Wednesdays May Be Getting a Fresh Look at DJDS

Wednesdays at Denver Jewish Day School are a beloved break from the core academic schedule, giving students the chance to explore unique electives ranging from Baking and Quilting to Speech & Debate and Model UN. But for some students, that freedom can be a double-edged sword. 

Without clear guidance, schedules can become stacked with low-effort or passive classes, unintentionally limiting participation in more challenging classes. 

Upper Division Principal Dr. Jeremy Golubcow-Teglasi emphasized that Wednesdays offer surprisingly valuable learning lessons, even if students don’t always use the time exactly as imagined. “When you open things up that way, will everybody use the time exactly how I imagined? Probably not. But at least it gives us the space,” he said. “I think there are surprisingly valuable learning opportunities for students... figuring out how to organize Wednesdays in a way that makes it more valuable for more people is something I'm always thinking about.” 

DJDS is aware of the challenge and plans to address it. Current vice principal and incoming principal, Danielle Sapiens, agrees that a bit of added structure could help students maximize their Wednesdays without taking away choice. “This isn’t about taking away good things — it’s about structuring them better,” she said. “We have amazing opportunities already, but they need more organization.” 

Before Sapiens takes the reins of the principalship in July, she is exploring ways to give students guidance while keeping the joy and freedom that make Wednesdays special. “What I want to try is shortening advisory and adding structured academic support — math support, English support, executive functioning support,” she said.

At the moment, there are no plans for the Wednesday schedule at DJDS to disappear; however, it might see some renovations in the months leading up to the start of the new school year. 

“There’s so much more to life than the classes you have to take… we need to make time for all those other things,” Golubcow-Teglasi said. “I think there are some tweaks to how we organize Wednesdays, [but] broadly speaking, I would like to see Wednesdays continue...  If my transition gives people the opportunity to really reevaluate things like [getting rid of the Wednesday schedule], I'm great.”