Milwaukee’s Hillel High Makes Great Strides

When students return to Hillel High School in Milwaukee in a few weeks, they’ll find that some things have changed: It has hired a new head teacher, signed a lease on two new venues and increased its enrollment by one-third.

One of the most significant changes, however, won’t be quite so visible. Its impact, though, will be felt throughout the school community and beyond, as Hillel High has been awarded a multi-year “incubator grant” from the Avi Chai Foundation.

This prestigious grant, given to only a handful of schools nationwide, will allow Hillel High—a grade nine-through-12 school in its second year of operation—to work with experts in the field of blended learning (a combination of in-class and virtual schooling) and receive funds toward its general operating expenses.

Rachel Mohl Abrahams, senior program officer at the Avi Chai Foundation, says what makes Hillel High distinctive is that it utilizes a state-supported school, eAchieve Academy, to provide its general-studies courses, while having in-person teachers as facilitators.

“This model allows the school to attract students who would not have otherwise considered Jewish high school,” she notes.

According to Chris Schulteis, marketing and logistics manager at eAchieve, “virtual schooling is unique in that it is more student-centered. The teacher is more of a guide, assisting the students in discovering their own paths to education. We empower students to chart their own course.”

One of the criteria for the incubator grants, which have been offered by the Avi Chai Foundation since 2010, is that the school is priced at least one-third below the average day school in its community. A school must also project that it can reach financial sustainability in year four or five, when it reaches the enrollment necessary to break even.

Tuition at Hillel High, which has a boys division and a girls division, runs $7,500 a year, and administrators expect to grow to incorporate 70 students within five years. Currently, 24 students are enrolled.

Suits the Community’s Needs

“To have the Avi Chai Foundation recognize our school as a model that can be replicated is something we are both proud of and happy for,” says Hillel High administrator Rabbi Yossi Bassman.

The innovative model of education at Hillel High allows students to access a multitude of classes offered by eAchieve Academy in Wisconsin, including advanced-placement classes in English, history, science, math and foreign languages, and electives like Digital Drawing and Painting, World-Wide Cuisine, Fashion & Interior Design, Criminal Justice, Web Design and Forensic Science.

Students also progress at their own speed, while benefiting from small-group, in-class teacher support, ensuring that each teen achieves their academic potential.

All of which appealed to 16-year-old Tova Noll. “We are given so much of what we will need here in order to succeed in the years to come—in college, in our chosen occupations and in life, in general. With its small classes and individualized attention, Hillel High is very focused on making sure that we have what it takes to compete at every level,” says the high school junior.

In addition to utilizing a top-rated school for general studies, Hillel High is also taking a fresh approach for its Judaic classes, emphasizing hands-on learning and giving back to the community through a host of volunteer opportunities.

More importantly, however, it provides Jewish high-schoolers in Milwaukee with a choice of Jewish educational options; previously, students either went to public school or a local yeshivah.

“There was a big void here,” says Bassman. “So we set about creating a high school that suits the needs of the very wide and very diverse Jewish community here.”

Tova’s mother, Lauralyn Noll, is elated that Hillel High has really worked for her daughter. “It’s been absolutely awesome for her; a complete blessing,” reports Noll. “She cares very much about her Jewish identity and Jewish growth, and Hillel High is very supportive and encourages individual growth.”

In addition to providing choices for the local Jewish community, Hillel High also serves students from places with small Jewish communities, including Long Beach, Calif.; Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada; and even Hawaii. (These students stay with Jewish host families in Milwaukee during the school year.)

All of these young people can look forward to two new campus locations with added space for expansive classroom and learning areas, as well as a full-sized gymnasium, baseball and football fields, and tennis courts.

They will also gain a new head teacher, Rabbi Yehoshua Landes, who has two rabbinical ordinations, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Chinese and European history. He has been involved with teaching and curriculum development for Judaic and general studies for almost 30 years, and has a particular interest in Chumash, Mishna and Shakespeare.

He says he is extremely impressed with the progress and accomplishments of Hillel High, and is looking forward to helping take the academic institution to the next level.

These developments, along with the grant, will allow the school to grow to its true potential, much like the students whose education it is fostering. “Our goal,” says Bassman, “is to take this innovative model and grow it by implementing best practices to ensure our success.”

To learn more, see: www.hillelhigh.com.

When students return to Hillel High in Milwaukee in a few weeks, they'll find two new venues, including a full-sized gymnasium for activities like basketball.
When students return to Hillel High in Milwaukee in a few weeks, they’ll find two new venues, including a full-sized gymnasium for activities like basketball.
Cooking is just one of a wide range of hands-on electives.
Cooking is just one of a wide range of hands-on electives.
The high-schoolers benefit from a well-rounded education with numerous electives, as well as opportunities for volunteering in the community.
The high-schoolers benefit from a well-rounded education with numerous electives, as well as opportunities for volunteering in the community.
At Hillel High, students are empowered to chart their own course.
At Hillel High, students are empowered to chart their own course.