Prozdor, the high school of Hebrew College in Newton, Massachusetts, has been in existence for nearly eighty years. Originally intended to funnel Jewish teens directly into Hebrew College's undergraduate college programs, the Prozdor was, for many years, a five-day-a-week afternoon school in which Hebrew language was the main area of study.

As time passed, the Prozdor evolved into a two-day-a-week school, meeting at the Hawes Street campus in Brookline on Sundays and one weekday evening. Enrollment at Prozdor hovered around 150, most students were from Brookline or Newton, Hebrew language was still mandatory, and Prozdor continued to serve a very narrow segment of Boston's Jewish population.

In the late 1990s, with the arrival of Marjorie Berkowitz as the new director of Prozdor, a new approach to Prozdor was undertaken and a new vision took hold. Hebrew language was made optional, Prozdor expanded to several suburban "branch" locations, and students were offered the choice of coming six hours a week (Sundays and mid-week), four hours a week (Sunday mornings only), or two hours a week (mid-week only). The student population of Prozdor slowly grew, to 200, 300, and above, more suburban branches opened, Prozdor moved to the new Hebrew College campus in Newton Centre, and Prozdor more and more became the community high school for Jewish teens of Greater Boston.

In the 2004-5 school year, the student population of Prozdor stands at nearly 950 students. Of these 950 students, 800 come on Sundays to the Hebrew College, and over 400 of the students also attend one of our eight midweek branches in Nashua, Needham, Newton, Lexington, Marblehead, Natick, Worcester, or Canton. Hebrew language, although now an optional track, still attracts about one-third of the students, and our core curricula, performing arts groups, numerous class trips, and outstanding faculty all support the dynamic and diverse program that is Prozdor in 2005.