When Yeshivat He’Atid opened its doors 13 years ago, its founders took a fresh, creative approach to their fiscal and educational goals, introducing an innovative new path for Jewish education in Bergen County. Today, the school has come into its own, expanding its building to create a completed home for its students, and earning a reputation as a leading educational institution.
Yeshivat He’Atid’s recent construction project is highlighted by the addition of a new gym and the Benaroya Beit Midrash—two long-overdue spaces for its growing student body. The high school regulation-size gym is big and bright, with high ceilings and large windows. It features a Murphy stage that folds out of the wall—and folds back in when not in use—enabling the room to be multifunctional as a performing arts center and auditorium for assemblies, graduation and the like.
Head of School Rav Tomer Ronen reflected on the school’s journey: “We moved to this building nine years ago with 300 students. Now we have graduated five grades and have 640 current students—and growing. We gradually filled the space over time, until we got to the point where these dedicated spaces were needed—and it’s a dream come true.”
Kate Davis, president of the He’Atid Board of Trustees, shared, “We finally have a home for our sports teams. We can finally show our school spirit with students staying to watch games and cheer on their friends.” Davis also noted the school’s convenient Teaneck location and eagerness to open its doors to organizations that want to use the new space. “We always try to host anyone who wants to run programming out of our building. We currently host Friendship Circle and iShine,” she continued. Executive Director Ora Kornbluth emphasized, “This gym is for He’Atid but it’s also a gym that the whole community can enjoy.”
The school’s new main entrance opens into the L-shaped building, with a play space at the center and the wings on the first and second floors housing classrooms for toddlers through fifth graders. There is also a spacious new teachers’ room, complete with a well-equipped kitchen, an inviting wall of windows and a variety of seating options.
The third floor, built above the new gym, is the new home of the middle school. “We had students in every possible space in the building, including in trailers outside, so this new space was desperately needed,” explained Kornbluth.
The open Benaroya Beit Midrash sits in the center of the floor surrounded by eight classrooms. The classrooms’ large windows let in a lot of light and make the space bright and welcoming. The four classrooms that run alongside the beit midrash feature glass inner walls, allowing for maximum visibility and abundant natural light. The glass walls can open to slide out of the way, creating a large, versatile space that can accommodate middle school programming like the recent bar/bat mitzvah chesed night, which included parents.
Rachel Obstfeld, assistant principal of the middle school, described the many benefits of the new space: “In classroom learning, students often break up into small groups and now they can spread out into the main area to work independently. Sometimes that small change in their surroundings can spark creativity and lead to increased productivity. The space creates a community feel for the middle school—it’s their home, their own space ”
Rav Ronen shared, “It was important for me not just to have a beit midrash, but for it to be used all day long, not just for davening, but for it to be part of the students’ life.”
The new building also features a STEAM lab, to be completed in the near future, which will feature all the requisite cutting-edge equipment students are eager to explore. A number of small group instruction rooms are used mainly for Bergen County Special Services and one-on-one tutoring, which the school offers at a reduced cost.
He’Atid has experienced significant growth since its inception and will be adding another early childhood class in 2025 due to high demand—bringing the school to full capacity with three classes per grade. The middle school currently has 163 students and anticipates 180 for next year. Rav Ronen said that within one week of opening enrollment, classes were full. “We had more than double the interest of what we could handle. Classes are now closed for toddler and nursery programs.”
He’Atid’s leadership credits this growth not just to the draw of its commitment to fiscal responsibility, but also to its educational approach. All classrooms are set up in centers; there is no frontal teaching in the elementary school. Teachers use differentiated learning to meet students’ individual needs, working in small groups. “Teachers and students get to know each other very well and there’s significantly more engagement between them. Students know the work is achievable and it sets them up for success,” said Davis. The school’s philosophy also incorporates project-based learning (PBL), where students investigate, design and develop hands-on solutions to a problem, as well as “pioneering the rotational model in the Jewish day school landscape,” according to Davis. Obstfeld outlined how the new space has provided the school with the right environment to support PBL and run electives optimally.
“He’Atid began with founders trying to solve the problem of the tuition crisis. But their willingness to be innovative on the financial model translated to the same level of innovation in the educational model. The community is aware of our tuition model—and that’s important—but we also innovate with our education, the dedication of the teachers and the differentiation in their work,” said Davis.
“Our affordability is a huge bonus, but now, the education we offer is a main draw and the affordability is a bonus,” said Rav Ronen. “We firmly believe in ‘chanoch l’naar al pi darco’—meeting the students where they are. Teachers work very hard to create that in the classrooms and we are always looking to be our best selves.” He’Atid recently introduced a new kriah (Hebrew reading) program, which the teachers made their own, improving it so much that the program’s creators were impressed and other schools are interested in adopting it as well. The leadership said they often receive calls from other schools that want to come see the school model: see how they deliver quality education on an affordable budget.
The school offers support and enrichment within the classroom. Since small group instruction is the norm, there’s no stigma of students being pulled out for support—they get it right in the classroom alongside their peers. This is even the case for its recently piloted inclusion program, which places a special education teacher inside the regular classroom.
All this individualized attention creates a close-knit family feel in the school. Many alumni joined the recent Chanukat HaBayit, showing how strongly connected they still feel to He’Atid. “We work hard to create that family environment with programming like schoolwide Hallel on Rosh Chodesh, schoolwide Kabbalat Shabbat, color war and more,” said Rav Ronen. He has been regularly updating students on the construction progress at the weekly Kabbalat Shabbat.
The school prides itself on its low tuition “covering the cost of education without additional fundraising to meet operating expenses,” explained Davis. The new building project did require fundraising, but she noted, “it was a separate endeavor that didn’t come as a fee, and parents appreciated that.” Kornbluth added, “When we started planning this building, it was a dream. We hadn’t finished fundraising, but we knew we needed it. Our parent body came through incredibly, along with the greater community.”
The December 22 Chanukat HaBayit finally saw the entire He’Atid community gathered together in one space. Over 1,200 supporters came to celebrate the new building with an emotional ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Davis spoke of the excitement of hosting the first home games for the school’s basketball teams in the new gym, and thanked all those in attendance for making this project possible. She expressed gratitude on behalf of the Board for all the individuals who made this dream a reality, from the He’Atid administration and building committee, to its contractor, to the Township of Teaneck. Current He’Atid Hurricanes, as well as alumni teams, were called to the stage to unveil He’Atid championship banners.
Thanks to the generosity of Larry and Laura Cohen, the school celebrated a hachnasat sefer Torah, welcoming an over-100-year-old Torah that has been in the Cohen family for generations. While middle school students danced the Torah up to its new home in the Benaroya Beit Midrash, elementary students enjoyed a Dr. Schnitzel show in the new gym, and early childhood students had a blast with bumper cars and bounce houses, generously donated by Donny and Shayna Chamish (Little Racer Party Rentals).
The passion for He’Atid’s mission runs deep within its leadership, educators and families, all of whom work together toward their shared goal. As Rav Ronen concluded, “This new addition completes the Yeshivat He’Atid project. It was a long journey but now we have a beautiful building and a beautiful educational model. We are proud to be true to our mission to deliver an excellent education to our students.”
