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August 6, 1999/24 Av 5759, Vol. 51, No.44
Make choice viableEditorialThere is little dispute that day schools can help stem the tide of assimilation and loss of Jewish identity that is sweeping over our community.Learning in classrooms where Jewish values pervade, devotion is a daily habit and Hebrew language echoes through the halls, helps our children to feel secure in their identity and binds them to our religious and cultural heritage. The challenge is to make Jewish day schools a viable choice. And that means making them accessible, excellent and affordable. Nationally, Rabbi Joshua Elkin and his Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education are providing grant money for start-ups to bolster their numbers and quality. George Hanus' National Jewish Day School Scholarship Committee is on a mission to earmark a substantial portion of Jewish money to help defray the prohibitive tuition costs for families. And United Jewish Communities has established a task force to study the issue and create a plan of action. Locally, day-school funding through the annual UJA/federation campaign has increased significantly in recent years. A federation committee is considering ways to raise community consciousness about the value of day-school education, to fund scholarships and to address the cultural implications of parochial schooling. Which suggests another essential point: Jewish education is a Jewish communal issue, and funding should come from private sources. Support through such ingenious loopholes as Arizona's so-called tuition tax credit raises thorny constitutional questions. Jewish day schools have been educating Phoenix children for more than three decades. This month, five local Jewish day schools will be welcoming nearly 400 students for the fall term. The community has embarked on a good-faith effort to make day school education a priority. Now, we must be ready to put our money where our mouths are - with real dollars for quality schools and meaningful scholarships. After all, our children are our most precious resource. |
