Our Approach

Authentic Chabad education denotes that the school, its environment, and its teachers embody Chabad values, the Rebbe’s directives, and our holy Torah, without any compromises. 

The curriculum at OYYL follows the Rebbe’s unique vision of what a pure Chassidic Education entails. The education we provide is “al taharas hakodesh,” both in its subject matter and methodologies, using practical lessons and teaching techniques firmly rooted in the Torah.

We believe that one can find everything in the Torah. So while we explore academic studies that measure the effectiveness of various educational models, we only incorporate principles and practices that we can authenticate from a Torah perspective.

Our students receive the highest caliber of education, adequately preparing them for their future. For example, they learn general knowledge through the prism of the Torah. As the famous quote in Pirkei Ovois states, “הֲפֹךְ בָּהּ וַהֲפֹךְ בָּהּ, דְּכֹלָּא בָהּ” – “Turn it over, and [again] turn it over, for all is therein.” Since the Torah is the world’s blueprint, everything is present within it. Accordingly, by investing our efforts in studying the Torah and the performance of  Mitzvos, we have all the tools that we need to navigate the world around us.

To learn Torah properly, a child must know to count, their colors, read the time, and so forth. Therefore, we have wisely constructed our curriculum to teach these concepts through the prism of the Torah. For example, by learning how to calculate and establish a Jewish Calendar, which requires extensive math skills, our students learn mathematics’s basic rules and properties. 

We began this school intending to strictly follow the Rebbe’s directives regarding Chinuch. The Rebbe is adamant that children, especially at a young age, should focus solely on learning Torah and not be exposed to any non-Jewish content. Accordingly, we have structured our school on the principles of “chinuch al taharas hakodesh,” while ensuring that our students receive the highest level of education in a holy and pure manner.

Our Psychology

Instead of slapping rules and restrictions into our classrooms, our school environment fosters a natural desire to learn and behave.

Discipline may create a sense of order and simplify life for those in authority, but it doesn’t nurture a child or help them grow. 

At OYYL, our policy focuses on positive cognitive motivation to achieve our goals rather than just reward and punishment. We generate an environment so empathic that students are naturally respectful. We promote a student-teacher relationship that is so nurturing that students are naturally receptive, and we create a curriculum so engaging that students are naturally eager to learn it. The result is that a child’s experience itself becomes a reward, and there is no need for punishment or materialistic reward. 

Setting high standards for ourselves in these areas fosters students’ intrinsic curiosity for learning, and as a result, we achieve discipline through a positive and value-driven school culture.

Our generation is no longer in survival mode, as it has been many generations since the destruction of the Beis Hamikdosh. In our age, as children are afforded the comforts of our society, they exhibit a desire for a deeper understanding of why we do things. To open their senses and empower them from within, we focus on their strengths instead of criticizing them. This positive psychology is not only healthier and more in tune with the needs of this generation, it is also a taste of what it is like to live with Moshiach.

Our Attitude

We encourage learning independence through positivity; a child should grow in their own way.

POSITIVE AND NURTURING APPROACH

Our pedagogical approach ensures that every aspect of our classroom’s environment promotes a heightened sense of well-being, with extreme care that only encouraging and constructive language is used.

APPRECIATION OF DIVERSITY

As taught by the Torah, the prerequisite for growth is the essential requirement for unconditional love and we seek to emulate this love in our classrooms. We value every child intrinsically for who they are and what they can be. We promote healthy social skills and character development and teach our student’s about the absolute worth of every human being.

INDIVIDUALIZED LEARNING PATHS

We provide students the freedom to grow in their own way. Teachers encourage a non-competitive atmosphere, and our small class settings allow each child to master the core material at their own pace. Instead of a standardized grading system, each child is assessed daily on an individual basis, and teachers write individualized evaluation reports based on respective benchmarks, strengths, weaknesses, and a learning plan.

ASSISTED INTERVENTION

We work very closely with parents, special-education instructors, and therapists to provide the necessary support for any child who may require intervention, whether academic, emotional, or psychological.