fbpx

Baltimore Jewish high school shutting down

A Baltimore Jewish day school will close its high school division at the end of the school year due to financial problems. Yeshivat Rambam, which opened 10 years ago, announced Sunday that it would close its high schools for boys and girls while working to strengthen the enrollment and retention of its middle and elementary schools, as well as its kindergarten and early childhood programs, the Baltimore Jewish Times reported. Sixty-three students are enrolled in the boys\' high school and 33 in the girls\' school. The total enrollment at Yeshivat Rambam is 350.
[additional-authors]
January 18, 2011

A Baltimore Jewish day school will close its high school division at the end of the school year due to financial problems.

Yeshivat Rambam, which opened 10 years ago, announced Sunday that it would close its high schools for boys and girls while working to strengthen the enrollment and retention of its middle and elementary schools, as well as its kindergarten and early childhood programs, the Baltimore Jewish Times reported.

Sixty-three students are enrolled in the boys’ high school and 33 in the girls’ school. The total enrollment at Yeshivat Rambam is 350.

Working to keep the high school going could jeopardize the entire school, school president Abba David Poliakoff told the newspaper.

In recent years the school has suffered cash flow and debt problems, the Baltimore Jewish Times reported.

Poliakoff sent a letter home to school parents on Jan. 13 announcing the closing of the high school, saying that it has become apparent that the school could not financially sustain its current structure.

“Rambam is laboring under a mountain of debt that has accumulated,” he wrote in the letter, which was reprinted in the newspaper. “The school struggles month to month, in uncertain economic times, hampered by cash flow deficiencies. All this and more prevent growth and effective maintenance of staffing and programming excellence in the high school and other divisions. A point has been reached where Yeshivat Rambam must be restructured to survive.”

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

Difficult Choices

Jews have always believed in the importance of higher education. Today, with the rise in antisemitism across many college campuses, Jewish high school seniors are facing difficult choices.

All Aboard the Lifeboat

These are excruciating times for Israel, and for the Jewish people.  It is so tempting to succumb to despair. That is why we must keep our eyes open and revel in any blessing we can find.  

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.