Realizing the possibilitiesEditorialWhat if every Jewish child who desired a day school education received one?At worst, we might end up with a generation of literate Jews steeped in text and tradition; at best we might end up with a generation of passionate Jews, living Jewishly and raising yet another generation of knowledgeable Jewish children. Day schools, increasingly popular nationwide as a hedge against assimilation, offer the obvious benefit of intensive Jewish learning combined with rigorous academics in a nurturing atmosphere. But day school education can be outrageously expensive, and hefty price tags deter lots of families from pursuing the option. Recent action by the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix reflects a heightened commitment to making day school education more affordable, and more widely available, by earmarking communal funds for scholarships and engendering a supportive environment that will spawn new endeavors. Base allocations to the federation's constituent agencies, as well as program grants for initiatives partnering with other Jewish communal organizations and congregations, are evidence of this focus. Each of five Jewish educational institutions received a $5,000 stipend reserved solely for scholarships. Other grants were awarded to enhance educational quality, including $9,000 to Solomon Schechter Day School to develop music and science curricula; $8,000 to Tri City Jewish Community Center to expand its existing preschool into the primary grades; and $12,000 to Phoenix Hebrew Academy to better meet the needs of its Russian students; and $5,000 to Temple Solel for day school outreach. Plans for a proposed transdenominational Jewish high school continue, and Chabad Lubavitch will open an Orthodox high school this fall. New preschools at Reform Temple Beth Israel and Conservative Har Zion Congregation, often a pipeline into day schools, attracted record numbers this year, and Reform Temple Solel's day school has plans to expand. Day school education may not be a panacea for all that ails American Jewry today. But it does provide exciting possibilities for inspiring meaningful Jewish life |