An orthodox high School goes online … sort of

At Yeshivas Ohev Shalom, an all-boys Orthodox high school on Fairfax Avenue, students receive something more than an experimental general studies education — and something less than the universally accepted form of classroom learning.

Unlike at other yeshivas, where rabbis teach Jewish studies and secular instructors teach general studies subjects like chemistry or English, Yeshivas Ohev Shalom students take their general studies classes online.

The students remain on site in the yeshiva’s single classroom, where they sit in front of laptops sent over by a state-recognized online program run by the Kaplan Academy of California and chartered with the Lynwood Unified School District.

In short, they learn individually with online education software.

Rabbi Chaim Tropper, principal of Yeshivas Ohev Shalom, describes this hybrid model of education as “revolutionary.” The aim, Tropper said, is to reduce student tuition fees while maintaining a high standard of general studies education.

Indeed, compared to the approximately $25,000 to $30,000 that local yeshivas typically charge for annual tuition, students at Yeshivas Ohev Shalom will pay $7,500 for the next school year — or even less because the school offers scholarships, Tropper said. The school, which opened in August 2009, started its second year Sept. 1.

Yeshivas Ohev Shalom is the only known Orthodox high school to incorporate online secular education into the classroom. But that may change, said Rabbi Saul Zucker, director of day school and education services of the Orthodox Union. Zucker said that administrators at Orthodox day schools are increasingly open to finding innovative ways to adjust to today’s rough economy.

Of the hybrid model, “It’s a new idea,” Zucker said, noting that there are other yeshivas outside of California that are also experimenting with it. “Schools that are doing it to whatever degree are getting attention,” he said.

On a regular school day last year, extension cords ran across the floor of Yeshivas Ohev Shalom’s classroom, powering up laptops. One student wore soft, bulky headphones, listening to an art history video lecture playing on his laptop. Another student sat in front of his laptop, balancing chemistry equations in a Word document. Seeing that his chemistry teacher, whom he had never met in person, was online — indicated by her screen name popping up on his buddy list — he sent her an instant message, asking whether she had corrected one of his previous chemistry assignments.

The teacher wrote back immediately, saying she had corrected it and that it should be in his e-mail in-box, adding that she had also just e-mailed him a duplicate.

Nothing in the student’s demeanor or expression indicated that he saw anything unusual about this exchange; for high school students nowadays, apparently it isn’t unusual to know someone’s personality only to the extent that it translates through IMs and e-mails, even if this person is a teacher. The student simply typed his response thanking his teacher and clicked “send.”

“NP” — no problem — the teacher wrote back.

Thus, the students of Yeshivas Ohev Shalom, after hours of traditional Torah study, immerse themselves in drop-down menus and sidebars, online quizzes and interactive exercises for their general studies subjects. When they log in to their personal accounts and click on one of the courses, a syllabus and announcements for the day appear on their screens. There is a tab they can click on — “Gradebook” — to find out their grades for assignments, quizzes and exams. Sidebars list every section of each course or subject. Students complete one section (or unit) per week.

Because the students take their laptops home — and giving the Internet to an Orthodox high school student is like giving him “a loaded gun,” Tropper said — Tropper takes care to monitor the students’ online activity with a program called LogMeIn.

“The use of the Internet is 100 percent supervised,” said Rabbi Dovid Tropper (Chaim Tropper’s father), who runs the synagogue attached to the school and helps teach Jewish studies. He added that they are “more than cautious” in monitoring the students’ Web use.

Jessica Anderson, principal of Kaplan Academy of California, explained how a state-funded charter school can be used in a religious private school like Yeshivas Ohev Shalom. For purposes of their general studies, Anderson said, “they’re public school students. We’re not teaching religion. We’re providing a public education. … We’re not connected to Ohev Shalom, other than that we share some students that are enrolled in both schools.”

This year, the students will increase time spent on general studies, Chaim Tropper said. They will work within the Kaplan school program from 2 to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, for one hour and 45 minutes on Fridays, and again for four hours on Sunday — thus, essentially a 10-hour school day.

The general studies portion follows several hours of Jewish learning. The boys daven together for morning prayers at 8 a.m. and then split up into two tracks for the Jewish studies — a regular track that offers in-depth study of Talmud, halachah and Chumash, and a remedial track that focuses on Mishnayot, the book of Prophets, Chumash and discussions about religion.

Offering two tracks is also what sets Yeshivas Ohev Shalom apart from other yeshivas, Tropper said. The boys reconvene for afternoon prayers around 1:30 p.m., he said.

From November through April, when the students finish their general studies portion of their day, they have the nighttime prayers at 6:05 p.m. On Thursday nights, the students continue Torah studies after a dinner break. Last year, they did this twice a week, but with increased secular load, it’s harder for them to stay and do Torah studies. More time has to be allotted for online education, Tropper said.

Moshe Brownstein, a Yeshivas Ohev Shalom student who just started 12th grade, explained why he likes the online model of education.

“It’s as good as you’re going to get in most programs,” Brownstein said. “It’s the state giving you everything. And you can work at your own pace.”

Still, Tropper said, this type of learning “doesn’t work for everyone.” He explained that a couple of the students, who “learn better in a classroom setting,” did not return this year.

So, in an effort to make the setting feel more like a traditional learning environment, this year Yeshivas Ohev Shalom hired one teacher to come in every day to aid in the online learning. As of press time, the school had 12 students enrolled. Tropper hopes to increase that number to 15 and, eventually, to grow the school to 35 students.