Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy | |
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Address | |
272 S Bryn Mawr Avenue Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 United States |
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Coordinates | 40°01′00″N 75°19′39″W / 40.016786°N 75.327536°WCoordinates: 40°01′00″N 75°19′39″W / 40.016786°N 75.327536°W |
Information | |
Type | Private, Jewish day school |
Religious affiliation(s) | Jewish |
Established | 1946 |
Head of school | Sharon P. Levin |
Faculty | 63 |
Grades | 6–12 |
Enrollment | 317 total 232 Upper School 85 Middle School |
Student to teacher ratio | 13:1 |
Campus | Suburban |
Color(s) | Blue and White |
Athletics conference | Tri-County Independent School League (boys' sports) Penn-Jersey Athletic Association (girls' sports) |
Mascot | Cougars |
Website | www |
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy is a self-proclaimed pluralistic Jewish Day School for grades 6 to 12, located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. The Academy was founded in Center City, Philadelphia in 1946 as Akiba Hebrew Academy, and the name was changed in 2007. The Academy enrollment was 318 students during the 2007-2008 school year. The Head of School is Ms. Sharon P. Levine, and her predecessors include Dr. Steven Michael Brown, Rabbi Phillip Field, Rabbi Marc J. Rosenstein and Dr. Steven C. Lorch.
In February 2007, Akiba accepted a gift of $5 million from The Barrack Foundation, headed by Leonard and Lynne Barrack, and Akiba agreed to change its name to "Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy" in honor of Leonard Barrack's deceased brother. Leonard Barrack became president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia in September 2007. The new name was inaugurated on September 10, 2007, at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia's Radnor Campus in Bryn Mawr.
In July 2007, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia announced the purchase of the campus of American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. The American College site is 35 acres (140,000 m2) on Bryn Mawr Avenue in Radnor Township. The school inaugurated the new building with a "Hanukat HaBayit" on September 14, 2008 at which U.S. Congressman Joe Sestak addressed the crowd.
Akiba was founded in 1946 by Dr. Joseph Levitsky, and co-founded by Rabbi Simon Greenberg, Rabbi Elias Charry, and Dr. Leo L. Honor. The school first met at the YM & YWHA at Broad and Pine Streets in Center City, Philadelphia. The first class consisted of 20 boys and girls. After four years at the YM & YWHA, Akiba moved to the Har Zion Temple at 54th and Wynnefield Avenues, where it was located until 1958.