Yeshivat Akiva is an N-12 Modern Orthodox Religious Zionist day school in Southfield, Michigan, serving Southeast Michigan. It opened in 1964 as an elementary school and shortly thereafter added a middle school (in 1967) and high school (starting in 1971, with a 10th grade). From the start the school has had a strong connection to Israel and for the first two decades the school's 12th grade took place in Israel. The first high school class graduated in 1974. The school's early motto was "The best of two worlds," which was later reworded as "The best of both worlds."
The school's original name was Akiva Hebrew Day School. In 1982, the school was renamed Yeshivat Akiva-Akiva Hebrew Day School-Stollman Education Center. It is currently known as Farber Hebrew Day School-Yeshivat Akiva and uses the motto "A foundation in Torah, a lifetime of success." The latest name change came as part of a major endowment by the Audrey & William Farber Family.
Founders and endowments
The school grew out of a March 1964 meeting, called by Rabbi James Gordon and Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin, with 13 parents at the home of Mr. and Mrs. David Dombey. The original trustees of the school were David I. Berris, Mrs. David Dombey, Rabbi Hayim Donin, Dr. Jacob Goldman, Rabbi James I. Gordon, Rabbi Israel I. Halpern, Dr. Max Kapustin, Ithamar Koenigsberg, Dr. Charles Levi, Seymour Ribat, Elliot Steiman and Phillip Stollman.
The first Annual Akiva Dinner was held on Jan 18, 1966 at the Bnai David Synagogue. At the tenth annual dinner in 1974, Abba Eban was the guest of honor and presented the school with the 1974 Spiritual Bridges Award of the WZO's department for Torah Education and Culture. At the same dinner, Rabbi James I. Gordon was honored for his work with the school. In 1984, Avital Sharansky spoke at the annual dinner.
In December 1974, Phillip, Max and Frieda Stollman dedicated a kindergarten building in the school. The kindergarten was a prefab building on the property of Young Israel of Southfield.
In November 1986, Mrs. Hannah Karbal dedicated the Elementary school, which then became known as the Karbal Elementary School.
In January 1988, The Sara Tugman Learning Resource Center for students with special educational needs was dedicated.
In 2001, the Schostak Family set up the Millennium Fund to boost the high school program at Akiva. The campus was subsequently known as the Schostak Family Campus.
In 2013, as the school approached its 50th anniversary, the school received two major donations. The William Davidson Foundation donated $2.25 million, for "augmentation and improvement of Akiva's academic offerings." This was followed by the William and Audrey Farber Philanthropic Endowment Fund, which came forward with a 3 million dollar donation, which instigated a funding campaign and the construction of Akiva's first ever new facility. The Farber donation was later increased to $8 million and a new building was planned. Groundbreaking was in November, 2015.
Principals
Rabbi Manfred Pick was the first principal of the school, starting in 1964 and remaining at that post until 1970.
Graduates
Through 2018, and according to school records, there have been 562 graduates of Akiva. This divides into 274 men and 288 women. Eight are deceased. By decade, there were 84 graduates in the 1970s (38 men, 46 women), 124 graduates in the 1980s (54 men, 70 women), 100 in the 1990s (49 men, 51 women), 131 graduates in the 2000s (61 men, 70 women) and 123 in the 2010s (72 men, 51 women).
The largest class was in 2013 (26 students), followed by 1977 (25) and 2002 (24). The smallest class was in 2014, when there were no graduates, followed by 1994 (1), 2003 (2) and 1993 (3 - though no official graduation was held.) The most common class size has been 12 students, with an average size of 12.49.
Teacher
Rabbi Eliezer Cohen taught at Akiva from 1974 until the time of his death in 2014. He influenced several generations of Akiva students, teaching them Mishna, Talmud, and Bible. He was known for teaching the 6th grade class as well as the highest track of high school students. His yahrzeit continues to be marked by former students with days of learning.
Student leadership
Elisha Prero was the first Student Council president, elected in 1968. He was succeeded by Mike Feigelman in 1969, followed by Gary Torgow in 1970 and Sheldon Klein for the 1970–71 school year. Sharon Rose was elected president for 1971–1972, becoming the first woman to serve that role. Jamie Pearlberg was student council president in the 1991–1992 academic year.