Pilot classes of the first all-day school in the United States under Reform auspices, which will be sponsored by Congregation Rodeph Sholom of New York City, will be held in the synagogue starting in September, 1970, according to an announcement by Samuel Abrams, president of the congregation. Rodeph Sholom is one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues.
He also announced that a contract had been signed with an architectural firm to draw up preliminary plans for a building to house the day school. The plans call for rehabilitation and reconstruction of four brownstone houses immediately to the rear of the synagogue in upper Manhattan. He said construction would start on the building as soon as architectural plans were approved and that it was hoped the day school building would be ready for occupancy in September, 1971. Initially, plans are for grammar grade classes, he said.
Rabbi Louis Newman had reported previously that the new building would also serve as a cultural and recreation center. He also indicated that registration would be open to all applicants, regardless of affiliation, and that the day school would not be a “parochial school.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
