Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School

The Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, often referred to as CESJDS or JDS, is a private, pluralistic Jewish JK-12 school located in two campuses in North Bethesda ( Rockville postal address), Maryland, United States.2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: North Bethesda CDP, MD

Archive
. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on April 30, 2014. Compare to the postal address. Founded in 1966, the school's namesake is Charles E. Smith, a local Jewish philanthropist and real estate magnate.

The head of school is Rabbi Mitchel Malkus.

Campus

The school is separated into two distinct campuses; the Lower School campus houses pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade students, while the Upper School houses sixth through twelfth-grade students. The two campuses are distinct yet interrelated, and school functions take place regularly at both locations. The two campuses are located less than two miles from one another.

Lower school

The building has three levels. The oval Beit Midrash located at the entrance is regularly used for tefilah. Other notable facilities include the Great Books Reading Room, "Field of Dreams" playground, technology labs, science classrooms, and a library with two designated working classrooms.

Since 1976, the Lower School has undergone three major renovations. The school now occupies approximately on and houses over 700 Lower School students.

Upper school

The central hallway, the "Cardo", is bracketed by arches modeled on the archways in the ancient Jewish Quarter of Byzantine Jerusalem. The main thoroughfare showcases student art and other projects.

Throughout the structure are pieces of Jewish history and acknowledgments of the foundation of pluralism on which the school was established. The Beit Midrash features rounded stained glass windows circling a cupola based on Eastern European synagogue design, with each panel representing an essential principle of Judaism, including Torah, Neshamah (Soul), Kavanah (Spirit), Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World) and Rachamim (Compassion). A woodworking motif frames the room and Jerusalem stone is featured throughout. The doorposts in the school have distinct ''mezuzot''.

Spaces for the arts and athletics include the Daniel Pearl Memorial Gym which holds 700 and encompasses full-court basketball play. Art spaces include a ceramics studio with six pottery wheels and a state-of-the-art kiln, a professionally equipped photography studio, a dark room, and a recording studio.

Early graduation

The Upper School curriculum is designed through a unique method whereby all high school seniors graduate after the fall semester, as opposed to continuing through the spring and graduating in May or June, as is the practice at most local schools. Students complete their high school studies in late January and graduate in early February, after which they are given the choice to go on a school-sponsored trip that mixes education and tourism. It combines a week of Jewish history in Europe with a three-month, whirlwind tour of Israel, hosted and led by the Alexander Muss High School in Israel.

History

Solomon Schechter School of Greater Washington opened in September 1965."Jewish Day School". ''The Washington Post''. May 8, 1965. p. C45. Operating under the auspices of United Synagogue of America, classes were held near Chevy Chase, Maryland."A Call to Jewish Parents". ''The Washington Post''. August 24, 1965. p. A7. During the school's first year in operation, two teachers, Masha Spiegel and Masha Cohen, taught seven children in kindergarten and first grade.History
. ''Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School''. Retrieved March 2, 2017. Gershon W. Gross became the school's administrator in 1967.

Throughout the school's history, it had operated in various rented spaces in Maryland, but it had long wanted a permanent location of its own. In 1971, the United Jewish Appeal asked the Greater Washington Jewish Community Foundation to raise funds to build a permanent location for the school.Turner, Judith Axler. "Disagreeing Over Jewish Day School". ''The Washington Post''. September 25, 1975. p. MD4. The Greater Washington Jewish Community Foundation searched for a site with about of land that was as close to Washington, D.C., as possible. In 1974, the Greater Washington Jewish Community Foundation took an option
on a $500,000 property located on Montrose Road in Rockville. The Rockville property was adjacent to the new location of B'nai Israel Congregation, which had moved there in 1970."The Jews: Migrating from D.C.". ''The Washington Post''. September 4, 1975. p. VA1.

A few months later, the Marjorie Webster School was put up for sale. The private Webster School's campus was located at 17th Street and Kalmia Road NW in the Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Colonial Village. An option was taken on the Webster School, but it was later determined that the Webster School would require a more costly renovation than was financially practical. The site selection committee decided to move forward with the Montrose Road site in Rockville. Some families were unhappy with that decision, as the majority of students lived closer to the Colonial Village site than to the Rockville site.

On April 24, 1977, the school dedicated its new building at 1901 E. Jefferson Street in Rockville.Singer, Jill M. "Jewish Day School dedicated in Rockville, fulfilling goal of many". ''The Washington Post''. April 28, 1977. p. MD3. The $2.7-million building became the first permanent location for the school. The building is owned by the Greater Washington Jewish Community Foundation, and the school has a renewable 99-year lease.1901 Jefferson E St
. ''Real Property Data Search''. Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. Retrieved on March 2, 2017. Charles E. Smith was the chairman of Greater Washington Jewish Community Foundation, and Smith had helped raise the funds to build the facility.

In 1980, the school was renamed in honor of Charles E. Smith, who had been a generous donor and fundraiser for the school.

The upper school was built in 1998, and the lower school was expanded in 2001.

In April 2006, three seniors who were participating in the school-sponsored program in Israel through the Alexander Muss High School were arrested by Israeli police for marijuana possession.Strauss, Valerie.
Rockville Students Accused of Marijuana Use in Israel
. ''The Washington Post''. April 5, 2006. Retrieved December 15, 2009. The marijuana was discovered by program guides, and the quantity was judged to be large enough to necessitate involving governmental authorities, according to Muss headmaster Chaim Fischgrund. Drug experts cited in a ''Jewish Standard'' article theorized that the students had intended to sell the marijuana. These three students were expelled from the program; additionally, six other students were expelled on the basis of either having bought or used marijuana during the program. Local police arrested two students on drug charges who were held overnight.

Athletics

The Lions participate in athletics in the Potomac Valley Athletic Conference. Their biggest rival is the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy Cougars. Led by head coach Jason Belinkie, the JDS Track and Field and Cross Country teams often rank amongst the top private schools in the state, winning four Maryland Private School Cross Country State Championships in 2017, 2021, and 2022 (boys and girls teams). ESPN is currently producing a Sportscenter feature on the JDS Boys Cross Country Team, which will air in 2023. The Boys Varsity Basketball team also won the 2017 PVAC Championship. Below is a list of sports that the Lions participate in.

Notable alumni

*Jeremy Bash, former chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency
*Natalie Portman, actressMedoff, Rafael, ed.
Natalie Portman
. ''Great Lives from History: Jewish Americans''. Salem Press. p. 900. . Archived fro
the original
on August 24, 2014.
*Ari Shaffir, comedian and host of the ''Skeptic Tank'' podcast
*Samuel Sheinbein, convicted murderer
*Rachel Simmons, author of ''Odd Girl Out''
*Ethan Slater, actor
*Heather Brooks Karatz, Sportswriter and Team President of XFL team Los Angeles Wildcats
* Michael Dunn, Guard for NFL's Cleveland Browns
*A.J. Shapiro, Foley editor and Emmy winner for the ''Watchmen''

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Charles E. Jewish
1966 establishments in Maryland
Educational institutions established in 1966
Jewish day schools in Maryland
Jews and Judaism in Rockville, Maryland
Private K-12 schools in Montgomery County, Maryland
Pluralistic Jewish day schools
North Bethesda, Maryland