Our cause – in meaningful variation – is joined in Detroit
Earlier this month, Steve Freedman, the Head of Hillel Day School in Detroit urged his community leaders to make the beginning years of day school education free. In an article entitled “Why We Need Free Preschools”, Freedman worried out loud for the future of the Jewish community. He suggested the following to ensure the vibrancy of the community’s Jewish future.
“Many programs [focused on Jewish adolescents and young adults] already exist and have proven successful, among them Jewish day schools! These programs need to be expanded to ensure that in 20 years, the Detroit Jewish community will be as strong and as committed as it is today, supporting AIPAC, supporting Holocaust education, joyfully engaging in Jewish life, and possessing the understanding of the importance and relevance of our Jewish values like Chesed Shel Emet.
“This is a huge undertaking that requires the Jewish community, collectively, to provide opportunities for authentic Jewish learning, and positive Jewish experiences, for Jewish singles out of college, newlywed couples, and young families. To that end, I am advocating that our community find a way to offer free Jewish preschool education to all Jewish families — and in return, these families will commit to participating in meaningful and ongoing Jewish family education, and Jewish adult learning…
“The entire community, regardless of affiliation, and including Federation, must join forces to build a vibrant community for young Jewish families, and to provide their children with a Jewish early childhood education. This will hopefully lead to a more sustained and meaningful involvement of these parents and their children in the Jewish community, in Jewish education and in Jewish living.”
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To Freedman’s plea we say: “Amen. Kayn yehi ratzon.” May it be His will as well as the will of Detroit’s community leaders.
(And the will of our community leaders too.)
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The second CIJA GTA Assembly was held this past week on November 24th. The assemblies were created to receive community organizations’ input and guidance on issues affecting the community. One of the two topics discussed at the meeting was that of School Funding. GAJE attended the meeting.
We will provide a report on the discussion at the meeting in a future update.
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Shabbat shalom.
GAJE
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education 