Cathy Hess President, Board of Directors

Today we stand on the shoulders of everyone who came before us to support and manage this school.  It is one of the oldest Jewish day schools in the country, and is cherished by those whose lives it has touched. In my 4th reappointment as President of the Board at the Rabbi David L. Silver Yeshiva Academy, I remember that this institution was started 63 years ago to educate all Jewish children in the Harrisburg area.   I continue to reflect on the successes we have achieved and plans for the future. This past year 20% of the families in our community with Yeshiva-aged children chose the Yeshiva for their children. As President of the Board of Directors, I often think about the previous academic and board leadership of the school and the countless volunteers before me.  I did not have the privilege to serve on the Board under Rabbi Silver, of blessed memory, but I have heard stories of how he managed the school.  I marvel at his vision and work and think:  All of this was started by one person’s dream.  For those of you that do not know me, I dream too.  I dream of a school with so many children that we have to build our own school building.  But, I realize that before we can achieve this dream, we have to build the infrastructure to make this dream a reality. The Board has formulated its plan with our administrator, Danielle Houser and Rabbi Roll, chair of Judiac Studies and Admissions. From this plan, we have created a business plan, strategic plan, and marketing plan needed to begin to make this dream a reality. On behalf of the Board, we look forward to implementing these plans and sharing our successes with you as the year progresses. Under the clear direction of our administration and talented teaching staff, the school’s values, traditions and sense of identity has excelled.  Our faculty continues to inspire and engage our children every day.  The faculty and administration of The Yeshiva Academy are professional educators with years of classroom experience. Our teachers and staff touch the lives of our students by nurturing their thirst for knowledge and challenging them to exceed even their own expectations. Our small teacher/student ratio enables teachers to give our students personal attention and enables each one to reach his or her full potential. It’s a hands-on, personal approach that assures a rich learning environment. Our general studies program continues to prove its value through our program development. Our Judaic program allows our children to study side by side with their fellow Jews, finding meaning in our heritage and passing on traditions and beliefs to ensure the continuity of Judaism.  We will continue to excel in our strengths, providing the highest goals, values and educational philosophy for our children. As we work together, we must remember that the survival of our Harrisburg Jewish Community hinges on the survival of The Rabbi David L. Silver Yeshiva Academy; and the survival as Judaism as a whole hinges on Jewish Education – without Jewish Education, how would we know what being Jewish means?