Tuition Cap Pilot Project Launched
We wish to draw GAJE members’ attention to an important announcement made this week by the UJA Federation’s Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Education. The centre has introduced a pilot program for the 2016-17 school year at The Leo Baeck Day School, North Campus and Associated Hebrew Schools in York Region. The program is dedicated to increasing access to day schools by making the tuition costs affordable.
The essence of the project is to offer a cap on tuition to families seeking day school education at these two campuses. The program is aimed at young families just now contemplating day school education for their families. Thus, eligibility for the cap on tuition is limited to families whose oldest child is entering SK in the fall of 2016.
The heart of the program will cap tuition for a family, irrespective of the number of children in that family attending the school, around 12% – 16% of gross family income, depending upon the income, for the entire time the family’s children are in elementary school (SK-8).
The full details of the pilot program are available at cjetoronto.com/cap.
We commend the Centre for launching this initiative. It marks a paradigm shift in the community’s thinking about helping to bring more students into the day school system. We need more such shifting in our approaches to making Jewish education affordable.
GAJE might differ with some of the details of the project, especially the amount of the cap. But our differences are differences of details and not of principle. We commend the initiative. It is an exploratory first step. It expresses both a determination to find solutions to the problem of affordability and the hope that young families who live in the York Region near the two participating schools will apply and sign on to the project.
Spaces at the schools are limited. We therefore urge interested families to act quickly.
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GAJE congratulates Adam Minsky. Minsky, a young veteran of communal work, was appointed last week the incoming President and CEO of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. Minsky has a proven track record of service and commitment to our community and to Jews wherever they live around the world. GAJE will assist Minsky and the Federation in whichever way we can to finally make Jewish education affordable to all who wish it for their families.
The crisis of affordability can be solved if we only resolve to do so.
And we will.
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Shabbat shalom.
GAJE
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education 