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New Jewish high school's opening
date is postponed.
JULIE WIENER
StaffWriter
A
t the same time that many of
his Hebrew school chums
were ending their Jewish
education, Danny Nevins
plunged in.
In ninth grade, Nevins transferred
from public school to Frisch, a com-
munity Jewish day school in New
Jersey. Now he's a rabbi at Adat Shalom
in Farmington Hills, and he credits the
education for his commitment to
Judaism.
If Rabbi Nevins has his way, all
Detroit teens seeking an intensive
Jewish education under pluralistic aus-
pices may have the same opportunity
he had. For almost a year, he and 30
parents and community
leaders have been generat-
ing support for the cre-
ation of a new Jewish high
school, one which would
attract graduates of day
schools and public
schools.
"I hope the school will
draw students and faculty
from transdenominational
lines and be open to Jews
to learn in a respectful environment,"
he said.
But transforming the vision into a
functioning school will be challenging.
Without the backing of a major donor,
the Jewish high school committee is
scrambling to raise funds and find a
location (the Maple-Drake Jewish
Community Campus is the first
choice). Already the projected starting
date has been postponed from
September 1998 to fall 1999.
"We're still in the mode of gathering
seed funding, talking to [the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit]
and talking to the Jewish Community
Center," said Jeffrey Garden, chair of
the high school committee.
Although Federation has not yet
committed funds, Dr. Richard Krugel,
chair of planning and allocations, says
it is backing the proposed high school
and has assigned a subcommittee of the
education division to work with the
high school committee.
"We're supportive of the concept of
a day high school, and that probably
will be translated into some monetary
support, but at this point it's premature
to talk about [Federation funding],"
said Dr. Krugel.
Money is only one of many chal-
lenges the future high school faces. For
one thing, it will be an unknown quan-
tity which — even if it can offer gener-
ous financial aid — will have to charge
tuition and compete with top-notch,
tuition-free public schools.
"The high school years are the single
most important time to have a child in
an intensive Jewish environment —
they're peer conscious and forming
identities then," said Rabbi Nevins.
"But it's expensive ... The challenge for
a Jewish high school will
be to show the communi-
ty that we can have the
best qualified college prep
experience possible while
also increasing fluency in
Jewish studies and Jewish
living."
In addition to bring-
ing in money and stu-
dents, the high school
committee will have to
find staff at a time when Jewish educa-
tors and school administrators are in
short supply. In fact, administrators are
in such great demand that a new
Atlanta Jewish high school hired an
interim headmaster who is not Jewish.
However, new leadership may be in
the pipeline in the next few years: the
Jewish Theological Seminary's
Davidson Graduate School of Jewish
Education recently announced plans to
open a program preparing Jewish edu-
cators for top positions in day high
schools throughout the country.
Currently in the process of establish-
ing a board and incorporating, most of
the local high school committee mem-
bers are affiliated with Hillel Day
School, says Rabbi Nevins. Although
the hope is to bring in Orthodox and
Reform leadership as well, at this stage
most of the organizers are
Conservative.
And the reception from Akiva
--\
-
Wan ted:
Fun ds,
stud ents
and staff.
7—/
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