General studies, built by mechanchim.
The Machon is a skill-based general studies curriculum delivered through Canvas, built and run by mechanchim from inside the yeshiva world. The platform offers courses in writing, math, science, and history, designed so that the menahel keeps full oversight while the yeshiva's seder stays intact.
- Rabbi Tzvi Mordechai Feldheim, Shlit"a Rosh Hayeshiva, Kesser Torah of Baltimore
- Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer, Shlit"a Mara D'Asrah, Shearith Israel; President, Vaad HaRabbanim of Baltimore
- Rabbi Sholom Kamenetsky, Shlit"a Rosh Yeshiva, Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia
- Rabbi Ahron Lopiansky, Shlit"a Rosh Yeshiva, Yeshiva of Greater Washington
- Rav Elya Brudny, Shlit"a
- Rav Yosef Eichenstein, Shlit"a
- Rav Chaim Y. Hoberman, Shlit"a
- Rav Yaakov Bender, Shlit"a
Three ways to get started with The Machon.
For Menahalim
If you are exploring whether The Machon would fit your mesivta, we are glad to walk you through the full program, connect you with a current partner school, and answer any questions on a call. We will also send the brochure ahead of time so you have something to look through with your hanhalla.
Request a tour of the platform →For Supporters
Every additional yeshiva we bring onto the platform costs real money to launch, and every new course that goes into production has to be funded before it can serve a single bochur. If you would like to help build out the courses still in development or underwrite the cost of bringing on the next mesivta, we would welcome a conversation.
Support the work →For Parents
If your son is in a yeshiva that has not yet joined the platform, or if he needs to complete academic credits for high school graduation, individual enrollment is available. Reach out and we will explain how the registration process works.
Register a bochur →How the program actually works.
The same rhythm every week, with clear pacing and real accountability built in.
Every Machon course follows the same weekly shape, so the bochur, his rebbi, and the menahel all know what is coming. The week begins with a lesson that introduces the skill. The following day, a guided practice locks the skill in. By midweek, the bochur produces a real piece of work that puts the skill on the page. The week closes with feedback from a Machon TA, telling the bochur where he stands and what to fix on the next draft.
The predictability of that rhythm is the point. It takes the guesswork out for the bochur and most of the monitoring work out for the yeshiva, which means that the only thing left to focus on is the actual chinuch.
The Weekly Shape
- A lesson that names and teaches one specific skill.
- A guided practice that drills the skill in.
- An assignment that proves the bochur owns the skill.
- Targeted feedback from the TA that closes the loop.
What the Yeshiva Gets
- Complete courses with every lesson, assignment, and assessment included.
- Pacing and accountability that are built into the course, not bolted on afterwards.
- Mastery-level assessments calibrated to real academic standards.
- A trained Machon TA who grades the work and gives the bochur real feedback.
- A dedicated point person who walks with the yeshiva from day one through the end of the year.
Leadership
Rabbi Avrohom Feldheim
Menahel of Mesivta Kesser Torah of Baltimore, which he founded with his father, Rabbi Tzvi Mordechai Feldheim, in 2017. BTL and MTL from Talmudic University. As Founder of The Machon, Rabbi Feldheim leads strategic partnerships with mesivtos and funders.
Rabbi Mordechai Weissmann
Curriculum Coordinator at Mesivta Kesser Torah of Baltimore, where he also teaches 9th–11th grade Language Arts and History. Semicha from RIETS and the Gruss Kollel in Yerushalayim. BA from Columbia University in English & Comparative Literature, MA in Jewish Philosophy from Revel, MLIS from the University of Maryland. Rabbi Weissmann designs the courses, writes the units, and runs day-to-day operations of the Digital Platform.
A pedagogy that was built inside the yeshiva.
"Teach the skill first. Then teach the content."
Most of the time, a bochur is not struggling because the content is too hard. He is struggling because the skill the content requires was never explicitly taught to him.
A content-first approach puts the bochur in front of a piece of material he has no framework to break down. A skill-first approach gives him the framework first, and only then puts the material in front of him.
This is the simple inversion that every Machon course is built on. Once the skill is in place, the content stops being confusing. Writing becomes structured. Math stops being guesswork. History stops being a list of trivia. The bochur knows what he is actually being asked to do, and he can do it.
The bochur opens the text without a framework.
A teacher hands out a Sherlock Holmes story with a vocabulary list and a pre-reading worksheet. None of that teaches the bochur how to actually read a mystery, how to track clues, follow Holmes's chain of reasoning, or tell a fact apart from an inference.
- Confusion
- Overwhelm
- Guessing
- Frustration
- Checking out
The bochur opens the text knowing what to do with it.
A Machon bochur meets the same Sherlock Holmes story already trained in the skill it requires: sorting evidence, distinguishing claim from inference, following a chain of reasoning. The story becomes a place to practice a skill he already owns.
The same logic runs across every subject. Before a unit on credit, teach the structure of credit. Before a unit on argument, teach the structure of an argument. The skill comes first. The content earns its place by being the place that skill gets used.
What every Machon course is built on.
Skills and standards come first. Torah is brought in where it sharpens.
Every unit is built backwards from the academic skill being developed and the standards it is measured against. Torah sources are then brought in at the points where they genuinely deepen the work, such as dibbur in the writing unit on clarity or the Magen Avraham in the finance unit on credit. The Torah piece is always earned, never pasted on.
Built for the world the bochur actually lives in.
The simulations, scenarios, and assignments are drawn from frum life. A bochur might work through a yeshiva finance scenario, draft a job application for a seforim store, or write an essay analyzing a hesped. Because the work feels familiar, the bochur is able to recognize himself in it and engage with the academic skill that the work is teaching.
One sevara at a time.
Every lesson names a single cognitive move and trains it before introducing the next one. Over the course of a unit, those skills begin to compound on one another, and over the course of a year the compounding effect becomes the bochur's real intellectual gain. Nothing is left to osmosis or to chance.
Designed for the way a bochur actually retains material.
A single yesod is taught through several channels, including a video lesson, a digital whiteboard walkthrough, an interactive simulation, and a scenario-based challenge. Because the same idea is approached from multiple angles, it sticks with the bochur well past the test, which is exactly the point of teaching it in the first place.
Work that survives the file cabinet.
The bochur does not produce worksheets that get thrown away the day they are graded. He produces real essays, real documents, and real applications. The kind of work he can show to his father, to his rebbi, or to a future employer years later and still feel proud of.
Four disciplines, each built to progress across four years.
The curriculum was built and refined inside the mesivta over a period of eight years, and was field-tested in more than twenty yeshivos before The Digital Platform was launched. Each of the four disciplines is sequenced so that skills are built on top of one another across the four years of mesivta.
Once the core is built, electives follow.
The four core disciplines come first. Once a yeshiva has Language Arts, History, Science, and Math running on the platform, the next phase opens: electives a mesivta would actually want for its bochurim.
On the roadmap: Health & Wellness, Personal Finance, and others surfaced from conversations with menahalim about what's been missing.
Writing & Communication.
The writing program teaches a bochur to think, communicate, and express himself with clarity and purpose. A Machon bochur is not only learning to write; he is learning to think like a ben Torah and communicate like a leader.
- Focuses on a core skill: structure, persuasion, analysis, or creativity.
- Integrates Torah-based themes and middos, dibbur, kavanah, anavah.
- Builds toward mastery through drafting, feedback, and revision.
- Culminates in authentic writing tasks, from divrei Torah to real-world documents.
History & Civic Reasoning.
The history program traces Jewish history and world events side by side, developing the bochur's sense of context, identity, and historical insight. A Machon bochur comes away understanding not only what happened in the past but why it continues to matter to Klal Yisrael today.
- Anchors in a Jewish historical narrative: Geonim, Rishonim, early American yeshivos.
- Pairs with relevant global context to explore interactions and contrasts.
- Engages students in analytical tasks: timelines, debates, case studies, source comparison.
- Emphasizes emunah and resilience through the lens of Jewish continuity.
Science & Applied Reasoning.
The science program balances rigorous academic content with halachic relevance and practical wisdom. A bochur develops genuine scientific literacy without compromising his hashkafic integrity along the way.
- Covers mainstream scientific topics: biology, chemistry, physics.
- Integrates Torah sources: Asher Yatzar, bal tashchis, Rambam on health.
- Includes hands-on or applied components, designing solutions, analyzing systems.
- Emphasizes ethical questions where Torah and science intersect.
Math in Daily Life.
The math curriculum prioritizes real-world problem-solving, with halachic relevance woven through every unit. A bochur learns to see math not as a wall of abstract numbers but as a practical tool for Avodas Hashem and for everyday life.
- Teaches foundational concepts through practical applications: budgeting, measuring, engineering.
- Includes Torah use cases: ribbis, eruv construction, seder planning.
- Builds numeracy and logic while reinforcing decision-making skills.
- Supports multiple learning styles with visual models, simulations, and scenarios.
Thirteen core courses, plus electives to follow.
Fully prepared for the ELA Regents, with a year to spare.
Based on the NYSED Next Generation ELA Regents Educator Guide, effective June 2026. By the time a bochur sits for the Regents, The Machon's curriculum has already taken him well beyond what the exam requires.
When the Regents falls in the sequence
The ELA Regents assesses Grade 11–12 standards and is typically taken in 11th grade. By that point, a Machon bochur has completed two full writing courses and is actively working through a third.
All thirteen Regents requirements, mapped
Every Regents requirement is taught in a specific Machon unit and assessed against a Machon assignment. Ten of the thirteen are fully addressed in LA101 and LA102 alone, before a bochur ever sees the exam.
- Close reading of literary and informational texts — LA101 U3, U5, U6; LA102 U7
- Vocabulary in context — LA101 U2; LA102 U1, U2; LA103 U2
- Analyzing author's craft — structure, point of view, tone — LA101 U7; LA103 U1, U3, U9
- Central idea and how it develops — LA101 U3, U4, U6
- Inferences and conclusions from text — LA101 U3; LA102 U7; LA103 U8
- Thesis-driven argument essay — LA101 U4, U5, U6; LA102 U4; LA103 U7
- Evidence from at least 3 assigned texts — LA102 U7, U8; LA103 U8
- Integrating and citing sources — LA102 U8; LA103 U8; LA104 U1
- Coherent argument across paragraphs — LA101 U4, U5, U6; LA103 U7
- Sentence-level language control — LA101 U1, U2; LA102 U1
- Short analytical response to a single text — LA101 U6; LA102 U4; LA103 U1, U3, U6
- Explaining how a craft element develops meaning — LA101 U7; LA103 U1, U9; LA104 U6
- Revising and editing for clarity and precision — LA101 U1, U6; LA104 U7
Bottom line: All 13 Regents requirements are fully covered. Ten of thirteen are addressed in LA101 and LA102 alone — before 11th grade. The remaining three are taught in LA102 and LA103, before the exam date. No requirement is left unaddressed.
Step inside a Machon lesson.
The clearest way to understand a Machon course is to step inside one. Below is an introductory video lesson featuring a guest rebbi, followed by two full lessons that display their structure, content, and Torah integration from beginning to end.
Taught by mechanchim, rabbonim, and subject-area experts.
Every Machon unit is introduced and framed by a voice the bochur recognizes and respects. The introductions are delivered by rabbonim, mechanchim, and respected subject-area experts who frame the skills being taught and connect the material to both Torah and the bochur's real life.
The video on the right is the introduction to Unit 3: Note Taking, presented by Rabbi Yitzchak Rosedale. Rabbi Rosedale welcomes the bochurim to the unit, explains why note-taking is a critical academic skill, and previews what they will be learning over the next several lessons. The straightforward examples and clear visuals he uses reinforce the key ideas before the bochur begins the work itself.
The Basics of an Expository Essay.
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If a paragraph cannot be named, it cannot exist.
The foundational lesson of Writing Fundamentals teaches the architecture of an expository essay through a single, sturdy metaphor: foundation, pillars, and roof. The introduction is the foundation; it orients the reader and ends with the thesis, which is the essay's promise to the reader. Each body paragraph functions as a pillar, and each pillar proves one part of that promise. The conclusion is the roof. It does not add new arguments; rather, it ties the pillars back together into a single, coherent whole.
The lesson's operative rule is what we call the paragraph-job test. A bochur should be able to name what each paragraph does in one or two words drawn directly from the thesis. If he cannot, the paragraph does not belong in the essay.
The sample topic is deliberately ordinary, asking how lack of sleep affects teenagers' mood, decision-making, and school performance, precisely because the lesson is not about the topic. It is about the structure. Over the course of the lesson, a bochur learns to spot strong and weak theses, match topic sentences to the relevant thesis parts, and recognize when a body paragraph has drifted from its job. By the time the lesson ends, the architecture of an expository essay belongs to him.
- What Is an Expository Essay?Clarity, not storytelling. Clarity, not persuasion.
- The Structure: Foundation, Pillars, RoofThree named parts and what each one does.
- The Foundation: IntroductionOrienting the reader and landing the thesis.
- The Pillars: Body ParagraphsOne paragraph, one job, named from the thesis.
- The Thesis BridgeStrong theses create clear paragraph jobs. Weak theses do not.
- Topic Sentences: Where Each Pillar BeginsThe first line as a declaration of paragraph job.
- The Roof: ConclusionResolution, not addition.
- Putting It All TogetherA complete expository essay, named end to end.
Financing the Revolution: Survival Under Pressure.
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A government that cannot raise money has trouble acting like a government, even when its cause is popular.
This eight-section lesson teaches inflation, credit, taxation, and the financial mechanics of the American Revolution, not as the background to the "real" story of battles, but as the story itself. A bochur learns that the Continental Congress had no power to tax, that Continental currency lost value to the point where "not worth a Continental" became a common expression, and that by 1780 it took roughly forty Continental dollars to buy what one dollar had bought in 1775.
The lesson then introduces Chaim Salomon, the broker, spy, and financier whose personal credit funded the Yorktown campaign when Robert Morris's government coffers were empty. James Madison's own ledger records borrowing from Salomon multiple times during the crisis years.
What makes the lesson distinctly Machon is the Yeshiva Finance Simulation, a set of in-text exercises that test whether the bochur has actually grasped the underlying financial concepts by asking him to apply them to yeshiva life. In one exercise, a menahel asks a baal tzedakah for an advance. In another, a camp prints canteen tickets that lose value over the summer. In a third, a school charges a building fee for the beis midrash roof. Each scenario tests one financial idea in a world the bochurim already understand from the inside.
- The Financial Crisis of the RevolutionA government without taxing power, paying for a long war.
- What War CostsSoldiers, supplies, transport, and how funding sustains them.
- Printing Money and InflationContinental currency, the collapse of trust in paper.
- The Failure of CreditWhy lenders refused to lend by 1780.
- Crisis at YorktownThe $20,000 needed to move the army that ended the war.
- Chaim Salomon: Spy, Broker, FinancierBorn 1740, Poland. Died 1785, Philadelphia, nearly bankrupt.
- Salomon's Financial WorkMadison's ledger; six languages; private credit in public crisis.
- Legacy and Historical SignificanceThe 1975 stamp; the Heald Square Monument.
What a bochur actually does day to day.
What follows are six assignments pulled directly from Machon courses. Each one is built around a single skill, anchored to a recognized academic standard, and produces a finished piece of work that the bochur owns the moment he is done with it.
Building Structure Through Sequencing.
The bochur builds a paragraph one sentence at a time and learns, by doing it, how clarity and structure actually emerge from proper sequencing. Instead of explaining what a paragraph "is," the assignment lets him experience how a set of ideas flow into each other, connect, and end up supporting one another.
Reading With Clarity and Depth.
Using O. Henry's "Hearts and Hands," the bochur is asked to identify the author's moves, to track the evidence in the text, and to spot the shifts in tone and intention that drive the story. The assignment is designed to transform reading from a passive intake of words into an active piece of thinking.
Precision in Writing.
The bochur sorts sixteen vocabulary labels into two categories, "Helps Clarity" and "Hurts Clarity," distinguishing words like rambling, vague, and off-topic from words like concise, specific, and logical. The task is hands-on by design, training an instinct for purposeful, precise language one judgment at a time.
Note Structures for Learning a Sugya.
The bochur takes a Gemara sugya and turns it into a set of clear, structured notes using the core components of Torah reasoning, including statement, question, answer, proof, and case distinction. The result is real learning, organized the way a careful outline would organize it.
Clear and Respectful Communication.
The bochur is given an unclear and overly casual job application that someone might send to a seforim store, and he is asked to rewrite it so that it reads as clear, detailed, and genuinely professional. The exercise is a small study in how derech eretz and precise communication work together in real life.
Interactive Video: Topic + Angle for Focused Writing.
The bochur learns that the formula "Topic + Angle = Focus" is what gives a paragraph its direction. The lesson uses clear Torah analogies to tie focused thinking to focused writing, and the in-video questions force the bochur to make real-time decisions about which angles are strong and which topic sentences need to be sharpened.
The early signal is strong. The full Year One numbers will come at year-end.
We are well into the first year of operation. The numbers below are preliminary and will be updated as the year continues. The full Year One report will be published at the close of the academic year.
Five yeshivos across five cities.
Mesivta Kesser Torah
Yeshiva Toras Chaim
Mesivta Shaarei Adirim
Mechina of South Florida
Mesivta of West Bloomfield
Achievement is concentrated at the high end of the scale.
Real quotes, first cohort.
It's very straightforward. If I finish something, I can just move on. I love the weekly schedule because it shows me how much time I need to plan. The content is practical and skill-based.
It's more structured, with quizzes and a clear sense of what needs to be done. I don't benefit from a classic classroom, and this model works better for me.
Our students are engaged and productive. They are meeting their challenges head-on, and under the capable guidance of our teacher, their different learning needs are being met.
The program allows me to live out the dream of a teacher: being able to focus on the student. I used to spend hours preparing lesson plans and grading. Now I can devote my hours to the student himself, while delegating the busy work.
Ten choices that solve real problems for real yeshivos.
The Machon isn't one product. It's ten coordinated decisions, each one answering a specific problem yeshivos have been living with for years.
Active Participation.
The bochur does the work.
There is no passive listening built into the platform. Every lesson asks the bochur to produce something concrete, whether it is an answer, a draft, or a real decision he has to defend. He walks out of every unit holding work he has actually made.
Outcome First.
Reverse-engineered courses.
Every Machon course is designed backwards. We start with what the bochur should be able to do by the end of the year, then build the test that proves he can do it, and only then write the lessons that bring him to that point.
Every Kind of Bochur.
No bochur left behind.
The same material is delivered as text, audio, video, and simulation, with dyslexia-friendly fonts, full transcripts, and captions all available. The bochur with ADHD, the gifted bochur, and the bochur who is struggling each find their lane without anyone having to point it out in front of the rest of the shiur.
Real Differentiation.
Each bochur on his own track.
Because the platform is mastery-based, the strong bochur is free to move ahead while the bochur who needs more time receives additional scaffolding. The TA watches the dashboard daily and adjusts pacing for each bochur as the picture becomes clearer.
Bochurim Across Yeshivos.
One bar, everywhere.
Every partner yeshiva runs the same curriculum, so that a bochur in Denver and a bochur in Baltimore are working through the same units, at the same depth, and against the same academic standards. The bar is set once and applied everywhere.
Real Relationships.
Every bochur gets seen.
The Machon TA is not an anonymous grader. He tracks each bochur's pacing and progress, writes personal feedback on the assignments, and reaches out directly if a bochur is starting to slip. Every bochur knows that someone is actually paying attention to his work.
Scenarios That Hook.
Real-life problems first.
Every lesson opens with a real problem the bochur has to think his way into, whether that is how to allocate tzedakah, when to take a health risk, or how to plan a project under a tight constraint. He is pulled into the material before any formal instruction begins, because the question has already grabbed him.
Scaffolded Instruction.
Learning that lasts.
Every lesson follows the same four moves: a preview of the skill, the core teaching, a guided practice, and a final reflection. Because of that scaffolding, the bochur is never asked to do something he has not already been built up to do.
Tech & Human Together.
Analytics, but not analytics-only.
AI speeds up how quickly we can write new units, and Canvas tracks who is logging in, how long the bochurim spend on each piece, and where they tend to get stuck. The TA reads that data carefully and reaches out to a bochur directly before he has a chance to fall behind.
Built to Grow.
From five yeshivos to fifty.
The platform is built on Canvas, the same learning management system that already runs the world's major universities. One Machon course can serve a single bochur or two thousand bochurim without changing how it is delivered, so the architecture is ready well before the demand is.
Built on Canvas.
Canvas is the same learning management system used by Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and most of the world's leading universities.
Choosing Canvas was not a branding decision. Canvas is the most rigorously tested learning platform on the market, used by tens of millions of students at every level of education. Building The Machon on top of that foundation gives our partner mesivtos infrastructure that already works at scale, without any of the risk that comes with custom-built software.
What Canvas gives every yeshiva.
Every unit, lesson, assignment, and piece of feedback lives in one place. Nothing has to be tracked down in email threads or scattered Google Drive folders.
The yeshiva's administration has live visibility into every bochur's progress, grades, time-on-task, and pacing, so there are no surprises when report cards go out.
The bochur submits his work, the TA grades it with inline comments, and the bochur revises and resubmits, all on a single screen. The full feedback loop is visible end to end.
A minimal set of trusted domains is whitelisted on the yeshiva's existing filter, which is enough to give the bochur full access to the platform without opening anything else. There is no YouTube and no rabbit holes.
Every assignment, every piece of feedback, and every grade is stored permanently on the platform. Nothing is ever lost when a notebook gets misplaced or a laptop is reformatted.
Canvas already serves tens of millions of students worldwide. Whatever The Machon throws at the platform, Canvas is built to handle it.
From the first conversation to the first day of class.
Bringing a new program into a yeshiva is the point where most launches fall apart. Ours is built to run in three clear phases of planning, training, and launch, with a Machon point person walking the menahel through every step along the way.
Initial Consultation
We review the courses, pricing, and technology requirements together over a call or a Zoom meeting.
Agreement & Initial Payment
The yeshiva secures its enrollment through a signed agreement and an initial invoice payment.
Student Enrollment Submission
The yeshiva submits the bochurim's names, emails, and course selections through a spreadsheet we provide.
Facilitator Onboarding
The designated classroom facilitator receives training over video conference.
Facilitator–TA Coordination
The facilitator connects with the Machon Teaching Assistant over video conference for ongoing support.
IT Setup
Google Admin, whitelisting, and platform access are configured in coordination with the yeshiva's IT lead.
Official Program Launch
The bochurim access the platform and begin classes in a supervised classroom setting.
The Machon staff walks you through every step of the process, from the first consultation to the day your bochurim log in for their first lesson.
Built for the real shape of every yeshiva that runs it.
Teacher Supervised.
An in-person yeshiva teacher supervises and may handle grading and analytics if trained. Training is available for deeper roles.
Machon Remote TA.
A dedicated Machon TA grades, gives feedback, monitors analytics, and checks pacing, supporting the classroom remotely.
Parent Supervised.
Parents provide structure at home and tech help, with brief training to support pacing and expectations.
Machon City Hub.
A community space with adult supervision and peer interaction. Remote TAs provide academic grading and feedback.
Two line items, nothing hidden.
Per bochur, per course
The yeshiva pays per bochur per course. That covers the full curriculum, every lesson and assessment, and Machon TA feedback for the year.
One-time launch fee
A one-time fee covers setup, staff training, filtering, and a Machon point person walking the yeshiva through the first year.
A short introduction to the work.
Endorsement & Rabbinic guidance.
Torah Umesorah Recommendation
The Machon Digital Platform is recommended by Torah Umesorah. The letter affirms the platform's approach and recommends the model for mesivtos under appropriate rabbinic guidance.
It is signed by Roshei Yeshiva including Rav Elya Brudny, Shlit"a; Rav Yosef Eichenstein, Shlit"a; Rav Chaim Y. Hoberman, Shlit"a; and Rav Yaakov Bender, Shlit"a.
Open Letter PDF →Rabbinic Advisory Committee
Machon Menoras Hachochmah is under the rabbinic auspices of the Rosh Hayeshiva of Kesser Torah of Baltimore, Rabbi Tzvi Mordechai Feldheim, Shlit"a.
- Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer, Shlit"aMara D'Asrah of Shearith Israel Congregation; President, Vaad HaRabbanim of Baltimore
- Rabbi Sholom Kamenetsky, Shlit"aRosh Yeshiva, Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia
- Rabbi Ahron Lopiansky, Shlit"aRosh Yeshiva, Yeshiva of Greater Washington
Questions menahalim actually ask us.
01How does accreditation work for a platform?
The Machon is Cognia-accredited. Cognia is one of the most widely recognized accrediting bodies for K–12 education in the United States. The accreditation gives partner yeshivos a recognized academic backbone for the general studies work the bochurim complete on the platform, which supports credit transfer and diploma validation down the road.
02Do we need a qualified general studies rebbi to run this?
No, you do not. The Machon was built specifically for yeshivos that cannot find a qualified general studies rebbi or do not want to. The person on the floor in the yeshiva is there only to supervise the classroom. The Machon TA, working remotely, handles the grading, the feedback, and the analytics, while the yeshiva keeps full rabbinic oversight over the entire experience.
03Will the technology work with our existing filters?
Yes. The Digital Platform operates compatibly with all the major filtering systems used in frum schools, including K-12 USA, Limewize, and GoGuardian. Setup uses custom whitelisting so that the bochurim access only Canvas and the Machon-coded tools, and nothing else on the open internet. Our IT Guide walks each school's technical lead through Google Admin integration, SSO, and firewall configuration step by step.
04What does "Torah-aligned" actually mean here?
It means the Torah is built into the academic skill being taught, rather than pasted on top of it as decoration. Dibbur shows up in the writing unit on clarity. The Magen Avraham shows up in the finance unit on credit. A bochur encounters Torah at exactly the points where it sharpens what he is learning, because the curriculum was written by mechanchim who learn full sedarim and teach the same bochurim in person.
05What does onboarding actually look like?
Onboarding runs over the summer before the school year begins. Each partner yeshiva meets with its assigned TA and the broader Machon team, and the principals, teachers, and IT directors all receive training on Canvas, on Google SSO, and on device setup. The IT staff are walked through the firewall and whitelist configuration with the help of a step-by-step IT Setup Guide.
All five of our Year One yeshivos were fully onboarded before classes began. Their IT directors described the process as smooth and streamlined.
06Can we start small with one course, or do we have to take everything?
You can absolutely start small. Many yeshivos prefer to soft-launch with a single course in Year One and then add additional subjects in Year Two. The platform is built so that the program can scale gradually as the yeshiva's needs grow.
07Who oversees the technology and the bochurim's online experience?
Each yeshiva operates under the hadrachah of its own rabbinic leadership. It is at the menahel's discretion how the bochurim access the supervised environment, and the yeshiva's existing filters and protections remain in place throughout. The Machon program is whitelisted access only; the general internet is never opened. Local oversight is part of the design rather than an afterthought.
For General Studies Administrators.
The people who are doing this work every day.
The Forum is a working group of general studies menahalim and administrators across yeshivos around the country. We share what is working, troubleshoot what is not, and trade resources with one another. It is open to anyone running general studies in a mesivta, whether or not the yeshiva is a partner school.
Register for the Forum →Speak with the Machon.
For menahalim, supporters, and parents. The fastest way to reach us.
Support the work behind the platform.
The yeshivos themselves cover the per-bochur cost. What tuition does not cover is everything else, including building the courses, producing the multimedia, getting the platform ready for the next school year, and bringing new yeshivos onto the platform. That is what partnership funding is for.
Year One inside the schools.
Five partner yeshivos. Roughly 180 talmidim. Four months into Year One, the data tells a story we can stand behind. The full report covers mastery scores, engagement, retention, and the voices of the menahalim themselves, all in one place.
Read the full report at right, or open it in a new tab.
Course Partner
Funds the design and launch of one complete course from end to end.
School Launch Partner
Funds the onboarding, training, and ongoing support for one new yeshiva.
Multimedia Partner
Funds the production of course videos, digital whiteboards, and interactive tools.
Unit Partner
Funds the development of one complete instructional unit.