When the Stanley I. Chera Sephardic Academy of Manhattan opens its doors for the 2025-2026 school year on Wednesday, there will be 26 kids in its two kindergarten classes.

Administrators call that remarkable considering that only two years ago, there were just nine kindergarten students enrolled in the Orthodox Sephardic Jewish day school on the Upper East Side.

Founded in 2011 as a preschool at 1274 Second Avenue that served 20 students, the SAM School has grown to a full-sized elementary school that will serve 240 students from preschool through 6th grade this year. To cater to the school’s growing population, the school added a kindergarten in 2017 , purchased a townhouse on 150 East 74th Street in 2018 , and then added a second campus on 96th St. last November, serving grades k

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