“Students tell me all the time that they love to come to school,” my tour guide says.

As I walk through the hallways, I can understand why.

We pass a few students sporting pajamas, and I soon learn that this week-just before winter break and Chanukah-is spirit week at Rochelle Zell Jewish High School in Deerfield. One junior is wearing jammies with menorahs, while his friend is outfitted in pink ones. Suddenly, high school looks a lot more fun than I remember.

And that’s how my tour begins. I learn of the existence of a hallway for seniors and that students don’t need locks on their lockers. “There’s a great deal of trust and a sense of safety,” explains my guide, Head of School Tony Frank, as we head to the cafeteria.

Unlike large public schools, Rochelle Zell students aren’t required to report here during their lunch periods. The small school-of 168 students -has the same lunch period for convenience. It’s easier for students to seek extra help from teachers or for student groups to meet. More than 75 percent of the student body participates in after-school sports, and if a few students feel like shooting hoops during their free period, they can, I’m told as we pass a window overlooking the gym.

When it comes to navigating college, RZJHS grads are way ahead of the game and may bypass the shock and disorientation many college freshman experience. “They know how to advocate for themselves and will seek out professors during office hours and find a community or create one,” said Frank.

This is no ordinary high school. It’s number one among America’s Best Jewish High Schools, according to 2016-2017 school rankings on Niche, a national school and neighborhood rating site. For the second year in a row, RZJHS (formerly known as Chicagoland Jewish High School) was also ranked the sixth Best Private High School in Illinois. The school earned high marks for college readiness and its 100 percent college enrollment, teaching quality and its low student-teacher ratio (it’s 7:1), and standardized test scores (the school’s composite SAT score is 1510; ACT is 31).

Beyond the numbers, student voices take center stage here.

Mornings start early with students leading tefillah (prayer), and services end with the mantra, “Let’s go learn a lot today.” Some fearless students take on a Herculean load of nine classes, which might include Spanish foreign language on top of Hebrew, and are involved in as many as five co-curriculars. Students assume leadership roles in everything from the Model UN team to the Social Justice Club, where they volunteer at homeless shelters and soup kitchens.

I catch up with senior Bobbi Hochberg, current school president and yearbook editor , in the school’s resource center. As a freshman, Hochberg never thought she’d be a leader but credits caring teachers for inspiring her. “They really want you to succeed,” she said. “I’ve said to my mom that if I went to public school, I’d be just a number. Here, I know that my voice means something.”

Lasting connections between students and teachers and a unique learning environment set Rochelle Zell apart in a competitive field of distinguished college prep high schools in Illinois. RZJHS promotes creativity and critical thinking in both Jewish studies and general studies classes, according to Roger Stein, dean of faculty. “With small classes, there’s nowhere to hide,” he joked. “Students get called on all the time.”

Bruce Scher, academic dean, said it’s also important to nurture a student’s creative side and help them find their passion. “Our students have such strong Jewish identities and, as individuals, they can go out and change the world,” he said.

Students like senior Zev Mishell of Northbrook, co-president of the school’s Model UN team of 28 students, has already discovered a passion for debate and social justice. Rochelle Zell’s team has won first place two years in a row at the national Model UN High School competition — in 2015 and again in 2016.

“We really embody the Jewish values we learned at school and what it means to be a mensch ,” he said.

Dr. Rebecca Schorsch, director of Jewish Studies, said the school’s emphasis on prayer and studying the Bible, Rabbinic texts and Jewish philosophers, supports students’ personal, spiritual journeys but, also, challenges them to “to think about community, to think about meaning, to hear each other’s sadness.”

Most RZJHS students are from nearby suburbs of Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Highland Park, and Skokie or Chicago, but senior Dafna Stofenmacher traveled all the way from Spain for an education only RZJHS can provide.

An avid volleyball player, she created friendships with students on and off the court and gradually learned what it’s like to be Jewish in America.

“I got to talk to my teachers about different perspectives about Judaism. That provided me with knowledge that I never would have gained in Spain,” said Stofenmacher, whose father is a rabbi at Comunidad Judía Masorti Bet-Ela in Madrid.

Adds Alumnus Jonah Martin Glick-Unterman, “The connections I developed with my teachers will follow me throughout life.” The Stanford University freshman said teachers at Rochelle Zell supported his decision to spend a gap year in Israel, and he still meets with them whenever he’s in town.

Whether it’s a passion for prayer, Jewish philosophy, social justice, or sports, RZJHS helps students find their niche.

Rochelle Zell Jewish High School was named in November 2015 in honor of a naming gift from the Zell Family Foundation, in memory of Rochelle Zell. The Zell gift is one of three transformative gifts that also includes significant gifts from the Crown Family and from the Harvey L. Miller Supporting Foundation. The Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago partnered with the school to obtain these gifts through JUF/Federation’s Centennial Campaign.

Jennifer Brody is a former associate editor at JUF News and a freelance writer living in Chicago.