August 13, 2004/Av 26 5763, Vol. 55, No. 47
Letters to the EditorAugust 13, 2004
Scholarship funds matterEditor:I read with delight the front-page article "Day schools move, grow" (Jewish News, July 30), about the growth of Jewish day-school education the Phoenix metropolitan area. Nearly 600 children will be attending Jewish day schools this year. It takes a huge commitment from the families, the schools and the community to make this investment in the future of our children. What is most astonishing about the numbers is the part that the Jewish Community Day School Scholarship Fund plays in this incredible achievement. During the 2004-2005 school year, nearly half the 600 children attending our Jewish day schools will be receiving scholarship help from the scholarship fund. While the final adjustments are still in process, it appears that approximately 280 children will get scholarships ranging from 35 to 70 percent of tuition costs. The vast majority would be unable to attend Jewish day school without help from the fund. We accomplish this with support from only 5 percent of the Jewish households in the metropolitan area. Imagine what we could do with more participation. The State of Arizona tax law allows a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to $625 for a married couple and up to $500 for a single taxpayer when the dollars go to support a private school scholarship organization. In other words, we each can reduce our current-year state taxes by $1 for every $1 we pay to the scholarship tuition organization. It costs us nothing to enable our community to provide scholarships to our children for a private Jewish day school education. Additionally, we can take tax credits for supporting public school programs and programs for the working poor. It's a no-brainer. Perhaps next year the Jewish News will be writing about 1,000 children attending Jewish day schools in the Valley. When more of us support the scholarship fund, we can do just that. Mark J. Schwartz, chairman Jewish Community Day School Scholarship Fund Scottsdale Learning in an 'isn't just Jewish' worldEditor:I read with incredible interest Sarah Delaney's "Learning in a world that isn't just Jewish" (Jewish News, July 30) and her premise that many Jewish students not only learn, but thrive, in non-Jewish schools such as Arcadia High School, Brophy Jesuit College Preparatory and Xavier College Preparatory. Why my interest? I'm not Jewish. I imagine I could be an instructor at Arcadia and perhaps at Brophy or Xavier, although I don't happen to be Catholic. Yet I choose to be part of the teaching and learning environment at The Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School. I teach with a staff that is a nearly even mix of Jewish and non-Jewish instructors. The non-Jewish staff members have in common a vital love of teaching and a profound respect for the Jewish faith. When Delaney writes of the concern of some parents and children for maintaining their faith in Judaism at these schools, I simply have to wonder: Why bother? Jess Schwartz offers a rigorous college preparatory slate of classes, a catalytic group of educators, and complete courses in Judaic studies and Hebrew from rabbis and instructors I am proud to call my peers. I find this unique mix of Jewish and non-Jewish instructors, and academic and Judaic classes, provides a rich place of learning I've found nowhere else in either the public or private sector. To me, the story isn't how some Jewish students thrive in non-Jewish private schools. The real story is how Jess Schwartz offers excellence in Jewish and academic instruction with a vital mix of minds who share the same learning goals, whether those minds happen to be of the Jewish faith or not. I am very glad that Ms. Delaney feels her education experience at Xavier was an excellent one; I am only sorry that a student of her caliber was not in one of my classes at Jess Schwartz. Mahlon Coop Writing & English instructor Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School Phoenix Dennis Ross is blithe spiritEditor:Which planet has Dennis Ross been on? Apparently terrorism is not part of his experience or vocabulary. What a blithe spirit he is about the murder of thousands of Israelis in cold blood. The history I learned was that when the Romans conquered Eretz Israel, they renamed it "Palestine" as punishment for the resistance of the Hebrews. When did a group of Arabs with no real history name themselves Palestinians? Ross and his pals seem to have conveniently forgotten the original British Mandate. The so-called Palestinian entity is in chaos, with no government, no history, and plenty of Arafat-supported terrorists. With whom does Ross propose a democratic leader negotiate, the terrorists? Clara Blum Sun City West
|
