isapi uueo sol oqd
ibo
split between Akiva, Hillel
and Yeshiva Beth Yehudah,
with no support for other Or-
thodox programs, the non-
UHS Conservative schools
or any of the burgeoning
Reform temple schools. (The
new Yavneh Academy
Reform day school received a
three-year, $140,000 start-
up grant from the Max M.
Fisher Foundation of United
Jewish Charities, the en-
dowment arm of Federation.)
"The demographics of the.
1980s and early 1990s in-
dicate that, percentage-wise,
the Agency for Jewish Edu-
cation as a hands-on
deliverer of services is deal-
ing with . a decreasing
percentage of the afternoon
and Sunday school popula-
tion," Mr. Schlussel says.
"The synagogues have
become more involved in
Jewish education, par-
ticularly in the Reform
movement," he says. "The
(Reform) temples have seen
an explosion of student-
enrollment in their primari-
ly Sunday school programs."
Mr. Schlussel says the
AJE role for the future has
not been pre-judged, despite
the recommendation of the
Tauber Commission suppor-
ting the concept of schools
with closer ties to syn-
agogues.
"There are a lot of cogent
reasons why the AJE should
continue to be Federation's
arm in this process. The
Giles Commission will look
very carefully at all these
questions," Mr. Schlussel
said.
Dr. Conrad Giles, a past
president of Federation, is
heading the committee
that will recommend, by the
end of the year, implementa-
tion of the Tauber report. He
denies critics who say the
study is "a diabolical scheme
to decrease funding. That is
the exact opposite of our
stated goal."
Mr. Schlussel says, "We
are looking to find the most
effective method to deliver
Jewish education and get
the best return for the
money we put into the pro-
cess."
Although Federation
leaders have on several oc-
casions expressed a com-
mitment to increased fun-
ding for local Jewish edu-
cation, new dollars seem
unavailable. All Detroit-
area Jewish agencies which
are Allied Jewish Campaign
recipients have been asked
to either cut back or hold the
line so that more funds can
be sent to Israel to defray the
cost of the Soviet Jewish
resettlement effort.
"Clearly there is not
enough money for all the
needs at the present time,"
Mr. Schlussel says.
0
fra Fisher came to
United Hebrew Schools
expecting to head the
72-year-old agency for six
months. In the 3 1/2 years she
has been superintendent, the
name has been changed to
Agency for Jewish Education
as a reflection of its broader
role, and Mrs. Fisher has seen
a general unease among
senior staff about their uncer-
tain future.
Many attribute Rabbi
Bruce Aft's recent decision
to leave the Community
Jewish High School for a
pulpit in Washington to that
uncertainty.
Mrs. Fisher can recite a
litany of AJE accom-
plishments during her
tenure: more teacher devel-
opment programs, increased
cooperation between all of
Detroit's Jewish schools, the
AJE Family Living Room,
DARE reading and Chai
programs, and im-
provements in the high
school and UHS programs.
Parents are not as
satisfied. Enrollment con-
tinues to drop at UHS, from
a high in the 1950s of
7,000-8,000 to 756 this year.
A dozen Conservative
parents who participated in
a Giles Commission focus
group last month included
several who had used both
UHS and other Conservative
afternoon schools. While
voicing concerns about all
the schools, they ,strongly
favored the synagogue
schools. UHS parents com-
plained about lack of
discipline in the classrooms,
lack of achievement and lack
of parental commitment.
Mrs. Fisher has concerns
as well. "We need a lab
school to try things out," she
says. "Our program won't
work if the Agency for Jew-
ish Education is just a
resource . . . And, if you
don't have your own elemen-
tary program, who will feed
into the high school pro-
gram? As excellent as it is,
will the kids come from
other schools?
"We are doing good
things," she says, "but it is
hard to keep good staff when
every Monday and Wednes-
day they hear they may not
have a job next year.
"The community has a
right, and I think it is very
positive, that they study
Jewish education," Mrs.
Fisher says. "But it is unfor-
tunate that the process is go-
ing on five years. The pa-
tient can die.
"Will they give more
money like they promised?
Will they give the money to
the congregations? Who will
care for the unaffiliated?"
The Giles Commission is
trying to answer those ques-
tions. The Jewish Educators
Council of Metropolitan
Detroit — made up of Jewish
school administrators from
all denominations — has
Above: Jennifer Granat
participates in class at Adat
Shalom UHS.
ALLOCATIONS FROM CAMPAIGN
The following are the direct allocations to
schools from the 1990 Allied Jewish Campaign:
AJE-UHS
$920,500
Akiva
$183,710
Hillel
$262,825
Yeshiva
$230,345
Yeshiva Gedolah
$18,000
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
25