Al Ashley: Strengthening day schools

By Rachel Heller
Published on January 3, 2013

When Al Ashley first began peeking inside Los Angeles’ Jewish day schools to review their business practices, it was partly for personal reasons: He wanted to make sure his three children would get a sound education.

Worcester, Mass., synagogue, day school building seized by IRS

Published on December 24, 2012

A building housing a synagogue and Jewish day school in Worcester, a city in central Massachusetts, has been seized by the Internal Revenue Service.

Veteran generals address day school students

By Ryan Torok
Published on November 8, 2012

“Judaism, the Jewish religion and the history of the Jewish people are steeped in values,” said retired Lt. Gen. David Fridovich, who also served in the U.S. Army as a Green Beret. Addressing a crowd of elementary and middle school students from Sinai Akiba Academy and Brawerman Elementary School, Fridovich explained how Jewish values helped him succeed in the armed forces.

Gifted diaspora teens

Published on November 8, 2012

Growing up in Los Angeles, Asaf Shasha, then 16, had everything a teenager could want: a loving family, good friends and a comfortable home. Still, Shasha couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to life than the fancy gadgets prized by the kids at his Jewish day school.

Reimagining religious school

Published on November 8, 2012

From my first interview at Temple Israel of Hollywood (TIOH) in 2009, when the search committee declared, “We want revolution, not evolution!” to the visioning work I do with families today, my purpose at the congregation has been clear: to help families build deeper relationships to Jewish community, Jewish living and Jewish learning.

Day school affordability

By Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz
Published on November 8, 2012

In religious Jewish communities, the affordability of day schools is one of the most discussed social challenges. Supporting vibrant, successful, viable Jewish day schools is no less than supporting the Jewish future — our children are our future, and the values we demonstrate and pass on will determine what they will do with the torch when they are its bearers.

Jewish day school apologizes to child sex abuse victims

Published on August 22, 2012

The Orthodox Jewish school in Melbourne embroiled in a child sex abuse scandal apologized "unreservedly" to the victims.

Letters to the Editor: Gun control, Israel, kosher food at Jewish day schools

Published on August 15, 2012

MATCH to donate $9M to Jewish day schools

Published on July 11, 2012

The MATCH program will hold its fourth launch this August to encourage expanding the donor base for Jewish day schools.

Technology leading the way to lower-cost day school education

Published on March 29, 2012

The nondenominational Pre-Collegiate Learning Center of New Jersey doesn't have a math teacher. The East Brunswick school instead relies on experienced math tutors who help students work through an online math curriculum relying on outside sources.

My Jewish Life

By Ilana Angel
Published on January 23, 2012

Opinion: On the money

By David Suissa
Published on December 22, 2011

What do you do when you run out of money? When you’re about to be evicted from your home, or having trouble feeding your kids, or simply can’t afford the basic necessities of life? What happens, also, when you can’t afford certain things you consider crucial — like sending your children to a Jewish day school?

Oakland day school raises $1 million in 10 months

Published on October 4, 2011

The Oakland Hebrew Day School in California has raised $1 million in 10 months to match a grant from an anonymous donor.

Opinion: Make day school affordability a priority

Published on August 31, 2011

One of the most daunting challenges facing Jewish communities in North America is the high cost of living an Orthodox lifestyle.

I’m a believer

By Rob Eshman
Published on June 8, 2011

I was a Jewish school skeptic. When it was time to send our first child, our son, to school, my wife, a rabbi, insisted it be a Jewish school. I wondered, like a lot of parents, whether the quality of the education would be so superior to the local public school, or a similarly priced private school. I worried that he wouldn’t get the diverse social exposure pubic school provided. I doubted a school that divides its day between Jewish and general studies could excel at either.

Toledo’s only day school closing

Published on May 31, 2011

The only Jewish day school in Toledo, Ohio, is closing at the end of the school year due to a lack of enrollment. The David S. Stone Hebrew Academy will shut down when the school year ends next week, the Toledo Blade reported.

Day school headmaster seriously hurt in Buenos Aires attack

Published on May 10, 2011

The headmaster of an Orthodox Jewish day school in Buenos Aires was attacked as he left the school. Moshe Cohen, director of Heichal Hatora, was hit in the head with an iron bar Monday as his assailant shouted "Jew, Jew." Cohen was hospitalized with a serious head injury. The attacker was arrested.

Baltimore’s Yeshivat Rambam day school announces closing

Published on May 9, 2011

A Baltimore Jewish day school will close at the end of this school year. Yeshivat Rambam, which opened about 20 years ago and taught according to the Modern Orthodox philosophy of Torah U'Maddah, or Torah and secular knowledge, will shut down in June, it announced in a statement Sunday night, the Baltimore Jewish Times reported.

Conference confronts day school future

By Julie Gruenbaum Fax
Published on February 8, 2011

What was so remarkable about the diversity of the 625 educators gathered at the North American Jewish Day School Conference at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Feb. 6-8 was that the diversity was unremarkable

Budget crunch forcing schools to cut, become creative

Published on September 8, 2009

Rabbi Samuel Levine has a problem -- and it’s echoing throughout the Jewish day school world.

$10 million in scholarships helps day school flourish

Published on October 31, 2008

The start of the new academic year at Irvine's Tarbut V'Torah Community Day School (TVT) ushered in what could be a new era in its outreach to Orange County's Jewish community.

It’s hard to find good day school leaders these days

By Jacob Berkman
Published on October 26, 2006

A dearth of leadership talent is wreaking havoc on the Jewish day school system as schools find it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain qualified heads.

American Jews are learned in everything—except Jewish texts

By Rabbi Yosef Liebowitz
Published on October 19, 2006

The American Jewish community is one of the most learned and sophisticated communities in Jewish history - in everything except Jewish texts. As Jews, we are illiterate.

Retaining Educators No Easy Assignment

By Chanan Tigay
Published on August 25, 2005

Last year, Deena Messinger considered leaving her job as a kindergarten teacher at Sinai Akiva Academy in Westwood to teach at a secular private school or a public school.

Location Isn’t Everything

By Julie G Fax
Published on January 6, 2005

Several times during my visit with Rabbi Karmi Gross at Maimonides Academy, coaches and kids came to pull balls out of the corner of his tiny office in a prefab building smack in the middle of the schoolyard.

The $45 Million Question

By Julie G Fax
Published on November 18, 2004

As soon as word spread about last month's $45 million gift to Jewish day schools in Boston, one question arose for parents and educators around the city: What about Los Angeles?

No Jewish Child Left Behind

By George D. Hanus
Published on November 13, 2003

Amid the troubling statistics of the 2000 National Jewish Population Survey, there is one genuinely positive trend. The percentage of children in Jewish day schools is the highest it's ever been. Twenty-nine percent of Jewish children today have attended a day school at some point.

Many Jewish parents have recognized that a day school education can give their kids the strong identity and sense of rootedness that they need to navigate an increasingly complex world.

Teacher Shortage

By Andrea Adelson
Published on June 6, 2002

There is no summertime lull at schools for Jewish education.

Even as day campers toting towel-stuffed beach bags invade day schools and synagogue religious classrooms, administrators are spending their summer scrambling to fill staff vacancies for September, at a time when qualified Judaic and Hebrew instructors are difficult to find.

The shortage stems from an increasing demand statewide for public school teachers, a shift in Israel's economy and what some suggest is a failure of planning by Reform and Conservative movements.

A Lesson Plan From Israel

By Diane Arieff
Published on October 26, 2000

In our hardwired global village, the old curse "May you live in interesting times," has particular resonance. For local educators, the recent clashes between Israelis and Palestinians have made these past few weeks interesting times indeed. As events continue to unfold thousands of miles away, the conflict has been an ongoing topic in Southern California's Jewish day schools.

Chabad’s Shofar Factory…It’s a Blast

Published on August 28, 1997

Quick, what's a kosher animal with horns that can be used to makea shofar?

Uh, well, everyone knows the answer to that. A ram, right?

OK. Right. But name another kosher animal with horns good formaking a shofar.

Bzzzzzz! Your time is up.

But the several thousand Los Angeles-area day- and Hebrew-schoolchildren participating in Chabad's Traveling Shofar Factory know theanswer: The long, spiraling horns of the male kudu, a type of Africanantelope, are often used to make the shofarim employed in Sephardicsynagogues.