The yeshiva, was founded by Rabbi Dovid Bloom and is headed by Rabbi Yaakov Bender, was described by The New York Times as "ultra-Orthodox.. Litvish or Yeshivish." It has been operating long enough to have parents who graduated from it, including on the board of directors. The school is growing: A decade after having 1,400 students they have, 1,954 enrolled students in grades Pre-Kindergarten thru High School. The bais medrash has been described as "large". The yeshiva recently refinanced its mortgage. On May 16th, 2018, United States Secretary of EducationBetsy DeVos became the first high-profile federal government official to visit a yeshiva, which was a two day visit to Yeshiva Darchei Torah and to another school, a girls high school in Manhattan, called Manhattan High School for Girls. The visit was organized by the Agudath Israel of America organization.
Location
Darchei is located at the "site of... a once-world-famous resort." Far Rockaway "flourished in the 1940s but withered.. 1960s" until "a few Jewish families.. started the Hebrew Free Loan Society for new home buyers." In 2008 The New York Times wrote that "the area’s Orthodox Jewish community.. now constitutes a fifth of the 48,344 people" and that Darchei, "with 1,400 students, exceeds Far Rockaway High School in size."
Elementary
The school's lower grades have grade-appropriate studies for both religious and secular subjects, supplemented by a library and a "schoolwide literacy program." While most students benefit from the school's STEM offerings,, Darchei's "policy of inclusion for some special-needs children" makes its "special education wing" an important component.
High School
Although the High School curriculum offers "nine Advanced Placement classes and Regents exams," it also has "a vocational program for students who are struggling in a traditional academic program." In June, 2019, United States Ambassador to Israel David M. Friedman toured the yeshiva campus, including the Weiss Vocational Center, which had him in awe, "If I were still in yeshiva, I would be running to this very special and educational program, it's really a special thing and a big kiddush hashem" The upper grade unit, which is named Mesivta Chaim Shlomo of Yeshiva Darchei Torah, encourages its students to participate in the science competition that is a part of the Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education
Student body
Despite the school's Ashkenaz orientation, it maintains an ongoing link to a Sephardic sage, Yaakov Moshe Hillel, who has been visiting Darchei's sizeable number of Sephardi students since 2004.
Name
There are other institutions using the name Darchei: The words Darchei Torah mean Path of Torah.
