From UPrep’s founding in 1976, the school has always shared a special relationship with Temple Beth Am next door, starting when the founders rented rooms from the temple to teach classes.

“We owe them so much. So when our founders were looking for a place, this turned out to be the perfect place, and they just took us in,” Head of School Ronnie Codrington-Cazeau said. “They had old classroom buildings. They let us fix them up.”

As UPrep recognizes 50 years of existence, the temple also celebrates its 70th anniversary. Executive Director of Temple Beth Am since 2018, Davida Sims, looked back on the relationship as it was five decades ago.

“​​From the very beginning, we would use classrooms on weekends when UPrep wasn’t there, and in exchange, we would let them use the parking lot we own,” Sims said.

Sims believes that going to school next to a temple provides a unique opportunity for Jewish students.

“Being Jewish in Seattle is like a needle in a haystack,” Sims said. “So it’s really great that the UPrep Jewish community is all of a sudden, in this thriving Jewish community right here in Wedgwood.”

The relationship helps senior and temple member Noah Roth feel more connected to his community.

“I think it’s really impactful having the temple right nearby,” Roth said. “Seeing UPrep observe the holidays, cultures and traditions that I’ve been observing my whole life is really impactful to see the support for the Jewish community, especially during times of heightened anti-Semitism.”

The relationship includes sacrifices and benefits. While students get to use the lot to park during school hours, the temple uses classrooms on the weekends. The school takes days off during the Jewish high holidays due to services and the temple’s need for parking.

As the school grew, Codrington-Cazeau noticed complications for the surrounding community.

“It’s hard because we’ve become kind of the big giant on this little, tiny street… but they were here first,” Codrington-Cazeau said. “It’s hard for their parents doing drop off, and for them to see us get so big, and to see the traffic double, and they’re just trying to get their little kids to the front, or trying to have an event in the temple.”

Assistant Head of School for Finance and Operations Susan Lansverk wants students to remember the importance of being a thoughtful neighbor.

“It’s important to understand we’re all living in a pretty tight footprint,” Lansverk said. “So if you’re not thinking about those that are around you, it makes it more difficult.”

She believes that the relationship should be built on sensibility and respect, not just transactional. When the commons was remodeled in 2019, UPrep utilized the temple’s social halls.

“Some of it is required, but it’s also just the right thing to do and a good use of all of our resources to share,” Lansverk said. “Share things that we don’t need and things they don’t need at different times.”

Lansverk echoes that the relationship between the school and the temple remains strong through compassion.

“There’s good use of our resources,” Lansverk said. “But it’s just the right thing to be a good neighbor.”

One of the main issues that the temple raises with the school is the heavy traffic flow.

“And I’m sure you all might feel the same way at certain times, when we have big events and there might be a basketball game or an open house,” Sims said.

Parents who leave their children at the temple daycare have to pick up their kids by 4:45 p.m., or else they will get fined, creating tension between the two institutions

“I don’t think our parents understand that those parents are so anxious to get their kids on time,” Codrington-Cazeau said.  “I feel like I’ve told parents that over and over again, yet they still want to line up in front of the school in the afternoons, and that’s hard for temple parents.”

Codrington-Cazeau believes that maintaining respect is necessary because of the impact that Temple Beth Am had on the school over the last 50 years.

“It’s important to keep that relationship going,” Codrington Cazeau said. “We need to show gratitude to them.”