Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School for Boys

Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School for Boys
Address
700 Ibsen Street Woodmere, New York 11598 United States
Coordinates	40.6349°N 73.7248°W / 40.6349; -73.7248
Information
Type	Private, Yeshiva, Day
Religious affiliation(s)	Jewish
Denomination	Modern Orthodox
Established	1997
Sister school	Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls
Menahel (Head)	Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky
Grades	9–12
Gender	Boys
Enrollment	363
Color(s)	Green and White
Mascot	Wildcat
Accreditation	Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
Newspaper	The DRS Star
Affiliations	Hebrew Academy of Long Beach
Website	drshalb.org

Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School for Boys (commonly referred to as DRS) is an Orthodox Jewish high school in Woodmere, New York.

History

DRS was established in 1997 as the official high school for HALB. Its original building was an old synagogue in Lawrence, New York. In 2002, the school moved to a new building in Woodmere, New York. The first ever Freshman class of the school (Class of 2001) had an enrollment of 27 students. By 2005, the freshman class had 69 students, in 2015 that number went up to 88, and by 2022 that number went up to 100. In 2016, DRS had its accreditation renewed by the Middle States Association.^[1]

Academics

DRS is a Jewish, Orthodox day-school.^[2] DRS employs a dual-curriculum in which the students spend half the day studying Jewish subjects and the other half devoted to secular education. The majority of DRS alumni attend college following high school.^[3][4][5][6] Many DRS alumni have received rabbinical ordination (“semikhah”) from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, including 15 alumni in 2013,^[7] and 16 in 2017.^[8] DRS as an institution is very pro-Israel. Student coalitions attend AIPAC conventions to lobby politically on behalf of Israel.^[9] DRS often hosts Israeli soldiers, including Gilad Shalit,^[10] to talk to students. They also hold pro-Israel events including Yom Haatzmaut^[11] and Yom Yerushalayim celebrations.^[12] DRS offers 15 Advanced Placement classes which students can take for college credit.^[13]

Lev Shlomo

DRS had a post-high school program called Yeshivat Lev Shlomo, started in 2009 for alumni attending colleges that do not offer Judaic studies.^[14] Lev Shlomo provides the students with a Judaic studies curriculum and schedule in the morning, so they can attend college classes in the afternoon.^[15] It was officially closed in 2016.^{[citation needed]}

Demographics

DRS has 364 students as of 2016,^[16] all of whom are Jewish males from Jewish-Orthodox families. The school is located in Woodmere, New York and is the official high school of Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, but receives students from nineteen feeder schools in Nassau, Suffolk, Queens and Brooklyn Counties.^[1] Transportation is provided to students who live further away from the school.^[17] A local newspaper claimed that 95% of DRS graduates attend beit medrash (advanced religious studies) after high school and 99% go to Israel for a gap-year.^[18]

Athletics

DRS has teams for a variety of sports. Most sports have a single team, while basketball, floor-hockey, and softball have a Junior Varsity team for 9th and 10th graders as well as a Varsity team for 11th and 12th grade. In all, DRS boasts 14 teams which compete in basketball, floor hockey, baseball, bowling, fencing, softball, tennis, wrestling, soccer, flag football, and volleyball.^[19] The Varsity hockey team won the championship of the Metropolitan Yeshiva High School Athletic League (MYHSAL) Hockey league in the year 2001 in the school's 4th year of existence. Since then, they have added five more league championships, most recently in 2024.^[20] The JV team has won four more.^[21] Between the two teams, DRS has had a hockey team in the league finals for 13 consecutive seasons.^[22] Floor hockey is a major part of teenage life in the Jewish-metropolitan area and DRS's students take the sport very seriously.^[23] The basketball team won its first MYHSAL championship in 2013^[24] and JV won in 2014.^[25] In 2016 the Varsity team went undefeated in regular season and tournament play, winning the league championship as well as the Red Sarachek Basketball Tournament.^[26] The volleyball team also won its first championship in 2016.^[27]

Notable faculty

• Aryeh Lebowitz — Director of Semikhah at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary^[28]

Notable alumni

• Dovid Bashevkin — Director of Education for NCSY^[29][30][31]
• Elliot Schrier — Rav of Congregation Bnai Yeshurun^[32]

References

1. EXCELLENCE BY DESIGN A Self-Study for Accreditation by the Middle States Association. Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School for Boys. 2016.
2. "Hebrew Academy of Long Beach Opportunity Statement" (PDF).
3. "DRS Seniors Are National Merit Semi-finalists – The 5 Towns Jewish Times". 5tjt.com. September 17, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
4. "Two DRS seniors named National Merit Semifinalists". Herald Community Newspapers. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
5. "DRS merit honors". The Jewish Star. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
6. "DRS Senior Is National Merit Scholarship Finalist – The 5 Towns Jewish Times". 5tjt.com. February 23, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
7. "AROUND THE FIVE TOWNS – The 5 Towns Jewish Times". 5tjt.com. March 27, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
8. "5Tjt 032417".
9. "DRS Sends Delegation Of Students To AIPAC – The 5 Towns Jewish Times". 5tjt.com. February 9, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
10. "Students meet Gilad Shalit and his unit". The Jewish Star. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
11. "DRS Yeshiva HS on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
12. "DRS Yeshiva HS on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
13. "ACADEMICS – HEBREW ACADEMY OF LONG BEACH". newsite.halb.org. Archived from the original on May 30, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
14. "About Us". www.bknw.org. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
15. "YESHIVAT LEV SHLOMO WEB SITE". newsite.halb.org. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018.
16. "MSA-CESS -> Member Resources -> Search Our Members". www.msa-cess.org. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
17. "GENERAL INFO – HEBREW ACADEMY OF LONG BEACH". newsite.halb.org. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
18. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
19. "STUDENT LIFE – HEBREW ACADEMY OF LONG BEACH". newsite.halb.org. Archived from the original on June 22, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
20. "Banner - MYHSAL". myhsal.com. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
21. "Banner - MYHSAL". myhsal.com. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
22. "Momentous week at Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School for Boys in Woodmere". Herald Community Newspapers. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
23. Kilgannon, Corey (January 2, 2017). "A 'World Unto Itself' in New York Area Yeshivas: Floor Hockey". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
24. "Banner - MYHSAL". myhsal.com. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
25. "Banner - MYHSAL". myhsal.com. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
26. "JewishHoopsAmerica". jewishhoopsamerica.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
27. "Banner - MYHSAL". myhsal.com. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
28. Rosenfeld, Jacob (February 14, 2019). "Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz Hired as RIETS Director of Semikha Program". The Commentator.
29. "Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin - NCSY". NCSY. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
30. "Rav Tzaddok Built Bridges for Me". Mishpacha. September 10, 2019.
31. Bashevkin, Dovid. "Why are You Here? Truth, Comfort, and Religious Motivation". My Jewish Learning.
32. "We Congratulate our New York State Scholarship & DRS Academic Achievement Honorees". The DRS Address. April 27, 2007. Archived from the original on October 2, 2014.