Dear Friends,

              It is with great pleasure that I invite you to learn more about Akiva by browsing through our website.  While I think that the pages speak for themselves, I would also like to give you a sense of what you will find when you walk through our doors.

              You will feel welcomed by our family.  Students, parents, community members and guests join our family as soon as they walk through our doors.  It is as simple as that. During my time at Akiva I have learned that the warmth of this community is unparalleled.  Many schools advertise it, but we live it.  Few schools could ever build the type of community that we have at Akiva.  The strength of our Akiva community comes from all sides: the parents, the students, the Board, the community rabbis, and our faculty and staff.

             You will feel welcomed by our faculty.  Our teachers embody characteristics that make for great educators.  They are caring.  They are experts in their field.  They are professionals.  They love to facilitate learning.  Their competence is unrivaled.

             You will feel welcomed by the individual attention that we provide.  We are a small school and our classes are small.  We make certain that each of our students gets the individual attention that he or she needs.  Our teachers are trained to meet the needs of a diverse group of learners.  Individual attention is a top priority. 

             You will feel welcomed by the quality of our general studies program.  State of the art resources, ongoing professional development, and strong parental support allow us to provide a secular education that matches or exceeds the quality of education that any other school in the city provides.  Children receive a top-notch general studies education.  Upon leaving Akiva after sixth grade, our students are well prepared for a smooth transition to the highest caliber school.

              You will feel welcomed by the diversity of our Jewish environment.  Akiva is a Jewish community day school.  As such, our school exemplifies the rich diversity of the Jewish people.  Our students come from Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and unaffiliated families.  Our students are Ashkenazim and Sephardim; they speak English, Hebrew, Spanish, Farsi, and Russian.  They observe Judaism in many different ways and our families respect each other’s choices about how to observe Judaism.  We enjoy learning from one another.

              You will feel welcomed by Torah.  While our students may differ in how they observe Judaism, they all live Judaism.  At Akiva, we study according to the rhythms of the Jewish calendar.  We provide a protected space within Nashville where our students – indeed our entire community – can learn, live, and love Judaism. 

              You will feel welcomed by the values we teach.  Through Torah we teach values.  Our values are Jewish values.  We teach derech eretz – common decency.  We teach chesed and tzedakah – social action and charity.  We teach ahavat Yisrael – love of the People and land of Israel.  We teach Torah.  We teach a love of learning.  The experiences are infinite in this realm.

              You will feel welcomed by Akiva.  Please do more than just read these words.  Look through the brochure.  Come to the school.  Schedule an appointment to meet with me.  I look forward to introducing or reintroducing you to this jewel of our community.