Change.

In these days of change at Kadima, I want to reiterate what the Board of Trustees approved earlier this year as our Mission Statement and Core Beliefs:

Kadima Day School provides an integrated general and Judaic studies education that is comprehensive and academically challenging. Our commitment to educational excellence and Jewish tradition teaches our students to maximize their academic, social, physical and spiritual potentials. A Kadima education instills a strong sense of identity, preparedness for higher education and a commitment to responsible living guided by Jewish ethics and values.

Our Core Beliefs are:

• A modern, well-rounded curriculum that includes technology, Judaic studies, athletics and the arts instills a joy for learning beyond the walls of the classroom.
• Active learning engages students to become creative, critical, and analytical thinkers.
• Studying Jewish texts contributes to critical and analytical skills that are valuable throughout one's life.
• Understanding ritual observance, possessing a love for Israel and studying Judaism develop each student's own Jewish identity and ensures our continuity as a people.
• All knowledge is significant; everything we learn can inspire and help us along our respective paths.
• A partnership between teachers, staff, parents and the larger community provides the foundation for moral sensitivity and empathy for others, which is essential to achieving one's fullest potential.
• As graduates of a Solomon Schechter Day School, Kadima students develop their own deeper understanding of, and commitment to, Judaism. Our students create their own paths to meaningful, intellectual, sound, satisfying and productive lives.

This is not just language. It is what we are about; most importantly, it is what our Board of Trustees instructed our Head of School to accomplish.

In addition, the Board fully understood that to fulfill this vision, our school had to change the way it did business. And that change will make everyone, at some point, uncomfortable. But the Board remains committed to meeting our vision, and to assisting our Head of School in fulfilling the charge we have given to him.

None of this will be easy. But, already, we have done so much. Our school looks better, feels better, and is better than it ever has been. We know that because our enrollment is up, our retention is up, and there is excitement in the hallways.

The road may rocky at points, but we are moving forward.

And we will reach our goals.