The Heschel School

Learning

From play to Talmud

Early Childhood learning starts with play: blocks, sand, costumes and paint. Each class has General Studies and Hebrew-speaking Judaic Studies teachers, and holidays, family and nature supply many of the themes.

Kindergarten adds structured lessons in literacy, math and Hebrew as a bridge to Lower School.

In Grades 1–5 the day alternates between General and Judaic Studies, with teachers connecting the two when they can. Students read closely across subjects, from Torah to poetry, working alone, in small groups and as a class.

Grade 10 Talmud works through a chapter of Bava Kamma on liability when one person causes harm to another, a question where civil and religious law meet. Across Jewish Studies, students raise questions, look for evidence in the text to back their readings, and answer classmates’ interpretations seriously.

Opinion alone does not settle an argument there; the passage has to.

Jewish life

Daily Jewish life

At the 2026–27 opening ceremony, Grade 12 students welcomed the Kindergarteners beneath a canopy of tallitot, or prayer shawls, and students in Grades 1, 6 and 9 walked through arches formed by Grades 10, 8 and 2, according to the school’s news post.

Heschel describes itself as pluralistic and egalitarian: families practice Judaism in different ways, and girls and boys take part equally in religious life. It is pluralism inside a Jewish school, not neutrality; Jewish texts and practice sit in the regular school day.

The mission names a lasting relationship with the State of Israel as an educational goal.

In High School, every student takes part in a morning minyan (prayer service) of their choice, with egalitarian, Orthodox, Sephardic and other formats; an afternoon service is optional. Once a year the whole High School and its faculty also spend Shabbat together away from school.

Hebrew

Starting Hebrew

In High School, students who enter a Jewish day school for the first time in Grade 9 without a Hebrew-speaking background join the Sha’ar track. It aims to move them into the regular Hebrew Language and Literature track in Grade 12.

A separate Basic Hebrew track offers small classes for students who need more support with a second language, and students can change tracks during or between years when appropriate.

Sha’ar students’ Jewish Studies classes in Grades 9 and 10 build the language skills to study Tanakh and Talmud in the original, with the aim of joining core Jewish Studies in Grade 11. Those are targets, not guarantees.

Middle School is different. Hebrew classes are grouped by skill level, and the page describes no beginner pathway for a child with no Hebrew.

Sha’ar is a High School program, so a Grade 6 family should ask what entry support exists.

Applying

Applying for Fall 2027

Preliminary applications are due Dec. 4, 2026.

Children must turn three for Nursery, four for Pre-K and five for Kindergarten by Aug. 31, 2027.

Early Childhood adds a parent interview and small-group play visit; Lower School adds a parent interview, a General Studies and Hebrew assessment, and two teacher recommendations.

Middle and High School ask for recent standardized scores from the applicant’s current school, such as ERB or ELA. If your school gives none, ask admissions what to submit.

Transcripts and teacher evaluations are due Jan. 15, 2027.

High School needs English, math and Jewish Studies evaluations. A first-time day-school applicant who has no Jewish Studies teacher should ask admissions about a substitute.

Cost and aid

Costs and aid

Published tuition is for 2026–27: $33,180 for half-day Nursery, $56,120 for Kindergarten, $62,650 for Grade 12. High School students must buy a laptop to school specifications, and athletics or overnight trips may cost extra.

Check 2027–28 figures with admissions.

Aid is need-based. Mark the request on the admission application; later requests are considered only after a significant change in family circumstances.

New families file in Clarity by Dec. 18, 2026; returning families by Dec. 1.

Funds go first to current families who meet deadlines and show need.

Separated or divorced parents each file in Clarity, and a stepparent’s finances are reviewed too. Aid must be renewed yearly and may rise or fall.

There is no automatic sibling discount, though a need-based program exists for third and later children.

School day

Hours and getting there

Kindergarten runs 8:30–3:10 Monday through Thursday and ends at 1:10 on Friday; classroom doors open at 8:15. Grades 1–4 run 8:15–3:25, ending at 1:25 on Friday.

Middle School starts at 8:00 a.m. It ends at 4:00 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, 3:45 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, and 1:30 p.m. Friday.

High School Monday: 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

High School Tuesday and Thursday: 8:00 a.m.–4:20 p.m.

High School Wednesday: 9:00 a.m.–4:50 p.m.

High School Friday: 8:00 a.m.–1:45 p.m.

City school busing is arranged through the city’s transportation office, which the school says decides eligibility from the student’s home address. It runs for morning arrival and afternoon dismissal only, not after the After School program.

Confirm your child’s eligibility and route with the city.

The school also lists paid private buses: door-to-door service from northern New Jersey for Grades 9–12, and a Washington Heights and Riverdale route for Nursery through Grade 5, each with a yearly fee. Neither lists Grades 6–8, so a Grade 6 family should ask what commuting options exist.

For Fall 2027 after-school sessions and prices, ask admissions.

Support

Help and access

Lower School teachers work with learning specialists and content-area specialists to support individual children. Middle School students meet in an advisory group twice a week to talk through concerns and plan upcoming events.

The health educator and the Middle School psychologist teach the health program together. In High School, each grade has a dean who works with advisors.

Heschel conversations about Israel, Hebrew and support

Heschel is a Jewish day school, so ask how its Judaic program and class discussions would meet your family as it actually is.