Tae

a ita lori

With a capital
campaign
wrapping up,
Hillel Day School
celebrates the
commitment of
families to redo
and expand their
building.

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR

STAFF WRITER

DANIEL LIPPITT

PHOTOGRAPHER

p

little more than two years after Above: Carpeting in the
the announcement of an $11-mi1- hallways reduces noise
lion capital campaign to expand during busy class
Aan d renovate, Hillel Day School changes.
is planning a dedication of its Farming-
Right: The new media
ton Hills campus next month.
center is the site of many
In a celebration to honor the 200 fam- a story hour for the
ilies who donated funds to the campaign, younger set.
the dedication, slated for 11 a.m. Sun-
day, Nov. 24, will feature the hanging of Far right: Students play
mezuzot and guided tours of the new fa- in the new gym at Hillel
Day School.
cilities.
"This school dedication is a thank-you
to all of the families in the community," said year. While total
enrollment
school president Dr. Marcy Borofsky.
But while construction workers are long climbed to 690
gone and the students have been in the from 670 last
classrooms since the beginning of the school year, the kinder-
year, campaign workers continue to toil, at- garten's enroll-
tempting to find the remaining $1.4 million ment dropped
five students, from 57 to 53.
left to reach the goal.
A committee is studying the drop to see
The construction and renovation cost of
$8 million has already been met; the re- if it is part of a larger population shift. In
mainder will go toward enhancing the addition, the committee is looking into new
ways to attract students at the kindergarten
school's endowment fund.
"We hope to wrap up the campaign in the level, including examining the tuition for
next few months," said Midge Stulberg, Hil- kindergarten, which is currently $7,150.
"We are studying a different pay struc-
lel's director of development.
A remaining stumbling point is the de- ture," Dr. Borofsky said. "We know there is
a cost pressure in kindergarten."
cline in enrollment in the kindergarten this

Parents have also formed an informal
group to study the possibility of adding
high-school grades. -
Jeff Garden, the head of the high-school
group, said interested parties are learn-
ing what it takes to build such a school.
They hope to report their findings within
the next year.
"There are a group of parents that are
doing primarily some fact finding," he said.
"We are talking to schoolsthat have been

longstanding, just trying to find out what
some of the key elements are for a suc-
cessful school." El