After a decade of dreaming, the staff at Maimonides Academy, an Orthodox Sephardic day school, is nearly ready to make its longtime vision come true and open a new building.
The 50,000-square-foot, four-story structure — which cost about $20 million, according to Rabbi Aharon Wilk, Maimonides’ principal — is slated to open on La Cienega Boulevard near the Beverly Center in January. It will house a total of about 360 children in grades three through eight.
The building became necessary as the school ran out of room to enroll new applicants. Now it can continue to grow, said Rabbi Baruch Kupfer, who has been executive director of Maimonides Academy for more than 25 years.
“Jewish children need a Jewish school to go to. They deserve the proper facilities they would get in other places and a modern education that will prepare them for the world outside. Our children deserve nothing else,” he said.
The school currently has two locations: The one on Huntley Drive is for preschool through third grade, while a West Pico Boulevard site is home to students in fourth through eighth grade. In January, the Pico outpost will close, but the Huntley location will stay open. The third-graders there will be transferred to the new building.
Maimonides Academy was founded in 1968, and started with fewer than 15 students in different rooms at Sephardic Magen David Synagogue, when it was located on Melrose Avenue. Over time, it has blossomed into an institution that serves more than 260 families and 500 students.
Kupfer said that the renovation, funded by families and private donors, hasn’t happened until now because of zoning problems. “We’ve been able to resolve them,” he said.
 for <em>havruta</em> Torah study and a sports center. There will be outdoor areas on the different levels, a music center, an art studio, a library, a dining hall and two large parking lots that can hold up to 80 cars total. There’s also going to be a Holocaust Memorial Hall, an Israel Independence Hall, an atrium garden and a roof terrace. </p>
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A computer lab was originally in the plans, but Kupfer said it ultimately didn’t make the cut because it’s an outdated concept. </p>
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“We’re not putting one in because the newest schools don’t have any,” he said. “We’re putting in an innovation lab, which is a step beyond computers.”</p>
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According to Kupfer and Wilk, the innovation lab will have a 3-D printer, video and video editing equipment and woodworking power tools. </p>
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“It’s the 21st century and we’re trying to prepare children for the technological world out there,” Kupfer said.</p>
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Wilk said the innovation lab is crucial because officials “want kids to realize that the world is open to them. If something is in their mind and they’re passionate about it, they now have the tools to make it happen.” </p>
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In that spirit, students will learn about modern topics such as automation and robotics, green architecture, and energy and the environment. </p>
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Wilk, who has been with Maimonides Academy since 2008, said the building will benefit teachers as well as students — and that’s important. </p>
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“If the teachers are inspired, they will inspire the kids,” he said. “The building gives more opportunities, and the kids will have more of a sense of ownership.”</p>
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Seventh- and eighth-grade history teacher Dan Crosby has worked at the school for six years. He said a number of faculty and staff were involved in the planning process and helped choose the furniture and instructional tools that would be used. </p>
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“We have this lovely community and family spirit,” he said.</p>
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When the students switch over to the new building, Crosby hopes it will “give them ways to have a hands-on experiential education, as well as access to resources and projects we didn’t have in the past. [I hope] they’re not only happy but excited to come to school and look forward to what we’re going to be doing every day.”</p>
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Rabbi Ouriel Hazan, a Judaic studies teacher, attended day schools in Los Angeles as a child. He said he would notice that his fellow students would roll their eyes at subpar conditions. </p>
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“There are certain messages you’re sending when the lights aren’t working and the building is falling apart,” Hazan said. “When you put it into a much nicer setting, it sends a message to the kids that this is important and we should also act accordingly. There is so much of an investment in the building to show how important what we’re doing here is.”</p>
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Hazan said the new building will facilitate a more exciting learning atmosphere. </p>
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“I want the kids to feel like there is something very special not just about the fact that we’re learning together but that the subject matter itself is of such great importance. We want to create an environment that invokes that.”</p>
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