Ottawa Orthodox day schools to unite under one roof

Torah-Academy of Ottawa kindergarten students learn about the Torah TOA FACEBOOK PHOTO
Torah-Academy of Ottawa kindergarten students learn about the Torah TOA FACEBOOK PHOTO

Parents at Ottawa’s two Orthodox elementary day schools – Torah Academy of Ottawa and the Chabad-affiliated Rambam Day School – have voted to come together as one school starting next year.

“I think there was a realization that in a small community like Ottawa, we’re better off having one school. With more students, there are better educational opportunities,” said Bram Bregman, the Jewish Federation of Ottawa’s vice-president of community building, who helped facilitate the unification.

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“Torah Academy has roughly 80 students, and Rambam has roughly 45 students. One school of 125 students has more social opportunities, better educational opportunities and instead of paying for two overheads and two rents, you can invest that money into educational opportunities to ensure that it is an outstanding school, both in the Judaic studies… and general studies.”

Through the nine months of meetings and discussions, each school was represented by a committee of parents and board members, headed by Debbie Scharf, a Torah Academy parent, and Evan Green, a Rambam parent.

Bregman explained that although the student bodies from both schools are coming together under one roof, this is not a legal merger of the two organizations.

He said the “memorandum of understanding” was ratified Feb. 18 after a vote by the parent bodies of both schools.

“There was an overwhelming majority of parents from both schools who voted to unify,” he said.

“The unified school is a neutral Torah-based school, and the idea is that there is much more in common, at the elementary level in particular, that everyone can come together and learn together under one roof and in one school community,” he said.

Bregman explained that a task force will be formed next year to explore the best location for the unified school, which offers education from preschool to Grade 8.

“They will explore the current [Torah Academy] building, where they will be for at least year one. There is a school building on the Jewish Community Campus of Ottawa, which currently houses the Ottawa Jewish Community School, but there would be enough space in that building to also house the unified Orthodox school. Or they’ll look at another option that no one thought of yet,” Bregman said.

In the coming months, there will also be a parent vote to give the school a new name, and a search is on for a new head of school.

“We want to have a fresh feel for the school,” Bregman said.

He said tuition fees should stay roughly the same – about $9,500 a year for one child and $8,600 for each additional child from the same family.

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“I think having a strong unified Orthodox school can really further help grow and strengthen the Ottawa Jewish community. I think this is a step in the right direction and I think it is going to do great things for our community.”

Rabbi Dovid Hayes, Rambam’s executive director, said he’s happy about the decision to bring the two schools together.

“Unity is what will give our children a better education,” Rabbi Hayes said.

“Parents in the community of Ottawa want excellence in education for their children. When you really want something, you make it happen… There is no doubt that together we can have a superb, unbelievable educational system.”