For the first time in over a decade, the freshman class will exceed 100 students, according to Director of Upper School Admissions Wendi Kaplan. Nearly 40 new students will join the class of 2029 as they enter high school.
Currently, high school grades are between 60-85 students, meaning the incoming freshman class will be about 25% bigger than other high school grades. Kaplan thinks that one main reason for the influx is the rise of antisemitism seen in Montgomery County since Oct. 7.
“Jewish families who are not currently in Jewish day school, after October 7, they’re really looking for community and a place where they can find a Jewish identity,” Kaplan said.
Additionally, the rising freshman class already has many family connections to the school. According to Kaplan, over 15 students have older siblings attending CESJDS, and a few new freshmen also have parents who are alumni.
Incoming freshman Gabey Silverberg, sibling to Matan Silverberg (23’) and senior Josie Silverberg, says that he is nervous to join such a big grade, especially coming from Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School, which has an eighth grade of 53 students. However, Silverberg is hopeful that this will let him branch out.
“I’m excited because I’ll be able to meet a ton of new people,” Silverberg said. “And I’m not going in with a lot of kids I know from Milton, so I’m hoping that there’s kids from other schools that I’ll be able to be friends with.”
According to Kaplan, Milton is usually a big feeder into JDS because it ends after eighth grade. Kaplan says that close to 20 students are joining JDS from Milton, which makes up around half of the incoming students, with the other half coming from various public and private schools.
Due to the size of the incoming freshman class, teachers and administrators have to adjust the number of classes they teach. Kaplan says that the school is still figuring out what changes will have to be made in order to accommodate the increase. Additionally, the freshman orientation will be adjusted accordingly.
The orientation is typically a couple of days before the start of the school year to introduce the freshmen to each other. However, this year there may be two new additions, including a tour of the school and a meet-and-greet with teachers. These new activities will go along with the usual workshops and bonding activities.
“We’re being really thoughtful and mindful about what orientation activities look like, both for the orientation day and throughout the first few months of school, so that we can really build an intentional community for the class,” High School Assistant Principal Aileen Goldstein said.
According to Goldstein, another change for the incoming freshman class is the number of sections for each class. Currently, there are four or five sections for each subject, but next year, the number will be raised to six to accommodate the incoming freshmen. For Silverberg, there can be cons to having such a large grade at a smaller private school.
“I think it’ll make it a little harder for the grade to feel united as a kehillah, because there’s a ton of people, and it’ll be hard to know everyone’s names,” Silverberg said.
However, high school biology teacher and ninth grade dean Melissa Andrew is excited to connect with more students this fall. She loves to see rising levels of enrollment and hopes that the school continues to grow.
“I am very proud of JDS, and I think it’s great that more people are coming to our school because they hear how wonderful it is,” Andrew said.
