Amanda is in her tenth year as head of school at Luria Academy of Brooklyn. Amanda is a graduate of the Pardes Educators Program, has a masters in Jewish education from Hebrew University and a BA from Barnard College. Amanda is a recipient of the 2020 Covenant Award.

Beginning a New Year In a New Building

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Luria Academy new building 2022

Over the last two years, we have been constructing a new upper school building for Luria Academy. Located around the corner from our lower school building, the new space houses our 4th-8th grade classes and specialty classrooms for our entire school including a gym, art room, music room and science lab. 

Every room in our new building was built in line with Luria’s mission, centering children and progressive education throughout all aspects of the project. We are still working on the finishing touches (including furniture!), but we’re thrilled to have students in the building. 

Luria’s logo can be seen as soon as you walk into the building, and our mission statement hangs on the wall in every classroom and office. Our Four Commitments for Unconditional Respect, which is Luria’s community charter, can be seen hanging on the walls throughout both buildings.

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Luria Academy new building 2022 (2)

Our middle school was constructed to align with our Montessori philosophy, a large Kehilah space for work time and community activities, with breakout classrooms behind sliding doors around the space for small group lessons. The Kehilah space is used for town hall meetings, student activities and events and lunch.

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Luria Academy new building 2022 (3)

Our fourth and fifth grade classrooms continue the experience of our lower school building, with sliding doors that open between rooms for mixed-age and mixed-classroom experiences. The entire age band joins together for weekly problem-based learning time, where they will tackle real world problems through a cross curricular lens.

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Luria Academy new building 2022 (5)

In addition to our first ever gym, science lab, music and art rooms, we have also built a beit midrash. This beautiful space will be used to house our library, for community tefillah, as well as for our weekly beit midrash. What a gift to have the space we need to support the fulfillment of the mission of Luria Academy, the continued growth of our school and the academic and social-emotional development of our students.