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selves," says Robert Case,
supervisor of pupil services
for the Southfield school
district. "It is unfortunate
that perception for some
people becomes a reality. It
is an advantage to be in an
integrated place.
"That is the way of the
world," Case says. "Just
moving to a place like Farm-
ington Hills or West Bloom-
field is no assurance that
people will have a better
climate."
Some people unable or
unwilling to move to the fur-
ther suburbs have found an-
other option in Southfield.
They have purchased homes
in the area north of Webster
Road — 121/2 Mile — which
feeds into Birmingham
schools.
As the Jewish community
there has increased in recent
years, it, too, has become
more integrated.
akland County's largest
city with nearly 6,000
businesses, including 86
Fortune 500 companies,
Southfield is financially sol-
vent. Housing values range
between $65,000 and
$250,000, and the city is con-
veniently located in the center
of the southeastern Michigan
metropolitan area.
Southfield is well repre-
sented by its Jewish
residents. Of eight city coun-
cil members, five are Jewish.
All three judges in the 46th
District Court are Jewish.
Three of seven school board
members also are Jewish.
Eli and Zelda Robinson,
residents of 23 years, are
committed to Southfield.
They plan to stay. Eli Robin-
son is president of the
Southfield City Council and
Zelda Robinson is a member
of the Southfield School
Board.
"The perception is that
people have moved," Eli
Robinson says. "People are
moving out, but Jewish peo-
ple, too, are moving in."
He cites the Neighborhood
Project, an interest-free as-
sistance program of the Fed-
eration that loans up to
$6,000 in matching funds for
downpayments on mor-
tgages. The Project aims to
enhance the vitality and
growth of the Jewish neigh-
borhoods in Southfield and
Oak Park.
0
Southfield City Council member Denise Alexander stands outside on the balcony of her dream house, which
overlooks a ravine.
To date, 329 families have
borrowed $1.5 million for
homes in the two com-
munities. Neighborhood Pro-
ject Executive Director
Rhoda Raderman says 40
percent of those who secured
loans purchased homes in
Southfield.
Raderman says the Neigh-
borhood Project has not trac-
ed movement of these
families, but loans must be
repaid if homes are sold.
Twenty-two loans have been
repaid since the program
began three years ago.
"We gave out 22 loans last
month. Is that successful?"
Raderman asks. "We ask
ourselves that question all of
the time. Are we impacting
the community? We (the
Jewish community) are no
longer located in one place.
"Our goal is to retain Jew-
ish ambiance in these
neighborhoods, not to create
another Jewish ghetto."
Zelda Robinson doesn't
understand why parents
would be concerned about
schools in a district that has
catered to its Jewish
residents and has so many
achievements.
Schools still close on Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Hebrew is still offered at
Southfield-Lathrup. The
pupil-teacher ratio is 14-to-1.
And the district spends
$7,300 per student.
"I view the ethnic diver-
sity as an opportunity to
learn about other races and
cultures," she says.
"Southfield is represent-
ative of the real world," Eli
Robinson says. "Reality is
that the world is not a
homogeneous place."
The Robinsons point to an
influx of Orthodox and
sel l uu eio Aq cnoqd
the student body being
black.
In that time, Michigan
Educational Assessment
Program scores for the
Southfield schools have re-
mained stable in reading. In
fact, reading scores for all
Southfield students have in-
creased a few percentage
points in the past four years.
During that same four-
year period, math scores for
10th grade students followed
a state trend, dropping five
percentage points — from 75
to 70 percent of the students
passing the exams. For the
fourth grade, however, 96.4
percent of the students pass-
ed the MEAP math tests.
Officials from the Jewish
Welfare Federation, who au-
thorized the recent demo-
graphic study, could not pro-
vide specific age breakdowns
for Jewish people living in
Southfield. Southfield Public
School officials could not
provide a breakdown for
Jewish students.
School officials, however,
did say they have seen a
noticeable decline in Jewish
student enrollment. It is
estimated, too, that the Jew-
ish population of Southfield
includes mostly empty
nesters whose children are
grown, seniors living in
apartments, and singles and
young couples.
Statistics from the city
manager's office show that
roughly 30 percent of the
city's residents are elderly;
11 percent are of school age.
Of those, 25 percent are
black.
Southfield schools have a
3.8 percent drop-out rate, the
lowest in Oakland County.
Eighty-six percent of
Southfield's high school
graduates last year went on
to college. In addition,
Southfield Public Schools re-
cently secured national
honors from the U.S.
Department of Education.
Southfield-Lathrup this year
was named one of 200 ex-
emplary schools in the coun-
try.
Furthermore, the National
Council of Teachers named
Southfield-Lathrup a center
of excellence. Sears Roebuck
Foundation cited Southfield-
Lathrup for being a leader in
special education.
"People like to live with
people who are like them-
The Prudential Town Center is one of Southfield's major office buildings.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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