Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy prepares students to become knowledgeable
and active citizens and leaders within the Jewish
community, the United States and the world at large.
We offer a dynamic educational environment that results
in an excellent education based on a rigorous college
preparatory curriculum in the sciences and humanities.
Barrack Hebrew Academy consistently ranks in the top four among independent
schools in the Philadelphia area.
Our
college preparatory program is integrated with an
intensive Jewish studies curriculum. We help our students
cultivate an inquiring attitude, focused on the texts
and concepts basic to Jewish and Western traditions
and exposure to other world cultures. In addition,
we help students foster a respect for individual expression,
participation in a pluralistic society, an appreciation
of Jewish values and the centrality of Israel to the
Jewish way of life.
The fact that Barrack Hebrew Academy is comprised of a Middle School
and an Upper School in one unit is deliberate. Our
founders sought to build a community in which middle
school students interact with upper school students
and faculty. These interactions benefit younger students
by providing role models who challenge and guide them
in formal and informal settings. This structure also
benefits older students by offering them opportunities
to demonstrate responsibility and assume positions
of leadership.
From the school's inception, Barrack Hebrew Academy's educational policy
has been responsive to new and significant developments
in education and has tried to maintain a dynamic approach
to curriculum. While mastering the content and skills
of each discipline, students are challenged and urged
to develop an inquiring attitude and to voice informed
opinions freely in the classroom. Similarly, our teachers
are encouraged to develop a personal style of educating.
We
require all teachers and students to interact with
each other in a respectful, just and caring manner.
Committed to the individuality of every student, we
believe that the curriculum, the activities and the
staff of the school must be responsive to the emotional,
social, physical, religious and intellectual differences
among students. We strongly advocate our students'
involvement in Chesed (social action), Tzedakah
(concern with the needs of the less fortunate), and
Tikkun Olam (repairing the world).
