In October 2004 a half dozen families met to explore the possibility of a Jewish Day School in Asheville. Each family contributed $500 and Maccabi Academy of Asheville was born.

From that day on, the Maccabi Academy Planning Board met every other week to hammer out a vision, discuss philosophical differences about curriculum and debate the definition of a good Jewish education.

There were trips to Jewish Day Schools in Charlotte, Raleigh, Columbia, Baltimore, Detroit, Durham and New York to name a few. There were meetings with members of every major Jewish organization in Asheville to cultivate support and dialogue about what the community wanted.

By October 2005, the number of families advocating and helping to plan for a Jewish Day School in Asheville had grown more than tenfold. In January 2006, the original Planning Board gave way to the school's first formal board of directors; 16 individuals representing a cross-section of the Asheville Jewish and non-Jewish community. Their job was to recruit and hire personnel, enroll students, develop an admission policy, screen and select curricula, design and procure facilities, reach out to each segment of the community, and raise the money necessary to support Western North Carolina's first Jewish Day School.

The Board worked closely with the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (PEJE) and RAVSAK, national organizations that support the success of North America's Jewish day schools.

In August 2006, the group's efforts paid off as Maccabi Academy welcomed its first class of seven students, kindergartners and first graders. By 2008, the enrollment was up to 20 students and the school was playing an integral role in the visioning and creation of Jewish Asheville's future.

Today, Maccabi Academy stands as a testament to the community's dedication to Jewish continuity. As a community Jewish Day School, we reach out across denominational borders to attract Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox families; religious and secular; affiliated and unaffiliated Jewish families from across Western North Carolina.

The school also helps the Jewish community maintain a positive presence in Asheville, through service learning projects and an annual fundraiser that involves the entire community.

Our Future...

Over the next several years, Maccabi Academy will continue to grow, adding one grade per year until the school reaches full maturity at grades K-5. Ultimately, we anticipate an enrollment of 50+ children, necessitating a larger facility. The school's lease agreement with Congregation Beth Israel is set to expire in June 2010. At that time, we will move into a larger permanent, facility. Maccabi Academy was founded as an investment in the future of the Jewish people. We will measure our success not just by the individual accomplishments of our graduates, but by the contributions they and the school make to our community, our people, and the world.