Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School

Beth Tfiloh Congregation became a reality in 1921 when a committed group of members formed the synagogue in the Forest Park neighborhood of Baltimore City. The first Sanctuary was located on Garrison Boulevard and was dedicated in 1927. Rabbi Samuel Rosenblatt was the synagogue's first rabbi and served in that capacity from 1927 until 1972, when he was appointed Rabbi Emeritus. Rabbi David Novak served as Rabbi from 1972 to 1977, and Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg was appointed rabbi in 1978, and continues in that capacity to this day. The first Beth Tfiloh Day School Kindergarten class was organized in 1941 with five students in the school's original Forest Park location in Baltimore City. The school was created by Rabbi Samuel Rosenblatt to address the needs of Jewish families who desired a co-educational program which integrated a secular curriculum with a traditional Zionist-oriented program of Jewish studies. As part of Beth Tfiloh's dedication to its youth, Beth Tfiloh Camp was formed in 1943. The Owings Mills campsite was acquired by Beth Tfiloh in 1951. By 1957, the school's enrollment had reached 280 students through Grade 6. As a result of young families moving to the suburbs, registration dwindled. In 1962, the congregation acquired the present Old Court campus, and a gradual transition of the day school to the new suburban campus began with four pre-school classes and one first grade moving to the remodeled cottage on the Old Court campus, while the school building underwent construction, with the bulk of the school remaining at Garrison Boulevard until the new building was ready. In 1964, a Junior High School division was added in response to an interested group of parents, and in 1973, the enrollment for preschool through eighth grade was 345. The Day School was accredited by the Maryland State Department of Education for its secular program in 1976. The half-day Kindergarten was eliminated and replaced by a full day program in 1975. In 1986, again in response to community needs, Beth Tfiloh Community High School was founded to provide a co-educational, college preparatory high school for students of all levels of religious observance. A new facility was built at Old Court, and the high school moved from temporary quarters to its new school building in 1988. In 1998, Beth Tfiloh Congregation acquired approximately 40 acres in the Owings Mills-Glyndon area of northwest Baltimore County. A second pre-school began operations in Glyndon in Fall 1998, and one Kindergarten class began in Glyndon in 2002. In 2003, the entire Lower School, consisting of Grades K through 4, moved to a new school facility on the Glyndon campus, and Grade 5 was reconfigured as part of the Middle School. Additionally, the former Lower School facilities were retrofitted to enable the Middle School to move to more spacious, modern facilities at Old Court. A shuttle bus system was created to provide transportation to the Glyndon campus for Lower School students living near the Old Court Campus. In 2000, Beth Tfiloh Community School was named a 2000-2001 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and was one of 12 schools nationally to also receive an award for Special Emphasis in Technology. In 2001, the school opened a new Performing Arts Center and Athletics Center on its Old Court Campus and staffed a new Creative Arts Department. In 2003 Beth Tfiloh Community School changed its name to Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School in tribute to Mr. Haron Dahan, one of the school founders and its most generous benefactor to date. In 2006 the Beth Tfiloh Sanctuary underwent a complete renovation and was rededicated as The Dahan Sanctuary. In 2007, the leadership of Beth Tfiloh and Beth Jacob Congregations announced the historic union of their two congregation, with approximately 300 former members of Beth Jacob Congregation becoming members of Beth Tfiloh Congregation, and making Beth Tfiloh the largest Modern Orthodox synagogue in the United States. In 2007 Beth Tfiloh sold its Weiner Family Campus in Glyndon to Sheppard-Pratt and began the construction of a 56,000 square foot Lower School complex on its Old Court Campus. The Lower School and Glyndon Preschool returned home to its new state-of-the-art complex on Old Court Road on January 5, 2009 to complete the consolidation of the Beth Tfiloh family on one campus and under one roof. In June 2010, Beth Tfiloh celebrated the commencement of its 21st graduating class and its 1,000th student. In January 2011, the Beth Tfiloh Old Court Campus was named the Roz and Marvin H. Weiner Family Campus.