Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy

The Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, referred to locally as Berman or The Hebrew Academy, is a coed Modern Orthodox Jewish day school serving the greater Washington area. It is in Aspen Hill, Maryland, with a Rockville postal address. The school has grades from Pre-K to 12. It was founded in 1944. The school moved to its current location in Aspen Hill in 1999, site of the former Robert E. Peary High School. It changed its name from the Hebrew Academy of Greater Washington to its current name after its benefactor Melvin J. Berman in the process. The student body consists of roughly 700 students, including about 190 in the Upper School. There were about 200 students in the 2014-2015 school year. The school has a dual curriculum including secular subjects and judaics, with the school day generally split in order to cover both curricula. The NETA program serves as the Hebrew language curriculum for the school. As of 2020, the high school is ranked as one of the top 50 Jewish high schools in the nation. History The Hebrew Academy was founded in 1944 at 1202 Decatur Street, NW Washington, D.C by a group of Orthodox Jewish leaders and was one of the first Jewish Day Schools founded outside of the greater New York area. As the school has expanded in size, it has moved several times before arriving at its current location in Rockville. Administration The Berman Hebrew Academy is split into four main sections. The Pre-school is directed by Rebecca Gautieri. The Lower School, grades kindergarten to five, is run by Suzy Israel. The Middle School, from grades six to eight, is run by Dr. Shira Loewenstein, replacing Rabbi Shields. Finally, the High School recently hired a new principal, Rabbi Allan Houben, to replace the former principal Malka Popper. Rabbi Dr. Hillel Broder took over as head of school the summer of 2023 from Rabbi Dr. Yossi Kastan who began with the 2018-2019 school year. Rabbi Dr Kastan replaced Dr. Joshua Levisohn.