By Naomi E. Rosenfield, Rebecca Isgur, Hollace Weiner

Editor’s note: This complete online version combines the two-part history of Fort Worth Hebrew Day School, originally published in two installments in the print edition of the Texas Jewish Post. The history was provided by the Fort Worth Jewish Archives & History Center.

A new family moved to Fort Worth in 1973, joined Congregation Ahavath Sholom (CAS), and changed the educational landscape of the Jewish community for the better.

The newcomer, Judy Goldman, a mother of two, received encouragement from Rabbi Isadore Garsek to launch a Torah Umesorah Jewish Day School, part of a national network of Orthodox schools across North America. Judy’s drive led to the recruitment of Rabbi Shimon Hashash, an Israeli with a Master of Hebrew Literature from New York’s Jewish Theological Seminary. Rabbi Garsek’s son Elliott connected the embryonic school with his neighbor, reading specialist Spice Kugle, a graduate student at Texas Christian University. Although her name sounded Jewish, Spice Kugle was Catholic. With her energy, sparkling personality and eagerness to become involved, she provided the key ingredients for teaching in a two-room school and creating a general studies curriculum.

Did Fort Worth, with a Jewish population of 3,000 amid a city of 350,000, have a large enough concentration of Jewish children to sustain a private Hebrew Day School? Time would tell. Texas had three existing Jewish day schools — one in Dallas and two in Houston — with a fourth set to open in El Paso and the fifth in Fort Worth. With a Jewish studies director on board and a master’s degree educator writing the curriculum, the stage was set for the Fort Worth Hebrew Day School to open Aug. 29, 1977. The school’s initial financial backers — Leon Brachman and Leon’s son, Marshall — underwrote both educators’ salaries.

The academic year began with nine children enrolled in first, second and third grades. Faculty and students utilized religious school facilities at Congregation Ahavath Sholom (CAS), then located at Myrtle and Eighth Avenue. At this new dual-education institution, each child would receive a strong Jewish identity as well as rich general studies instruction, synthesizing Jewish observances and American culture.

“It was like a one-room schoolhouse for grades one through three, and Spice Kugle was amazing at individualizing every lesson,” recalled Judy Goldman, now 81 and living in Israel. Each Friday afternoon, the day school students welcomed the Sabbath by lighting candles and reciting Hebrew blessings over a cup of grape juice and a slice of challah. Before lunch, students washed their hands and recited a ceremonial blessing. Hebrew words and letters decorated classroom walls.

Like Judy Goldman, parents most receptive to the concept of a Jewish day school were other transplants from places beyond Texas. Elliott Garsek, a Fort Worth native, concurred: “I do recall that it was a challenge, because it was such a new concept for Fort Worth, a true community of assimilation.”

Persuasively, Judy Goldman (no relation to Lil Goldman, for whom the city’s Jewish preschool is named) recruited three families from among her neighbors on Sabrosa Court: Sylvia and Jerry Weiner; Claire and Harry Eckles; Rochelle and Owen Litt. From a few miles away, she recruited Karen and Al Kaplan and June and Jeff Glazer. By the end of the spring semester, enrollment had increased from nine to 12 children. The Orthodox school, where tuition was $1,000 a year, was growing.

Rabbi Hashash, though personable, learned and musical, was not comfortable as a classroom teacher, Goldman said. So he was let go in May 1978 at the close of the spring semester. Rabbi Stewart Weiss, Ahavath Sholom’s assistant rabbi, who enjoyed working with youngsters, took over as the Jewish studies director and teacher. Spice Kugle left the day school that summer to adopt a newborn and become a mother. Local educator Jean Stead was hired to teach general studies. Even with those substitutions, the fall semester in 1978 and the spring semester of 1979 were an academic success.

Yet enrollment was not increasing. In fact, it had dropped from 12 students to nine. The Torah Umesorah’s Orthodox emphasis did not appeal to Fort Worth’s Jewish families. It was not in sync with the community’s long-established synagogues: Ahavath Sholom, which dated to 1892, leaned toward Conservative Judaism and officially joined the Conservative movement in 1993. Beth-El, founded in 1902 as a Classical Reform congregation, was moving toward more Hebrew and more traditional rituals. But not Orthodoxy.

When the day school’s directors convened on June 7, 1979, President Jeffrey Glazer solemnly informed the board that “insufficient enrollment makes it necessary for us to suspend operations.”

Time for transition 

During the summer of 1979, Rabbi Garsek retired after 33 years at Ahavath Sholom. His successor, Rabbi Alexander Graubart, proposed transforming the Fort Worth Hebrew Day School into an educational institution that followed the curriculum of the Conservative movement’s Solomon Schechter Day Schools. He was convinced that such a school would appeal to a broader range of Jewish families. He further proposed that the congregation underwrite the school. The CAS Education Committee began to consider the rabbi’s plan, then referred it to the Board of Trustees. But just as the synagogue’s board began to discuss the proposal, Rabbi Graubart accepted a position at the Jewish Theological Seminary in Los Angeles. Without his presence, momentum ebbed, and the vote failed.

However, a spark had been lit that could not be extinguished. While the Torah Umesorah experiment had lasted but two school years, Rabbi Graubart’s ideas led parents to talk further about modifying and reopening a “community” Hebrew Day School. Although Judy Goldman, her husband Jerry and their children, Jackie and Jeffrey, moved to Dallas and enrolled at Akiba Academy, other families wanted to revive a Fort Worth day school. In June 1981, a group of parents who had gathered for a social afternoon at one family’s backyard swimming pool decided to carry on the initiative. They agreed to rebrand the fledgling educational institution as a “community” day school. Among the parents who concurred were Rebecca and Stuart Isgur, Sylvia and Jerry Weiner, Judi and Roger Preston, and Karen and Marshall Brachman.

Again Ahavath Sholom offered classrooms, this time at its new contemporary synagogue at 4050 S. Hulen. Leon Brachman, a past president at Ahavath Sholom and benefactor of the day school, negotiated with CAS for space in its education wing for three classrooms to be used eight hours a day, five days a week. The day school’s revised mission statement described it as a “community” school that would provide a superior education combined with a program of Jewish studies that instilled love of Judaism, as well as love and respect for others. The school approached religious observance from a traditional point of view yet without dogma. Activities emphasized involvement in the local community — for example, visiting a nearby firehouse or participating in a Passover seder for seniors. The curriculum integrated Jewish studies — meaning Hebrew language, prayer, Jewish traditions and history — with general studies of literature, writing, math, science, geography and social studies.

For the 1981 school year, Rebecca Isgur volunteered to become the day school’s administrator. Judi Preston stepped up to handle day-to-day operations. Both were already employed at CAS as religious school principal and secretary. Karen Brachman headed public relations and logistics. Ann Kleiman, who headed the Education Committee, screened teacher applications and served as a quiet, low-profile classroom observer.

A board of directors was organized with Leon Brachman as president and Ron Stocker, a government professor at Tarrant County College, as vice president. The board appointed committees to cover all aspects of the school. Moms, dads and grandparents formed an enthusiastic Parent/Teacher Organization that whipped up broad community support. CAS continued its willingness to house the school. When the Fort Worth Hebrew Day School reopened in September 1981, it had 23 students. By 1988, enrollment had climbed to 66 students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

The student body was truly an international mix, with refugee children from the former Soviet Union and Israelis whose fathers worked on the F-16 project at General Dynamics. Word had spread throughout the Jewish community that the school was worth a long drive, and so parents from Arlington, Mansfield and the Mid-Cities enrolled their youngsters.

New blue schoolhouse

From its inception, the community day school’s leaders had dreamed of a schoolhouse of their own. With a specially designed building, they were certain that the joy of Jewish traditions combined with creative general studies would flourish. After seven years of fundraising through galas and auctions, in 1988, the dream became a reality. A distinctive $1.3 million, 22,000-plus-square-foot bright blue schoolhouse was celebrated by students, parents, alumni and supporters. Located at 6801 Dan Danciger Road on the campus of the Dan Danciger Jewish Community Center (DDJCC), the day school at last had a visible identity and a place to call home. It had 12 classrooms sized for up to 22 students; a lunchroom, chapel, art room, science room and working library. Glass garage doors opened onto a covered patio that became an outdoor learning space. Designed by Cauble & Hoskins Architects, the school sat on a 22-acre complex — which included a 41,000-square-foot JCC, an outdoor swimming pool and tennis courts. The acreage felt like a Jewish campus.

The distinctive schoolhouse was named the Ella Beren Brachman Building. Its namesake, who died the following year at age 95, was a national Hadassah leader, philanthropist and matriarch of the Fort Worth Brachman family. Her legacy was reflected in the unique educational experiences happening inside.

The school was abuzz with learning. The library, located in the heart of the building, was central to every grade. This is where students learned to research subjects from the artistic to the scientific. They read novels and biographies. The library’s strategic location, at the center of the school, was intentional. It was a beautiful room, lit brightly with windows on three sides. Sylvia Weiner served as volunteer librarian.

To fully appreciate the educational environment, consider that when first graders learned about dinosaurs, they studied the sizes of various creatures’ feet. They measured and stretched lengths of masking tape down the hallways, labeling which dinosaur each represented. Anyone walking down the hall could appreciate the lesson.

Fifth graders mapped out functions of the human brain. Students blew up balloons, then covered them with papier-mâché to form a head. After the plaster dried, the balloons were popped. What remained was a shell, or skull. Using this as a helmet, the students researched the functions of the brain and mapped them on their papier-mâché helmets. Throughout the entire project, they walked around the school showing off their brains.

In 1994, the school received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Enrollment grew to 75 students with classes from K-5. Among the students were Russian refugee children and Korean adoptees who arrived with minimal English skills and little familiarity with Jewish traditions. Another stream of students were Israelis whose military fathers were on assignment to nearby Carswell Air Force Base (now Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth) and General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin). The Hebrew Day School was truly a melting pot, demonstrating that wandering Jews can become part of a Jewish community wherever they live. Faculty, students and parents formed strong bonds of support for the school.

Dream is short-lived

Sadly, membership at the DDJCC, which had burgeoned in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, began dwindling during the 1990s. As Israeli military families returned to Israel and the flow of Russian refugees diminished, the day school lost enrollment. Parents, who wanted their youngsters in classrooms with a greater number of students, left for other private or public schools.

To maintain key programs that served the entire Jewish community, a plan was needed to consolidate space. The 41,000-square-foot JCC was no longer fully utilized or maintained. The Jewish Federation brought in a consultant, Joe Cohen from the Council of Jewish Federations, to help grapple with issues of reorganization. Leaders from the DDJCC, the day school and the Federation came together to digest the consultant’s report.

Of special note in his evaluation was that he singled out the day school as the “jewel in the Jewish crown” of Fort Worth.

The consultant recognized that certain “core” programs needed to be sustained. These were the day school, the Lil Goldman Preschool, which had classrooms in the DDJCC, the Senior Adult Program, Camp Shalom (a summertime day camp for kids) and Jewish Family Services (JFS). The preschool moved its students into the day school. JFS moved its office there, too. It was a tight fit in the blue building, but everyone worked congenially and continued providing quality services for the community. The day schoolers had an audience of seniors for their Hanukkah and Purim programs. At lunchtime, seniors and students interacted harmoniously.

The Jewish Federation became what’s known as a “functional federation” with ultimate responsibility for the Jewish community’s “core” programs. With funding guaranteed, these essential programs continued. This arrangement lasted a few years.

It was evident, however, that the main building of the JCC and the outdoor pool needed major repairs that the Jewish community could not afford. Finally, during the winter of 1995, the Dan Danciger Jewish Community Center board voted to sell the acreage with its buildings and amenities, including the swimming pool, gymnasium and tennis courts.

What would be the fate of the Fort Worth Hebrew Day School and its beloved blue schoolhouse? The school owned only the blue building and a few feet of land around its perimeter, but not the paved way leading to Dan Danciger Road. With no right of ingress or egress, the Fort Worth Hebrew Day School Board, which by then had been incorporated into the new Jewish Education Agency, was forced to go along with selling the entire property. The sale, for $1.6 million to Southwest Christian School, was completed in May 1999.

The day school moved back to Congregation Ahavath Sholom. So did the Lil Goldman Preschool and the Senior Adults Lunch Program. A cook was hired to provide kosher meals for day schoolers, preschoolers and seniors. Although not ideal, these core programs continued. After the city’s Reform congregation, Beth-El, completed construction of a new synagogue down the street from Ahavath Sholom, the Hebrew Day School moved there in the fall of 2002. First, second and third grades were taught. Enrollment continued to diminish. The day school enrolled 45 youngsters in 2002, 21 in 2004, and closed its doors in 2007.

The dream of a thriving Hebrew Day School on the grounds of an active Jewish Community Center was short-lived. Despite much energy and optimism, the Fort Worth area, with 5,000 affiliated Jews during the first decade of the 21st century, lacked the critical mass to sustain a private school in a city fast approaching the million mark.

Other Texas cities succeeded. In 2026, the state had more than 25 Jewish private schools that enrolled more than 5,500 students. Houston, with a total population of 2.5 million, had eight day schools. Dallas, 50 miles east of Fort Worth with 1.5 million people, had six. San Antonio had two, as did Austin. El Paso had one.

Alumni of the Fort Worth Hebrew Day School did well when they moved on to public and private institutions. Stephen Seleny, the late founding headmaster of Trinity Valley School, wrote that those transfer students “were not only prepared to take on our demanding curriculum, they also bring with them a well-established sense of values, such as kindness, honesty, a decent work ethic and belief in God. This is important because education without values is a completely hopeless enterprise.” 

By those measures, the 30-year effort to operate a Fort Worth Hebrew Day School was a success.