Manhattan Day School


Manhattan Day School, often referred to as MDS, is a co-educational Modern Orthodox Jewish yeshiva elementary school located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It was founded in 1943 as Yeshivat Ohr Torah Community School. MDS is dedicated to the academic, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and social development of each child. Manhattan Day School consists of an Early Childhood, Lower School and Middle School. The school is led by Ms. Raizi Chechik.

History

In 1943, Manhattan Day School was founded as Yeshivat Ohr Torah Community School, the first Jewish all-day independent school on the West Side of Manhattan. The Rabbis and congregants of Congregation Ohab Zedek, The Jewish Center, and helped found the school.

After-school programming and athletics

At Manhattan Day School children can participate in the After School program on the school premises. Starting from Nursery 3 through 8th Grade, children can join extracurricular activities in addition to their coursework. The after-school program options include karate, ballet, songwriting, dance, art, robotics, chess, cooking, and E2K.
The MDS Killer Bees is the name carried by the sports teams that play for MDS Middle School. MDS has basketball, hockey, and now soccer teams.

Israel advocacy

MDS has a comprehensive program of Israel advocacy training called Stand With Israel. Students choose a topic to research and present to various influencers and organizations to show their support for Israel. The MDS Stand With Israel team has presented to the Upper West Side community, Alan Dershowitz, the United Nations, and at the Museum for Jewish Heritage and has partnered with Stand With Us, AIPAC and NORPAC, among other organizations.

Key people

The current Head of School is Ms. Raizi Chechik. She was appointed in 2017.

Notable alumni