Hillel Stories

“Before we joined Hillel we were debating between public school and private school education for our twins.  The first private school we looked at was Hillel and we felt we did not need to look further.  We discussed a number of private schools as well as local choice public schools.  When we walked down the hallways at Hillel and saw the students’ work displayed, we were very impressed.  We could not believe that our little ones would soon be able to accomplish the same.  We saw many things we loved, from the text that accompanied the work of the young children to the silk-screens students were working on in the art room.  The nurturing environment at Hillel convinced us that this was the right place for our twins.  We knew that our children would not get lost at Hillel, and we felt that they would get the special and individualized attention they needed.  We were right.

My husband, who is not Jewish, is especially happy with the high level of academics and the values and ethics instilled at Hillel.  He joined the Guiding Jewish Values Task Force and volunteers whenever he can.  We both feel very welcome at Hillel.

Private education is a financial commitment, but one that we both felt we couldn’t afford not to make.  This was a big decision for us – we live in south Tampa which calls for a daily commute to school, and good private school education is not inexpensive.  But we both felt this was the right decision for our family, and we never regretted making the commitment.”

♦         ♦          ♦          ♦          ♦

“We have two daughters at Hillel.  The oldest started in first grade, the youngest in kindergarten. The main reason we looked at Hillel was to give our girls a sense of belonging, a firm grasp of who they are.  We were also confident that the academics were top notch.  We were not disappointed in the Judaic studies, but we really realized the Hillel difference, academically, when our youngest finished kindergarten.

Our oldest daughter attended public school for kindergarten, a school that consistently scores in the top three schools in the county, based on standardized test results.  The difference between what she learned there versus what our youngest learned at Hillel was night and day.  Our youngest finished kindergarten reading, and loving it. Her math skills were impressive, let alone science and social studies.  Public school did not even come close.”

♦         ♦          ♦          ♦          ♦

“We have had three children at Hillel.  One is attending both Barnard University and the Jewish Theological Seminary, pursuing a double major.  Another is at Hillsborough High School’s IB program in eleventh grade.  Our youngest daughter is in Hillel’s middle school.

We love the Hillel Experience.  For us, there was no other choice for our children.  Our oldest daughter is taking Israeli dance at Columbia University, and acts as a Gabai at the school’s conservative movement of Hillel.  She has been a counselor at Camp Ramah for two years in a row, and is very grounded in her Judaism.  Our son, while working hard on his high school studies, is also very involved in USY. He has gone on two international USY conventions, as well as on the last USY United States mission. Judaism has always been a part of our home life, and we believe that Hillel played an important role in helping our children learn and understand their tradition and religion.”

♦         ♦          ♦          ♦          ♦

“I graduated from Hillel a little more than a year ago, and chose to go to the IB program at King’s High School. I enjoyed my years at Hillel and feel that the school prepared me very well for the rigorous classes I’m taking.  In biology, much of the information that I’m studying was covered in middle school, which was great.  I was very well prepared in math, so much so that I tutored some of the other students.  In history, I already knew a great deal of the background information.  We had a research project at the beginning of last year that used the same method we used at Hillel in Judaic Studies, but the Hillel project was longer!  I think Hillel was a wonderful school for me and my family.”