Ten Years At Kadima...

Yesterday, my son began eighth grade at Kadima. He also began his tenth year at Kadima.

A decade is a lot.

In fact, it is probably the longest he will ever be at a single institution of learning in his life. It means that Kadima's influence will cast a long shadow on who he is, and what he becomes. When I spoke with the teachers before school, I pointed out that they have a huge influence upon their students; indeed, Kadima--its people, its environment, its ways of teaching--will influence my son for the rest of his life.

Nine years ago, when we decided to send our son to Kadima, we did so because we believed that the best way for him to become a learned, serious, committed and educated Jewish adult--and ultimately to have the best chance to live a life of Jewish meaning and not just cultural affiliation--was for him to possess a deep foundation of Jewish learning. The only way he could get this was at a Jewish private school.

This is because while we were comfortable that we could provide our son with a commitment to Jewish living--through our own family's involvement in synagogue, and his involvement in Camp Ramah and USY--what we could not do is provide him with a rich, deep and meaningful Jewish education that would, in the end, provide him with additional intellectual and spiritual tools so he could fully participate in Jewish and secular life at whatever level he ultimately chooses. The reality is that without a foundational Jewish foundation, it is more difficult (although by no means impossible, as people do obtain this knowledge later in life) for a lay person to live an intellectually rich Jewish life. Simply put, with a Jewish private school education, my son will have an easier time participating in Jewish life at a much deeper intellectual level than someone who does not have a foundational Jewish education. And, we hope, that this will give him the best chance of choosing, when he is an adult, the path to a learned, meaningful, and perhaps even influential Jewish life.

This is why we chose Kadima. There are many good Jewish Day Schools. There are many good secular private schools. There are, however, few non-Orthodox Jewish Day Schools that seek to provide a Judaic Studies program that includes not only holidays, traditions, and culture (and there is nothing wrong with schools that focus solely upon traditions and culture), but that also teach Judaic Studies as both an academic subject and a religious subject to its students. Kadima has always had this mission; it continues to work hard to meet it.

In a year, my son will leave Kadima and go to another school. Yet the foundation of both Jewish and secular learning will remain within him; we hope that this learning--and the Jewish values of learning, prayer, and kindness (torah, avodah, geilut chasadim) that he has been taught to study and embrace will help him set a Jewish course as he faces the myriad of pressures, choices, and wonder that will be High School--and the rest of his life.

The School Year Begins...

This past summer, the livin' was not easy. I was extremely busy with my day job, and so I wasn't able to opine or pontificate as much as usual on Kadima, day school education and other matters. So there was little time to write blog entries.

Tomorrow is the first day of school, and like the first day of Spring, it is on the first day of school that hope springs eternal. The shoes are new, the papers blank, and the clothes unruffled. Everyone still has the potential for straight As and to become the starting quarterback. For everyone, it is the time when we all start anew, and commit ourselves to a year of learning, friendship, community and growth.

It's the same for Board members. Yesterday, the Board of Trustees had its retreat, and unlike a year ago, where the theme was "Ch-changes..." the theme this year was "Forward to Greatness." We discussed how over the past year--a year of change, of upheaval, and of renewed commitment--we had firmly and unequivocally established a foundation for Kadima's continued excellence into the future. We heard remarkable presentations from Bill Cohen, Kristi Combs and Michal Yalovsky about their plans for the year, and everyone was just agog with excitement.

Ms. Combs, our General Studies Principal, detailed her plan for ensuring excellence in our secular educational program. Ms. Combs described how we will be monitoring our program so we know that our program is working and that our kids are achieving the best they can achieve. Ms. Combs made clear that for her, educational excellence is a continuing process. We will not rely upon our reputation or our perceived strengths; we will consistently review our ourselves and our efforts so we know that our program is outstanding and so we can prove it to our community. Ms. Combs recognized that this is hard work; but if we want to continue to ensure that Kadima's educational product maintains its value, we must remain vigilant.

Ms. Yalovsky was similarly impressive. She made clear that Judaic Studies is not the frosting on the educational cake at Kadima; it is part of the cake itself. Ms. Yalovsky pointed stated that our Judaic Studies program will remain professional in all respects; as a result, our kids will not only enjoy living Jewish lives; they will become learned Jews. Moreover, Ms. Yalovsky pointed out that Kadima will be refining and improving its curriculum so that the Judaic Studies portion of the program continues to be as equally meaningful, rigorous, and vibrant as the General Studies curriculum.

Finally, Bill indicated that he continues to move Kadima's master plan forward, and we continue our forty year journey of excellence in Jewish and General Studies education. His effort leading our community over the last year has been extraordinary.

This is going to be an amazing school year for Kadima and our community.

Be part of it.

Still Here, sort of.

I haven't posted because I've been busier at my day job than I have been in quite awhile. Between appellate briefs, emergency petitions and an arbitration, I've had more than enough to do just being a management employment lawyer, so the blog has suffered.

As school gets closer, please check back for updates and new blog entries.

Thanks for your patience.

Catholic School?

In discussing marketing initiatives, we've learned that a larger than you'd think number of Jewish families send their kids to Catholic schools. Catholic sponsored schools are less expensive (they generally receive funds from the local Archdiocese) and in some cases, are fairly gentle in the fervor of their religious presentation. They are respectful to other cultures and religious traditions. The thought arose as to why these families were not attending Jewish private school and what we could do to attract them to our school.

We haven't come to any conclusions, but my own view is that these families probably are not a target audience for a Jewish day school. Jewish day schools probably cost 40% more, and if a Jewish family is prepared to send their child to a Catholic school, the "Jewish" part of our program is probably not something that is compelling to them. These families could have chosen to send their children to public school or a secular independent school but made a specific choice (motivated by perhaps financial concerns, since a secular independent school is much more costly than a Catholic school) to send their children to a non-Jewish religious school. That choice, in my view, speaks volumes about their beliefs about the importance of Jewish education.

Hiatus.

I don't know if anyone is still checking this, but I've been on a bit of a hiatus as we enter summer. We're still working at Kadima, but things are bit slower now.

So be patient. Regular entries will resume soon.

A Couple of Great Days.

Last Sunday, we celebrated my son's Bar Mitzvah, and it was a wonderful day for our family. My son led the entire service, read all of the Torah portions, and led the entire community in the Hallel. It was a great advertisement for Kadima, and how a Jewish private school education--along with participation in synagogue and Camp Ramah--can help create a Jewish neshama. We were all extremely proud of Avi.

Yesterday, I started the morning by attending a celebration at Kadima wherein we dedicated the school's Torah in memory of Annalee Kaplan. The Kaplan family was there, and they saw our elementary school doven their morning prayers and sing with gusto; more importantly, they saw how their gift to the school will help our students continue their love of Torah and Jewish life. Perhaps even more importantly, the kids saw the importance of tzedakah, and how by giving charity and performing acts of kindness we can honor those whom we love.

Last evening, I attend Kadima's graduation of our eighth graders. Some of these students have been with us for a decade, and one family has put four kids in the school, and for the first time in 17 years will not be a Kadima family. The graduates were terrific; they clearly are close with each other and understand the importance of community.

And of course, on Monday, we had an Executive Committee meeting, followed by a four hour Board meeting.

It's been an exhausting, but uplifting, few days.

Proposed Board Slate.

Under the school's Bylaws, the Board elects the Board based upon a slate prepared by the Nominating Committee. Pam Teitelbaum chaired the Nominating Committee this year, her Committee has proposed the following slate, to be voted upon by the Board at its meeting on June 14.

The Officers of the School (most are serving the second year of a two year term)
Jack Sholkoff, President
Mark Teitelbaum, Executive Vice President
Brett Grauman, Vice-President, Finance
Rabbi Jay Strear, Vice President
Richard Spencer, Vice President of Trustees (to stand for election on June 14)
Pam Teitelbaum, Vice-President
Richard Abronson, Secretary
Shawn Evenhaim, Immediate Past President

The following are proposed to serve two year terms on the Board.

Suzy Bookbinder, Raz Bronstein, Eli Shetrit, Ester Vered, Katie Krause, Mike Resnick, Bronwyn Spencer, Natalie Spiewak

The following are proposed to serve a one year term on the Board.

Jackie Feldman, Rich Ross, Lina Soifer, Rabbi Richard Camras, Dave Leon, Gary Raikin.

This is a great group of people to lead Kadima into the future.