The Cleveland Hebrew Schools evolved from the Montefiore Free Hebrew School (later called the Talmud Torah) established in Cleveland, Ohio, ca. 1885. In 1905, another communal Hebrew school was founded by Joshua Flock and Aaron Garber. In 1907, the two schools combined, the name remaining the Talmud Torah. In 1913, the Talmud Torah received an Ohio charter and changed its name to the Cleveland Hebrew School and Institute, enrolling students in grades one through eight. Abraham Hayyim Friedland, an internationally known educator, headed the school from 1921-1939. In 1926, a high school was added, and a Parent Council was organized in 1930. Bernard Levitin served as superintendent from 1944-1970, a period of movement of Cleveland's Jewish population to the suburbs. A reorganization of the Cleveland Hebrew Schools took place during this period, with some Cleveland branches closing and new suburban schools opening. As the number of Jewish day schools and congregational classes grew, the Cleveland Hebrew Schools enrollment dropped and branches were further consolidated. In 1955, the Parent Council organized Camp Oneg, a Hebrew summer day camp, and Ganon Gil Nursery, a Hebrew school for preschool children. In 1967 Cleveland Hebrew High School merged into Akiva High School. The collection consists of staff, enrollment, and financial records, correspondence, board of trustees minutes, legal documents, newspaper clippings, monthly and annual reports, school publications, posters, and scrapbooks.
