Backpacks are lined up by the door and small chairs are being dusted off for a new year at Aleph Early Learning Center in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, N.Y. It’s the kind of back-to-school scene playing out at preschools across the country this week. But at Aleph, the first day of year two comes with an unusual credential in hand: New York City’s highest rating for early-childhood programs.
The city’s Department of Health gave Aleph its exceptional quality of care award after an assessment using the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale, a gold-standard framework for evaluating early learning environments.
“Programs like this can serve as an example for others,” said Mary Tuazon of the Department of Health’s Division of Quality Child Care, “particularly in their environment, communication and the quality of interactions.”
For Rabbi Yehuda and Chana Levin, directors of Chabad-Lubavitch of Ditmas Park, the award validates a vision they’ve been building toward for years: a school where families never have to choose between an uncompromising Jewish education and an excellent academic program.
"For us, curriculum is everything. We are on a mission to bring the best of what the world has to offer in general education, together with an uncompromising Jewish education - so our children never have to choose." said Rabbi Levin.
And alongside that pursuit of excellence, comes a core value: unconditional acceptance.
“At Aleph, everyone is welcomed with genuine warmth. Every individual is embraced for who they are, and that love is felt the moment you walk through the door," said Chana Levin.
Levin traces the school’s roots to a call from the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory. During a public address in 1986, the Rebbe noted that even in Brooklyn, thousands of Jewish children were growing up without a Jewish education.
The genesis of what has become Aleph took its current shape after the Palestinian terror attack of Oct. 7, 2023. Community members gathered to discuss the appropriate response and the rise in antisemitism across the country, and concluded that the answer had to start with the youngest children.
“The answer was obvious: more Jewish education, more Jewish pride and expression,” Levin recalled. “We needed to produce children with that strong Jewish background, starting with our youngest community members. We wanted no confusion, no ambiguity in their Jewish identity, and to empower them to be strong, proud Jews, and the best place to start educating them is at the youngest stages.”
A Tech Entrepreneur Bets on the School
Heading into year two, the school’s growth has been helped along by Nik and Lisa Koblov.
Nik Koblov is a software engineer who has built and led technology at a string of companies, among them some of the country’s fastest-growing startups. The Koblovs are sponsoring tuition for all of Aleph’s 3-year-olds, allowing the school to compete with New York City’s free pre-K program for that age group .
For the Koblovs, the grant is as strategic as it is philanthropic.
“Building startups, you come to understand that it doesn’t matter how much customer acquisition costs in the early stages. You just need to get people in the door, allowing word of mouth to spread, to build the flywheel, which leads to growth,” he explained. “Offering this grant to compete with the city felt like an existential decision, to offer our vision to every Jewish child in the area.”
Originally from the Soviet Union, the Koblovs lived primarily in Brooklyn before spending several years in the East Bay of California, where they were very involved in Chabad’s work building Jewish communal life there. After returning to Brooklyn, and their own experiences with different Jewish and public schools, they were inspired by the Levin’s passion and vision and got involved in helping Aleph get off the ground.
Lisa Koblov said she’d seen Jewish day schools that leaned heavily into either secular academics or Judaism, but rarely gave full weight to both. “We wanted to create a school that wasn’t yet available when we were looking for our children,” she said.
The Koblovs’ own children are already older, and their investment in Aleph underscores their belief in the necessity of a school like it.
“This is how we build strong Jews,” Koblov said. “The approach and success Chabad has had at the community level, we are doing at the educational level, and the early feedback is showing that it’s working.”
Their plans for Aleph are ambitious: They hope to grow from preschool to elementary school, building a vertical educational pipeline all the way to high school.
“Thank G‑d, we’re attracting families of all backgrounds,” he said. “It’s clear something’s working, and they’re thrilled to be part of our story.”
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