Magen David Yeshivah High School, A Leader In Education

“MDYHS has vastly expanded its array of educational technology, skills-based instruction, and higher education/career path guidance,” noted Principal Rabbi Saul Zucker.  “Adding these qualities to the warm, nurturing, Torah-values environment for which MDYHS is so well known, our school now is truly one-of-a-kind, virtually ensuring the success of each of our beloved students. MDYHS has become a beacon in the world of Jewish education.”

As the only high school among the five Jewish day schools selected for the BOLD (Blending Online Learning in Day Schools) Project, MDYHS is committed to a blended-learning educational model that will ignite the potential of students through the delivery of innovative and personalized learning. Funded by The AVI CHAI Foundation, The Affordable Jewish Education Project (AJE), and The Kohelet Foundation, the BOLD program, integrating face-to-face classroom methods with computer-mediated activities, underscores the school’s commitment to technology. Rabbi Michael Bitton, MDYHS’s Director of Educational Technology, was the only high school educator in New York given the Young Pioneer Award by the Jewish Education Project (formerly the Bureau of Jewish Education), another testament to MDYHS’ leadership role in technology.

What’s on your wish list for your child for high school?

• Cutting-edge technology?
• A nurturing environment with dedicated faculty?
• Career guidance?
• Top-notch college acceptances?
• Warm religious atmosphere?

At Magen David Yeshivah High School (MDYHS), you can check off all the above—and more.

Nurturing students to achieve their potential is not just a goal but a reality. Each incoming freshman is assigned a faculty mentor who follows him or her throughout high school as a guide and an advocate. Starting this year, entering grade 9 students will begin a four year Academic Majors program with elective courses in Career Pathways that help them understand the details of majoring in a particular field. In the junior and senior years, units of classes in Limmudei Kodesh (Judaic studies) will tie in with the major. Guest speakers and seminars will expose them to real life success stories, with presenters often mentoring MDYHS students. Seniors enjoy a special internship program that places them in real-world career pathways and graduation does not bring an end to the special relationship between the school’s passionate, committed, and dedicated faculty and students; guidance is available for our alumni on college campuses.

The only yeshivah high school in Brooklyn accredited by the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges, the same agency that accredits Princeton University, MDYHS has the highest rate among all yeshivot in New York City for acceptances to the Macaulay Honors and Presidential Scholars of the City University of New York and also sends its graduates to the Wharton School, NYU, Barnard, GW University, and other top tier colleges. In addition, in 2013, MDYHS seniors were awarded close to $2 million in merit-based scholarship awards.

The warm religious atmosphere is experienced not only daily in minyan and classes, but also at Shabbatonim, Rosh Hodesh programs, and inspirational sihot (discourse) by presenters who connect with their audience. A sophisticated Beit Midrash program emphasizes independent skills in Limmudei Kodesh.

In Their Own Words
Students Talk About Their MDYHS Experience

“Everyone is here to help—you just have to ask.”
– Junior, Class of 2015

“Magen David is like family—the teachers and administrators really care.”
– Sophomore, Class of 2016

“The study and research skills I learned here will really help me in college.”
– Senior, Class of 2014

“The speakers are always interesting and really know how to relate to students.”
– Senior, class of 2014

“The academic teams like Fed Challenge and Torah Bowl are as much fun as clubs like photography, cooking, and drama.”
– Junior, Class of 2015

“Everyone loves to help freshmen.”
– Freshman, Class of 2017

“What we are trying to create in Magen David is an atmosphere where the students can appreciate Torah, tefillah, and hesed as critical components to successful lives,” noted Rabbi Joseph Haber, Director of Spiritual Guidance. “These values will guide them as they build future families and careers.”

Do you have other must-haves on your list?
• An Arts Program?
• Academic enrichment opportunities?

With an extensive program in the fine arts, MDYHS ties its history and language arts classes to art history. Dedicated to cultivating the fine arts, the school offers classes in studio art and art history, Sunday studio art programs at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and museum and gallery visits throughout the year. This year will be the first where freshman can explore careers in the fine arts through the Academic Majors program. “With a new studio art program, juniors can take an elective where they are introduced to the basics of drawing and painting,” noted Natalie Greenberg, MDYHS Careers in the Arts Counselor, “while seniors can choose to work in areas such as architecture and mechanical drawing, computer graphics, painting and portfolio preparation.”

MDYHS emphasizes a skills-based education, where students not only learn the facts, but also how to learn, research, and master the material so that they become independent learners. A Scholars Program for gifted students includes highly rigorous academics with courses that correlate themes across various subjects and offers a complete leadership curriculum that spans four years. The Scholars Program serves to bring out and nourish the talents of highly motivated and talented students, creating a new generation of leaders who eventually will give back to the community and the world at large.