Temple Beth Am (Pressman): From the Head Of School
March 5, 2013/23 Adar 5773 | From the Head of School
Dear Parent(s),
Please find a copy of the tentative calendar for the upcoming 2013-2014 school year attached to this e-mail. I want to share with you how Pressman Academy establishes its calendar and what factors go into the decision-making process.
Our school calendar is usually set using the day after Labor Day as a starting point and the start of Camp Ramah’s season as an ending point. We value both Jewish tradition and the American society in which we live and take an active role. This principle is reflected in the days that the school is closed and in the days that we take as early dismissal in preparation for the Jewish holidays. In addition, the school confers with other Jewish day schools and independent schools to survey start and end dates for the school year.
For 2013-2014, the Academy will begin classes on Monday, August 26, 2013, with Health and Safety Day and short visits for all the students, ECC through Middle School.* The first full day of school will be on August 27, 2013. We have set the calendar this way because Labor Day and Rosh Ha-Shanah both fall during the first week of September which necessitated an earlier start date than usual. The first week of September will be a vacation week with school resuming the following week. The school year will culminate on June 18, 2014.
As we do each year, three days have been designated for professional development for our faculty. We know that this scheduling can create hardships for parents, and are keenly sensitive to your need to make special arrangements. We believe strongly that professional development days enhance the quality of education at Pressman Academy, as well as our ability to attract and retain the outstanding faculty that is a hallmark of our program. We take as our model other excellent Jewish day schools and independent schools in our area and nationally who consider professional development to be a key component in the quality of their programs. Two national organizations that the school works with, Independent School Management (ISM) and the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (PEJE), rank professional development as one of the key markers of excellence for private schools.
We are also sensitive to the number of school days that we have each year. We strive to be in the range of other Solomon Schechter Jewish day schools with respect to the number of days we are in session. While this number may be fewer than non-Jewish private independent schools and public schools, the number of instructional hours we have each day and year is similar or greater.
Our calendar represents the mission, values, and educational goals of the school and balances these with practical concerns. In August, you will receive a one page final version of the calendar along with our yearly summer mailing. In addition, our calendar will be available in August online at www.pressmanacademy.org for download to your PDA.
Sincerely,

Rabbi Mitchel Malkus
Head of School
*All ECC transition classes may begin September 9th and we will notify those parents in the early summer
Click here for a PDF of the file.

Rena E. Ganzberg Education Center
1055 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90034
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