History
Leaders from the Associated Talmud Torahs (ATT) and Hebrew Theological College met in 1942 to address growing educational concerns. The primary problem centered around the fact that many Jewish children began to drop their studies around Bar Mitzvah time, setting the scene for rampant assimilation and a loss of tradition. They eventually established a plan: to create a high school which combined the secular studies taught in public secondary schools and Judaic studies under one roof. With a day from 8:05 a.m. to 5:45 p.m., students would be the most receptive, and would not have to endure tiring evening classes at Hebrew high or similar institutions. Ideally, these students would move on to pursue Jewish higher education, or at least continue to serve the community.
The school began as Chicago Jewish Academy and was first located on the West side on the corner of Douglas Blvd. and St. Louis Ave. It was a coeducational junior high school with grades 6-10, subsequent grades were added with each upcoming year. The school became a complete four-year secondary school in September, 1945. The first Commencement ceremony took place in June 1946.
By that time, the school outgrew its previous facilities. The ATT purchased the building of the Metropolitan Masonic Temple in the Garfield Park area; the school moved to the building in 1947. The three-story building was remodeled during the two-year waiting period to accommodate the needs of a modern academy. The University of Illinois officially recognized its existence shortly thereafter. Later, the State placed the Academy on the official list of accredited high schools in 1949.
Despite ample room and much progress, the West side of Chicago began to deteriorate as a whole by the early 1960s. The Academy was forced by virtue of circumstances to relocate in 1961 to the Torah Center. The move helped catalyze the institution of a new branch, a Yeshiva; a section of the high school for boys, which included intensified Talmudic studies. To satisfy the needs of parents and help hinder overcrowding, a third branch, a Girls' school, was established in September 1967.
The Chicago Jewish Academy made its final move in 1968 due to overcrowding. To fund the move, the ATT proposed a campaign to raise funds for a building to house up to 400 students. This building, in the West Rogers Park area, a center of Jewish community regionally, was named the Ida Crown Jewish Academy, after a generous donation from the Crown family.
Later, the Academy would drop its junior high school, and both branches became their own separate Jewish high schools. The Yeshiva became Fasman Yeshiva High School, in Skokie, and the Girls' School became Hannah Sachs Bais Yaakov. Still, the atmosphere and philosophy has generally remained the same over more than fifty years of progress.
Ida Crown Jewish Academy may be planning another move, this time to Skokie. If so, the move would satisfy a student body which is primarily from the North Shore area, and address overcrowding at the current building. (This is still under development.)
Read more about this topic: Ida Crown Jewish Academy
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