15 KISLEV 5755/NOVEMBVER 18, 1994 Controversial Education Girls Unite Bais Yaakov hosts 435 students for a national convention. Lubavitch continue with Noah Webster Academy. JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER n Sunday morning, a group of girls at the 36th annual Bais Yaakov Convention gathered around a table, fighting the clock to solve the Hebrew puzzle before them. While focusing on text from Exodus, each girl tried to "one up" the other, a bravado of sorts over who had done the most or stayed up the latest while attending the international get-together. "I didn't get to sleep until 5:30 this morn- ing," said Shera Heyman of Los Angeles, rubbing her eyes. "I ended up getting four hours of sleep." "Yeah, well, I went to sleep at 4:30, but we wanted to play basketball at 2 a.m.," said Dassie Hochheiser of Oak Park. "I went to sleep at 4," said Blis Harrold of Miami Beach. "I am having so much fun." PHOTO BY MOSHE GOLDBARD JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER Students attend a workshop Sunday afternoon. The group was a small segment of the 435 girls who drove and flew from sever- al Canadian and American cities to attend the conference for girls who attend Bais Yaakov schools. Concurrent with the convention, 85 pro- fessionals from the 38 participating schools held an enrichment seminar. The theme of both conventions was tak- en from a Psalm which instructs, "Speak your praises in the morning and have faith in the night." Rabbi Nathaniel Lauer, education di- rector for the Sally Allan Alexander Beth Jacob School in Oak Park, said the main purpose of the annual meeting was to find a common ground on which to build the fu- ture. "Tart of it is to build camaraderie among the students," he said. "Part of it is that the schools are so far apart that this is the only time that the students are exposed to oth- er students. They learn from each other GIRLS page 8 CLOSE UP On The Carpet The academy saves Lubavitch parents between $1,000 and $1,200 a year in tuition. David Morrison's passion can get underfoot. Page 14 FOR WOMEN Six Notables Detroit activists are Zionists of Year. Page 26 Dateline Buenos Aires A Heartsick Community Struggles To Regain Its Footing JUDY OPPENHEIMER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS Story on page 68 Cook, Peace, Dali Jewish Book Fair brought a unique mix. Page 92 Contents on page 3 D espite a court ruling earlier this month that places the fu- ture of the Ionia-based Noah Webster Academy in jeop- ardy, Southfield resident Dov Berkowitz and 20 other par- ents of Lubavitch girls say they will continue to educate their daughters through the controversial home schooling network. Earlier this month, an Ingham County circuit judge declared the state's charter school law unconstitu- tional. He said it does not meet the constitutional definition of a public school and takes away the authority of the State Board of Education to su- pervise public education. The judge said the law violates a 20-year-old ban on spending public money in private schools. He also said public money can- not be used to support schools run by privately selected boards that have vague rules about accountability. The Noah Webster Academy allows parents to home-school their children, giving them the option of using mate- rial provided by the academy. Among those enrolled in the pro- gram is the daughter of Mr. Berkowitz, who said he chose to enroll her because the academy allows her to learn at her own pace and the parents like the cur- riculum provided by Noah Webster. ' Mr. Berkowitz's daughter and her classmates, all students enrolled in the Lubavitch cheder, spend several hours a day receiving their Jewish ed- ucation at the cheder in Farmington Hills. Their mornings are spent paired with classmates who have similar learning abilities, using Noah Webster materials. Afternoons are devoted to Jewish studies. David Kagan of the Lubavitch Foundation of Michigan would not say where the girls are receiving their sec- ular education and refused to let The Jewish News visit the site. Despite the public controversy over charter schools, Mr. Berkowitz said the Noah Webster Academy provides a good secular curriculum and saves him and other Lubavitch parents between LUBAVITCH page 10