Proud of Akiva Academy

Proud of Akiva Academy

For those of you who may not know, my brother Jeff passed away in late December after a brief illness. He was only 67. Jeff was the trailblazer in our family, and my sister, Beth, and I followed in his footsteps. First, Jeff went to the State University of New York at Buffalo, then I attended, and Beth did after me. Jeff spent his professional career working in the Jewish community. So have I, and Beth, for the past 25 years has worked with the Jewish Federation in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My daughter Rachel also works in the Jewish communal field as her chosen profession, now serving as Director of Donor Development for Jewish Columbus.

What most people don’t know is that my connection to Youngstown started with Akiva Academy. Jeff interviewed in early 1985 in Youngstown for the position of Campaign Director, primarily because his good friend, Dr. Laurence Kutler, was the first principal of Akiva Academy. Jeff wasn’t offered the position with the Federation, but remembered that there was a JCRC opening. In the fall of 1985, after working for UJA – Federation of New York for three years, Hilari and I decided to explore opportunities elsewhere, and Jeff recalled the JCRC position in Youngstown. Long story short, I called Sam Kooperman of blessed memory, I interviewed, was offered the position, which also included serving as Women’s Division Director, and we moved to Youngstown. On November 18, 1985, I started the position and am now in my 38th year with the Federation.

So, if it wasn’t for Akiva Academy, I would never have come to Youngstown, and WOW has Akiva changed over the years. In the 1985/1986 school year, Akiva had two classes located on the second floor of the JCC, kindergarten and first grade. The next year, the school added grades two and three, and Hilari began teaching third grade, doing so for 14 years. During the early years, the school grew to include kindergarten through sixth grades, with up to 130 students, all Jewish, except for maybe one or two non-Jewish students.

Today, the school is K-8, and has an enrollment of 156 students, with 18 of our students being Jewish. Very few Jewish Day Schools in the United States look like Akiva today. All students, Jewish and non-Jewish, receive up to 90 minutes of Judaic/Hebrew instruction daily. How wonderful it is that our school is teaching Jewish values, customs, and traditions, with a majority of our student body not Jewish, in a time in the United States and around the world when antisemitism is on the rise?

Our Judaic staff is fantastic. They’re led by Kobi and Mayaan Sigler and Atara Karabelo, all from Israel. Our secular teachers, assistants, aids, and office staff are incredible, with minimal turnover each year. There is nothing that any of our staff would not do for the students. They are led by our Principal Kathy Mioni, who is the best school administrator I have ever met. Her dedication to the school, students, and staff has made Akiva the envy of every private school in the greater Youngstown area. The teachers have state-of-the-art technology in their classrooms, and services/programs throughout the school that meet the needs of our students. I would like to share some of the highlights of Akiva:

• Afterschool enrichment programming provides clubs for middle school students, including drama, creative writing, intramurals, dance, art, swimming, gym and academic support in Akiva’s Learning Lab.
• SMARTS, along with the Akiva teachers, provides music and art in grades K-4 on Mondays and Fridays.
• A new intermediate choir began this school year with great success for students in grades 3-4 every Wednesday after school, led by volunteers Hilari Lipkin and Nancy Burnett. The students in the choir made their debut at the annual Hanukkah program at Congregation Ohev Beth Sholom this past December, along with their classmates in every grade at Akiva. Over 400 people were in attendance. I have attended so many Hanukkah programs for Akiva over the years, and this was the BEST I can remember.
• Akiva is a recipient of the Better Together grant, which is a program created to connect youth with senior citizens. Grade 8 students, under the supervision of Kobi Sigler have intergenerational meetings each month with tenants at Levy Gardens Assisted Living, where the students are currently working with these seniors to create PowerPoint presentations about their lives.
• Akiva has received a grant from the PNC Community Fund to help offset the barriers or delays in learning as a result of COVID-19. YSU Professor and Literacy Coordinator, Dr. Mandy Wallace, has conducted training to enrich the Akiva faculty’s effectiveness in teaching reading. The grant provided new materials for phonics, handwriting, and software to gauge progress in reading for grades K-5.
• After a three year absence due to COVID-19, Akiva has resumed parent night activities for grades K-4, including Literacy Night and Math Night.
• Akiva and Jewish Family & Community Services have partnered again this year in their annual pajama drive for children in foster care in Mahoning County.
• A new after school tutoring program has started (Monday through Thursday) for Hebrew for students in grades 2-8
• A safety grant award of $100,000 was recently received from the state, on top of additional grants received over the past few years to ensure that our students and staff are in a safe/secure environment.
• Every year, Akiva students outperform state averages for testing in every content area in grades 3-8.
• During lunch, Honor Society volunteers from Akiva support JFCS in their efforts to teach seniors technology on “Tech Tuesdays.”
• Akiva’s Speech and Debate team is much more than an afterschool activity. Ten students in grades 6-8 have participated over weekends throughout the Valley, with seven students competing in speech interpretation and three students competing in congressional debate. Our students have been very successful placing at multiple tournaments.

So much is happening at Akiva that is an integral part of our Federation services and programs for the community. In addition to the highlights noted above, children of Akiva’s staff are enrolled in the Early Learning Center at the JCC. Some Akiva students attend After School Care at the JCC, and quite a few attend Camp JCC.

We have much to be proud of at Akiva; no wonder we have to cap kindergarten registration each year. As always, I welcome your comments and any ideas for future Liptalk columns. 

Andy
Andrew Lipkin, Federation CEO