Robert M. Beren Academy is a private

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Jewish primary and secondary school at 11333 Cliffwood Drive in

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. Robert M. Beren Academy is located near the

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and Willowbend neighborhoods. The school covers preschool through grade 12 and includes an elementary Montessori program. The school, previously named Hebrew Academy, is an independent Jewish school. Roselyn Bell, author of the "Houston" entry in ''The Jewish Traveler: Hadassah Magazine's Guide to the World's Jewish Communities and Sights'', wrote that the Hebrew Academy has "

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leanings".Bell, p
218
It is affiliated with

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.Beren Academy receives $2 million in donations
" ''

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''. Wednesday August 22, 2007. Retrieved on April 11, 2016.

History

Robert M. Beren Academy was founded in 1969 as the South Texas Hebrew Academy; the original campus was located at South Braeswood at Chimney Rock. In 1980, the school was renamed Hebrew Academy. In 1988, the school was again renamed to Robert M. Beren Academy after the Israel Henry Beren Foundation donated to the school.Arlene Nisson Lassin
"Beren Academy marks 35 years"
''

'', September 14, 2006. After a six million-dollar capital campaign, the school moved into its campus at 11333 Cliffwood in 1999. In 2007 Robert M. Beren, whom the school was named after, donated $1 million to the school. Other individuals donated another $1 million at the same time. In February 2012, Beren Academy's boys basketball team reached the semifinals of the

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(TAPPS) state tournament, but withdrew from the semifinal game, which had been scheduled for Friday evening during the Jewish

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, after TAPPS refused the school's request to reschedule the game for earlier in the day. However, after some of the parents of the team members filed a lawsuit in a Dallas court, TAPPS relented and granted them the opportunity to reschedule the game. Beren won the rescheduled semifinal game, but lost in the state championship.Randy Jennings
"Beren Academy loses in state finals"

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, March 4, 2012. In Fall 2012, Rabbi Perry Tirschwell assumed the position of Executive Director. Rabbi Jordan Silvestri is the current head of school.

Student body and operations

As of 2006 it had 270 students; the school had 325 students. Annual tuition in 2008 ranged from $11,000 to $15,000. Though the school is an Orthodox Jewish institution, about 40% of families do not self-identify as Orthodox. The Orthodox families live in a very tight-knit community, all within walking distance to the Synagogue. There is a strong emphasis placed on family and community. 70% of RMBA graduates choose to spend a gap year continuing their Judaic studies in Israel before beginning college. 10% of RMBA graduates attend Ivy League universities. The high school faculty consists of 23 educators, 17 of whom hold advanced degrees.

Curriculum and academic achievement

The students have standard curricula,

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courses, and Judaic studies. the percentage of students who achieved

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status was 15%, and the school's average

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score was 1279. In 2005 the school's board installed a

Montessori The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...

program. One year later, 16 students in grades 1-3 participated in it.

Programs

In January 2009 Beren was scheduled to start a pilot program, Yad B'Yad ("Hand in Hand"), in which students with disabilities are mainstreamed into the student body by attending classes every week, with 90 minutes per week.Radcliffe, Jennifer.
Jewish academy expands for students with disabilities
" ''

''. Saturday November 29, 2008. Retrieved on April 11, 2016.

Notable alumni

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* Rabbi Shlomo Brody

References

* Bell, Roselyn. "Houston." In: Tigay, Alan M. (editor) ''The Jewish Traveler: Hadassah Magazine's Guide to the World's Jewish Communities and Sights''.

Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns ...

, January 1, 1994. p. 215-220. , 9781568210780. ** Content also in: Tigay, Alan M. ''Jewish Travel-Prem''.

Broadway Books Broadway Books is an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.. It released its first list in Fall 1996. Broadway was founded in 1995 as a unit of Bantam Doubleday Dell, a unit of Bertelsmann. Bertelsmann acquire ...

, January 18, 1987. , 9780385241984.

Notes

External links

Robert M. Beren Academy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beren, Robert M. Academy Educational institutions established in 1969 Jews and Judaism in Houston Private K–12 schools in Houston Modern Orthodox Jewish day schools in the United States Religious schools in Houston Jewish day schools in Texas 1969 establishments in Texas Orthodox Judaism in Texas