Ohr Yisroel, Bergen County’s newest Yeshiva high school for boys, has earned accreditation three years after opening its doors. Rabbi Asher Yablok, principal of Ohr Yisroel, is incredibly proud of this accomplishment, which he believes is a testament to the school’s commitment to continuous improvement and its ability to provide an excellent education to its students.
Accreditation is important because it ensures the school meets certain standards of quality and effectiveness, and it provides several benefits to the school and its students. It also guarantees that credits earned by students are recognized by other educational institutions.
Ohr Yisroel was designed to emulate the Israel yeshiva experience, where young men develop a love of learning Torah lishma (for its own sake). While this was certainly a draw for many students, Rabbi Yablok explained that the school was always intended to be a college preparatory yeshiva high school with standardized rules and policies. There’s a strong emphasis on academics, he said, and students are encouraged to work hard and succeed.
Since opening, they transitioned from an online learning platform to a multi-track general studies curriculum with in-person teachers. The next step was earning accreditation. They hired Cognia, one of the largest accrediting agencies in the country, to help prepare the school for certification.
To earn Cognia accreditation, a school district must implement a continuous process of improvement and submit to internal and external review. The process involves a comprehensive review of various aspects, including curriculum, faculty qualifications, facilities, and educational outcomes. Ohr Yisroel worked in conjunction with Cognia to create a multi-year plan and made significant upgrades to the faculty roster, which included hiring Mrs. Wendy Rothwachs, who serves as Assistant Principal for General Studies.
“Mrs. Rothwachs has tremendously enhanced our trademark of personalized learning,” said Rabbi Yablok. She understands each student’s needs and focuses on the most ideal way to set them up for success. Ohr Yisroel also added seven experienced and expert faculty members through the TeachNJ grant. As a result, they have expanded their offerings, tracking and specialized attention to each student.
Both Cognia and Torah Umesorah certified the accreditation and commended the yeshiva for several outstanding areas, including an unparalleled rebbe-talmid ratio, as well as the administration’s unique dedication to each student’s personal success and understanding how to balance each child’s need for autonomy in conjunction with school structure.
“Cognia Accreditation is a rigorous process that focuses the entire school and its community on the primary goal of preparing lifelong learners in engaging environments where all students can flourish,” said Dr. Mark A. Elgart, President and CEO of Cognia. “Ohr Yisroel is to be commended for demonstrating that it has met high standards and is making progress on key indicators that impact student learning.”
Ohr Yisroel has also developed a partnership with Fairleigh Dickinson University that allows upperclassmen to take college classes and earn credit while enrolled at the yeshiva. They are currently offering seven FDU classes ranging from core classes like English composition and creative writing, to electives like architecture, entrepreneurship and computer-aided design.
Rabbi Yablok has a background in teaching high school boys and keenly understands that not everyone is a toptrack student who is prepared to learn intensely for eleven periods in a row. The goal wasn’t to establish something that’s already out there, he said. “The core objective was to develop a model of education that puts the student at the center and genuinely sees him while at the same time providing a meaningful and productive yeshiva high school education.”
The school, which started with twenty students across four grades, has since enrolled ninety young men who describe the experience as a place where everyone thrives and feels at home. When asked how they facilitate that, Rabbi Yablok said it’s the all-star cast of rebbeim who really get to know each student and tap into what speaks to them as learners.
Students are impassioned about all different things related to Judaism, Rabbi Yablok said, and added that the rebbeim get a sense of what the students need and will tailor shiurim to the topics they find most engaging. Sometimes shiurim are focused on halacha, while others are more discussion-based learning.
“It’s driven by happiness,” Rabbi Yablok said, and when the students are happy in their environment, they perform better overall. Now that the yeshiva is accredited, he believes the program will appeal to an even greater population of young men who are looking for a unique combination of Torah learning and academic excellence.
To learn more, please visit www.ohryot.org or call Rabbi Yablok at 516-510-2436.
