Books wait to be returned to the stacks in the school’s new library, which is being relocated from the preschool wing to three classrooms and an adjoining Holocaust library. Below, right, as part of the renovation, the art room will be in an expanded space in the new library.
Photos courtesy Abrams Hebrew Academy
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“Wisnoff’s Room” — where preschool teacher Barbara Wisnoff presides — is being painted and getting new ceilings, cabinetry, and flooring.
July 7, 2009
The Abrams Hebrew Academy has been an educational stalwart in the community since 1903 and has been in its current location close to three decades. But next September, when the preschool students arrive, they may feel as if they are attending a brand-new school.
The Betzalel Milstein Early Learning Center, which occupies the ground floor of the academy, in Yardley, Pa., is undergoing a major renovation — in addition to other upgrades throughout the building.
The school library and Holocaust library — which were originally located in the preschool wing — are being moved into three reconfigured and larger classrooms on the main floor of the original school building. Those areas in the preschool will now be used as a classroom and a technology room. The art room is being moved from the preschool wing to be part of the new library in an expanded and renovated space. There will also be new ceilings and cabinetry.
The academy has 280 students in its nursery through eighth-grade program; about 70 children are enrolled in the Milstein center.
The renovation project was completely funded by private donors, who have given nearly $350,000 for renovations to the entire facility, said Jessica Strom, director of community relations at Abrams.
The undertaking has been spearheaded by Faith Meltzer, a parent of two Abrams Academy students. She is working in conjunction with the school’s leadership and administration to complete the project, and credits building manager John Palmer as a “big help.”
Meltzer said that she believes the renovations will be completed by mid-August.
She said the preschool previously had a look that was “circa 1966,” and that through the renovations, the building would achieve a more “modern” appearance. “The preschool is the foundation of the school, and it needed to be upgraded,” she said. The colors being incorporated in the refurbishment — chiefly yellows, blues, and ivorys — are “conducive to learning,” she added.
The project will include upgrades to the learning environment. The preschool classrooms, for example, will see the introduction of the “SMART Board,” a white interactive board that uses touch technology for electronic lessons.
Meltzer said the new technology will be a huge asset for the Hebrew immersion program. At Abrams, students begin learning the language at the age of two. In kindergarten, she said, they begin speaking solely in Hebrew during parts of the school day.
Strom said that one of the goals of all the renovations is to attract new families to the school. She credited Meltzer with getting the project off its feet and moving it along so that the renovations will be completed by the start of the new school year.
For more information about the Abrams Hebrew Academy, visit the school’s website at abramsonline.org or call 215-493-1800.
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