preparatory, honors, and high honors levels (9th-

Jewish Law ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...

, 10th-

Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, Indigenous languages of California See also

* Pentateuch (dis ...

, 11th-Jewish Law, 12th-Jewish Thought). Spiritual Practice takes place once a week, with varied options such as traditional-egalitarian minyan, yoga, meditation, doubters' minyan, and others. An optional daily morning minyan is also offered. Through the Advanced Jewish Studies Center (AJSC), numerous Judaic electives are offered, including comparative religion, intensive

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

study, comparative film, and others.

Tiferet Israel Fellowship

In partnership with the Alexander Muss Institute for Israel Education (AMIIE), MCHS offers an opportunity for students to learn and live in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

during the spring semester of the 10th grade. Through a full academic program, schedule of tiyyulim (field study and trips), personalized chuggim (individualized activities) and partnership with Israeli teens, Tiferet Israel Fellows learn inside and outside of the classroom and build relationships with the land and people of

. The semester abroad is followed by two years of additional programming. The junior year focuses on public presentation skills, training fellows how to best advocate for the State of Israel. The senior year concludes with an intensive seminar based at the

Shalom Hartman Institute Shalom Hartman Institute is a Jewish research and education institute based in Jerusalem, that offers pluralistic Jewish thought and education to scholars, rabbis, educators, and Jewish community leaders in Israel and North America. The institu ...

in Jerusalem, in which students examine Israeli cultural and political issues.

Extracurricular activities

The

FIRST Robotics Competition FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is an international high school robotics competition operated by ''FIRST''®. Each year, teams of high school students, coaches, and mentors work to build robots capable of competing in that year's game. Robots c ...

team, The MilkenKnights, was a finalist at the Los Angeles Regional in 2012 and the Orange County Regional in 2016. They have won several awards including two Dean's List Finalist Awards (Nathan Schloss in 2010 and Jared Hasen-Klein in 2017). In 2010, the team became one of the first American robotics teams to compete in the Israeli FIRST robotics regional. The school has won at least one Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation Award for every year that the competition has been running.

Sports

The track team, after expanding to over 60 team members in 2008, won the league champions for the third consecutive year. The Milken basketball team has 10 league championships and one CIF SS Championship. In fall 2011, after the previous year held an undefeated season and championship for the Wildcats'

flag football Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of Tackle (football move)#Gridiron football, tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or ...

team, Milken began to play tackle football in the Heritage League. They play their games on Thursday nights instead of the traditional Friday night because the latter is the Jewish

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...

Notable alumni

Amir Blumenfeld Amir Shmuel Blumenfeld (; ; born January 18, 1983) is an Israeli-American comedian, actor, writer, Television presenter, television host, and member of the American comedy duo, Jake and Amir. Born in Israel, he moved to Los Angeles when he was tw ...

, comedian *

Max Borenstein Max Borenstein (born June 20, 1981) is an American screenwriter. He is best known as the creator of the ''MonsterVerse'' film series featuring classic Kaiju of Toho's Godzilla mythos, including writing ''Godzilla'', ''Godzilla: Awakening'' (bo ...

, screenwriter *

Skyler Gisondo Skyler Augustus Gisondo (born July 22, 1996) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the films ''Licorice Pizza'', ''Booksmart'', and ''Vacation'', as well as the television programs ''Psych'', '' The Righteous Gemstones'', and ''Sant ...

, actor *

Sean Rad Sean Rad (born May 22, 1986) is an Iranian-American entrepreneur and the Founder of Tinder (app), Tinder. Rad launched Tinder in 2012 and by 2015, Tinder was the top grossing app in 99 countries, and in 2017, Tinder became the highest grossing ...

, creator of

Tinder Tinder is easily Combustibility and flammability, combustible material used to Firemaking, start a fire. Tinder is a finely divided, open material which will begin to glow under a shower of sparks. Air is gently wafted over the glowing tinder unt ...

* Tamir Saban,

American-Israeli Israeli Americans () are Americans who are of full or partial Israeli descent. The Israeli-American community, while predominantly Jewish, also includes various ethnic and religious minorities reflective of Israel's diverse demographics. This c ...

basketball player *

Asher Vollmer Asher Vollmer (born September 14, 1989) is an American indie video game developer. He created '' Puzzlejuice'' and ''Threes''. Vollmer also worked on '' Guildlings'' and '' Beast Breaker''. While a student at USC Interactive Media & Games Di ...

, game designer and creator of the Apple Design Award winner ''Threes!''; featured in the 2015 Forbes' "30 under 30" list.

References

External links

Milken Community High School
{{authority control Coalition of Essential Schools Private high schools in Los Angeles County, California Jewish day schools in California Jews and Judaism in Los Angeles Private middle schools in Los Angeles County, California Private schools in Los Angeles Educational institutions established in 1990 Private high schools in California Bel Air, Los Angeles 1990 establishments in California