When Pardes Jewish Day School relocates to the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus next fall, school and campus leaders expect the synergy to benefit both organizations and the community.
When classes begin Aug. 13, 2014, the state’s largest Jewish day school will join the Jewish Community Association, the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Community Foundation, the Bureau of Jewish Education and other smaller agencies on the campus located in the heart of the Valley’s Jewish community.
“It’s a win for Ina Levine to have a thriving day school on the campus, and we gain access to the gymnasiums and swimming pool and amenities, including the beautiful library of BJE,” says Jill Kessler, head of school of Pardes, an independent, coeducational day school for kindergarten through eighth grade.
“The cooperation between the executive director of the JCA, Stuart Wachs, and me and the synergy of the boards was tremendous as we shared the goal to create a very thriving Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus,” says Kessler, who has led Pardes for the past 11 years. She adds that the 25-year lease with extension options means this will be Pardes’ permanent home. Pardes will move into the section of the campus that originally housed King David School, which merged with Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School in 2009 before both closed just over two years ago.
JCA CEO Wachs agrees the move benefits all involved. “The dream of the founders was to be the hub of Jewish life,” he says. “The Association has been working hard for over a year with Pardes to bring this vision to a reality. This development is a testament to the founders of the campus.”
Wachs says Pardes will have use of the pool, two gymnasiums, large social hall, playing fields and other amenities. He says the synergy of the union is enhanced because, “the times they need the facilities are generally slow times for the JCC.” He adds the campus expects to attract many of the students and their families for after-school programs, sports programs and camps. The JCC’s preschool families will also have the benefit of a day school on the same campus. A comprehensive, joint fundraising campaign between Pardes and the Association has raised more than $2 million to fund construction, including eight new classrooms, a kosher kitchen and other needed improvements, according to a press release. The school site currently consists of 15 classrooms, administration offices, a large multipurpose room and sanctuary, and is adjacent to the expansive athletic fields of the Jewish Community Center. Construction will begin in spring 2014.
When Pardes sells its current five-acre campus, the school will pay off its mortgage and be in great financial shape for the future, says Kessler, noting that the renovated school area will allow Pardes to accommodate 350 students, giving the school plenty of room to expand from its current 264 students.
“Our enrollment is expected to increase, and being on the hub of the Jewish community, we do hope for more growth,” says Kessler. This will be the school’s third move since Kessler took the helm of the school founded in 1993 at Temple Solel, with a middle school added on the campus of Temple Kol Ami in 2002. Under Kessler the two schools were united at Congregation Beth Israel. The school then moved to the five-acre campus at Paradise Lane and 40th Street in Phoenix in 2006. Kessler calls the move to the Ina Levine Campus “our final home.”
“With every move you gain strength,” she says. “It brings your community together.”
The Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus is located at 12701 N Scottsdale Road, on 30 acres in north Scottsdale, at the Southeast corner of Scottsdale and Sweetwater Roads. The 150,000-square-foot structure opened in 2002.
