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Salanter Akiba Riverdale High School (SAR High School) is an
Open Orthodox Open Orthodoxy is a Jewish religious movement with increased emphasis on intellectual openness and a more expansive role for women. The term was coined in 1997 by Avi Weiss, who views ''halakha'' (Jewish law) as permitting more flexibility than t ...
Jewish day school A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide children of Jewish parents with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full-time basis. The term "day school" is used to differentiate s ...
located in Riverdale,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. It was founded in 2003 by
Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
Naftali (Tully) Harcsztark. The school is affiliated with SAR Academy, which is also in Riverdale. The high school's founding and current principal is Rabbi Tully Harcsztark. In fall 2019, previous assistant principal Rabbi Jonathan Kroll, returned to the school to serve as its Co-Principal. As of the 2017–18 school year, the school had an enrollment of 539 students and 121.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a
student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...
of 4.45:1.


Extracurricular activities

Students have the opportunity to contribute to a wide variety of publications including ''Ruach Searah'', the Dvar Torah newsletter; 'SAR Broadcasting club'where students learn how to work cameras how to setup a broadcasting setup and broadcast sting/games played at the school. ''The Buzz'', the official school newspaper; The Science Journal; ''Math Mag'', an award-winning publication; the literary journal, ''Euphrates''; The Israel Activism Committee's ''HaOketz'' covering Israel current events; "House Divided," the first student run publication dedicated to political and historical dialogue; SARcasm, the school satire magazine, and the Global Awareness and Action Committee's (GAAC) publication. Clubs include
Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a count ...
,
Debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...
,
Mock Trial A mock trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisting ...
,
College Bowl ''College Bowl'' (which has carried a naming rights sponsor, initially General Electric and later Capital One) is a radio, television, and student quiz show. ''College Bowl'' first aired on the NBC Radio Network in 1953 as ''College Quiz Bowl' ...
, and countless others. SAR also has many charity clubs, including the Cookies For A Cause Club, which has won multiple grants and awards, including the Optimum Charity Champions grant in 2015. In 2019, SAR's Economics Club won the National Championships in the Personal Finance Challenge, beating over 18,000 other students nationwide. In February 2021, The EPG (elections, politics, and governance) club held a town hall for the New York City mayoral election. Several candidates, including
Andrew Yang Andrew Yang (born January 13, 1975) is an American businessman, attorney, lobbyist, and politician. Yang was a candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and the 2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary. He is the co-ch ...
,
Eric Adams Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and retired police captain serving as the 110th mayor of New York City since January 1, 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York C ...
, and
Maya Wiley Maya D. Wiley (born January 2, 1964) is an American lawyer, professor, and civil rights activist. She has served as president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights since May 2022. Wiley served as counsel to New York City ...
, were in attendance.


Sports

All of SAR's teams are members of the
Metropolitan Yeshiva High School Athletic League The Metropolitan Yeshiva High School Athletic League (MYHSAL), or Yeshiva League, is a high school athletic league consisting of 36 Modern/Centrist Orthodox and two pluralist Yeshivas in the New York Metropolitan Area. It includes the sports of ba ...
, which is composed of many of the Jewish day schools throughout the New York metropolitan area. SAR teams compete in baseball, softball, hockey, soccer, Swim, volleyball, basketball, track, tennis, and wrestling. SAR's College Bowl team was featured in the 2012–2013 season of
MSG Varsity Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a flavor enhancer with ...
's the Challenge. They were the Bronx/Brooklyn champions but lost in the following round. SAR also has a Fencing Team that competes once a year with other Jewish day schools.


Controversies

In 2013, SAR High School made news by allowing female students to put on
tefillin Tefillin (; Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazic pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Tefillin are worn by adult Jews durin ...
during morning prayers, becoming the first Modern Orthodox school to do so. This decision was generally supported by most; however it did cause the school to receive significant backlash from the more traditional community.


External Links


SAR High School Home Page


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sar High School Educational institutions established in 2003 Private high schools in the Bronx Modern Orthodox Jewish day schools in the United States Riverdale, Bronx 2003 establishments in New York City