Description of Berkshire Institute for Music & Arts
BIMA is being developed through a collaborative partnership between Gann Academy-The New Jewish High School of Greater Boston and the Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel (BYFI). Gann Academy,The New Jewish High School, founded in 1997, has an international reputation as an innovator of Jewish pluralistic high school education. Since its inception, it has had a strong commitment to arts education and the integral role of the arts in the overall school curriculum. BYFI has been a premier educational program for Jewish high school students for the past eighteen years. A five and a half week program in Israel, with an active and extensive Jewish community, BYFI has fostered a new generation of Jewish leaders committed to understanding the complex issues facing the Jewish people and Israel, Jewish pluralism, dialogue, and text study. BYFI alumni and educators work together with lay and professional leaders from the Gann Academy to shape BIMA's vision, mission, and educational philosophy.