“Kehillah” means “community” in Hebrew, and in just ten years Kehillah Jewish High School in Palo Alto has grown from a ninth-grade class of 33 students to a vibrant community of 154 students in grades 9 through 12. Kehillah students emerge as independent, critical thinkers meaningfully engaged with the issues of our times.
Kehillah welcomes the full diversity of the Silicon Valley’s Jewish community and non-Jewish community. The families of Kehillah students come from not only the U.S., but also from Europe, Asia, Latin America, Canada and the Middle East. Students’ first languages include Russian, Hebrew, Spanish and French as well as English. They live as far south as Morgan Hill, as far north as Burlingame, and as far east as Castro Valley and Fremont. Approximately half attended public school through eighth grade, and the other half attended private middle schools. At Kehillah, students from these many places and backgrounds come together to form an energetic student body eager to learn from their teachers, from Jewish texts and from one another.
Like its sister independent high schools, Kehillah offers excellent academics, including honors and AP-level courses in all disciplines. A full array of elective courses includes rock band, guitar, music theory, theater, photography, digital art, studio art, painting, alternative media, journalism, yoga, fitness, film review, and more. Ancient and modern languages are offered, including Spanish, French, modern Hebrew, Latin and ancient Greek. Students also study Jewish texts and commentaries, both ancient and modern, in classes such as “The Origins of Human Violence,” “The Ethics of Living and Dying” and “Judaism and the Environment.”
The Kehillah campus is bright, welcoming and beautifully equipped. In classrooms of six to 18 students, teachers fully engage students, drawing each into the class discussion or activity. The school’s science labs, art studio, computer lab, and media lab are state-of-the-art. The black box theater and music studio are also hubs of student activity. Each classroom is equipped with interactive, touch-sensitive SMART Boards. In math classrooms, students write and solve equations directly on classroom desks with dry-erase surfaces. Kehillah treats the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center (JCC) across the street as part of its campus. All students receive memberships to the JCC, and the gymnasium and pools serve as home of the Kehillah Rams volleyball, basketball and swim teams. Kehillah also has soccer, cross-country, Ultimate Frisbee, golf and tennis teams. All are welcome to play — there are no “cuts” at Kehillah.
At Kehillah, the school works hard to ensure its students enjoy the right balance of study, relaxation and reflection. Students enjoy six weekly “prep periods,” during which they can study and complete homework, socialize in the student lounge, visit the JCC, meet with teachers or simply listen to music and recharge. Weekly assemblies afford time for school-wide experiential learning on a variety of subjects as well as presentations by guest speakers.
“Repair of the world” is a central Jewish value and an essential part of student life at Kehillah. Each class takes a unique service-oriented trip, such as hurricane relief work in Mississippi, a national youth conference on homelessness in Washington, D.C., and home-building in Costa Rica. The junior class trip is a two- to three-week experience in Israel, also featuring community service.
Universities recognize that students from Jewish high schools excel in college. Kehillah’s first six graduating classes have been accepted to more than 180 colleges and universities. Kehillah students have been accepted to every University of California campus, Stanford, Yale, Harvard, and Princeton, among others. Students receive one-on-one, personalized college counseling and are encouraged to meet with some of the 40 or more college representatives that come to campus each year. Kehillah alumni have fared exceedingly well in college. “Kehillah alumni tend to become favorites among their professors,” says Susan Solomon, Director of College Guidance at Kehillah. “They are the students raising their hands, adding to the discussion seminar and visiting with the professors during office hours.”
For more information about Kehillah, visit www.kehillah.org.