Held Back If you think the name is different... ...wait 'til you see the store. ZYZYX! On The Boardwalk in West Bloomfield Opening in October ORDERS TAKEN FOR YOUR HIGH HOLIDAYS CHALLAH Fresh Baked Daily On Our Premises ASK ABOUT OUR GIFT BASKETS, FILLED WITH BREADS, COOKIES, MUFFINS, MANDELBREAD AND JAMS TA E 10/3 1997 14 c.P. 5 ,0 See Our Complete Line Of Muffins (Fat Free or Low Fat) DAKOTA BREAD COMPANY (248) 626-9110 6879 Orchard Lake Road, Boardwalk West Bloomfield 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—/ --\