By Janis Siegel, Jewish Sound Correspondent
The Northwest Yeshiva High School, a coed Orthodox school for grades 9 through 12, is somewhat of a Jewish United Nations in that it mixes things up by accepting all denominations of Jews from Orthodox to Reform, as well as the unaffiliated into its now 70-plus growing student body.
The college-focused, science-driven general studies curriculum shares half of the school day with text-based and philosophically laced Judaic studies, blending its rigorous intellectually challenging studies with service in the community.
Students have opportunities for leadership, strong support from teachers and staff, and yearly trips by grade, including a five-day stay in Washington, D.C. on a leadership mission for sophomores where they learn about government and meet with their Congressional representatives.
Somehow, despite the differences in religious practices, the school seems to rise to a higher calling.
“We belong to Congregation Beth Shalom, a Conservative synagogue in Seattle,” said Kevin Coskey, father of two NYHS students, Justin, a senior and Rachel, a freshman. “Sending our children to NYHS is not incompatible with our synagogue attendance. In terms of tefillah, the synagogue is egalitarian, and the school is traditional, but our children have no trouble navigating the differences.”
Denomination: Orthodox
Grades: 9–12
Base tuition: $17,940
Percentage of students that receive financial aid: About 50 percent
Average financial aid package: About $13,000
Student body size: About 70
Average class size: 12 (classes have 5–15 students)
Who the school tries to reach: Any Jewish high schooler seeking a rigorous Jewish and general education.
Extracurricular/Intramural activities: Multiple clubs and sports leagues
Resources for accelerated students: Honors courses in both Judaic and College Prep studies from 10th grade on
Other offerings: The school has both a college counselor and a school counselor who supports students, their families, and the teachers. NYHS also offers post high school Israel program counseling.
Justin and Rachel both graduated from the Jewish Day School in Bellevue, before moving onto NYHS.
“My children are friendly with students of various Jewish backgrounds and have even gotten to know exchange students from other countries,” said Coskey about their experience at NYHS. “Socially, they are both thriving.”
Hebrew is not mandatory. Incoming students are placed in language classes according to their ability. They can choose between Hebrew and Spanish as a language concentration.
Occasionally, said Melissa Rivkin, director of advancement and admissions at NYHS, a student needs to have a basic primer in Biblical Hebrew to successfully complete the Judaic curriculum text study.
“Modern Hebrew is offered as a foreign language and is not part of the Judaic curriculum,” she said. “Spanish is the other language, although we do have a few kids who take French as independent study with teachers from Yellowwood Academy.”
Justin and Rachel’s parents know their teens work hard to excel at their studies and that NYHS is demanding, but they feel their kids came to the school well-prepared.
“Studying Jewish texts in Hebrew is not a problem for them and it is a skill that will help them in their studies and in their travels to Israel,” said Gail Coskey, the students’ mother.
Privateschoolreview.com’s evaluation of NYHS in its review of private schools in King County said that between 2010 and 2013, NYHS students were admitted into many of the most prestigious universities in the U.S, including Tulane, Barnard, Brandeis, Northwestern, Yeshiva University, and UCLA.
During the same period, 20 of the 21 NYHS students who applied to the University of Washington were admitted, it said.
According to Rivkin, one of the strongest factors contributing to the school’s aspirations to excellence is that 90 percent of the faculty at NYHS has advanced degrees.
Pre-approved NYHS teachers who are trained by UW faculty teach a UW-accredited, five-credit course to NYHS 11th and 12th graders as part of the UW in the high school program.
“Our son was fortunate to be accepted into a summer neurological internship at the University of Washington, where he worked with a researcher, attended lectures and viewed surgery,” said Gail Coskey. “He also was accepted to college at Washington University in St. Louis where he will attend next year.”
NYHS has five sports teams — coed cross country, coed golf, spring coed track and field, boys’ and girls’ basketball, and women’s volleyball — all held at shared fields and gymnasiums of other Jewish facilities around the metro area.
Its clubs include spirit, Shabbaton, Chessed (community service), technology, poetry, drama, newspaper, green team and music.
“Justin was interested in starting a school newspaper,” said Gail Coskey. “The administration was very supportive of Justin’s idea and he started a newspaper writing articles along with other students. Students have many opportunities to grow.”
The typical class sizes at NYHS average around 12 students who represent 11 local synagogues, said Rivkin, and live in 27 different ZIP codes.
“NYHS is more than a high school,” said Kevin Coskey, reflecting on his children’s experience. ”It is also a community. The school has helped to broaden their horizons.”
Learn more about Northwest Yeshiva High School at www.nyhs.org.