New Innovation Plans at DJDS

Denver Jewish Day School will undergo renovation of the K-2 building's fifties wing and the construction of a new building over the course of the next two years. The expected cost for the new building will be an estimated five to eight million dollars.

The DAG (Design Advisory Group), a group made up of three parents, two teachers, and some administrators meets every two weeks to discuss the plans for the renovation of the K-2 fifties wing. They are working with RB+B, an architecture company based in Fort Collins.

Avi Halzel’s contract has been renewed for another five years. After this, Mr. Halzel will retire. He hopes to have both projects completed before his retirement. His goal is to have both the wing and the new building completed within the next three to five years.  The auditorium and cafeteria will be a central feature in the new building making that part of the building an impressive two stories. The cafeteria and auditorium are flexible spaces that can be configured to fit whatever needs may arise. Halzel doesn’t expect to hire any new staff; most staff will be able to move into their new spaces. 

Construction should not interfere with day-to-day activities, and it will not increase school tuition; the RYH campaign will take care of costs. 

Since 1999, when the upper division was built, there has always been hope to create a third building. Along with creating another place for students to learn, grow, and explore, the new building will also free up spaces in the original two buildings. The gymnasium (gym) will no longer have to be used for assemblies and performances, and the sports department can make our school’s athletics even better, with more storage than ever before. However, there will be no new courts or sports apparatuses in the new building.

The Buildings and Grounds committee has also always been interested in adding solar to our buildings. “It essentially pays for itself,” said Avi Halzel, answering the question “if fundraising was a limiting factor for solar panels.” 

Mr. Halzel hopes to make the new building relatively the same as the two old buildings but with a cool, modern twist. “The new building will allow students to learn even more than they were previously being offered. With new opportunities such as performing arts, more advanced maker spaces, and so much more.  The Denver JDS experience will be elevated to new levels that were never attainable before. This is truly the start of a new era at Denver Jewish Day School with unlimited potential and a future full of Ruach (spirit) and Sakranut (curiosity).”

DJDS has been running at 2450 S. Wabash Street for twelve years. The Lower Division, which was the previous high school, is now home to the elementary students while the Upper Division (built in 1999 although it was not used until the school year of 2002-2003) is the base for the middle and high school students. 

Last summer (2022) there was a campaign called Raise Your Hand (RYH). Phase 1 was for teacher salary endowments. 

There have been few updates to the DJDS campus, especially the Kindergarten through second grade (K-2) wing. The building was built in the fifties to support more students, but since then it’s remained largely the same. By now, almost 60 years later, the K-2 wing has started to show signs of aging. Last year the wing received a new roof, but it’s old and still needs refurbishment in the interior of the building. Avi Halzel, the head of the school, along with other staff members and parents had considered tearing down the wing but, because of the addition of a new roof, the school decided that it would be a waste to build it from the ground up. So instead, they are planning on refurbishing the entire 50s wing. This plan is known as Phase 2.

As of currently, there has been no sign of renovations, however just this year, DJDS created a Pre-K in the 3rd-grade wing of the Lower Division building. 

According to Halzel, DJDS is getting ready to refurbish the K-2 wing (50s wing) and that will come first in the summer of 2024 or 25. After that, DJDs will need to finish the fundraising for the new building and then construction can finally begin.

Cooper Coughlan contributed to this article.