SOLOMON
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COMPANY
day schools, but not across the board.
ow-
and centrist Orthodox, is down by 9
percent from 1993-94. However,
Akiva's principal, Rabbi Karmi Gross,
notes that enrollment has been erratic
throughout the school's history. He
attributes the fluctuations to families
leaving Detroit or making aliyah to
Israel along with the departure of stu-
dents unable to handle the demands of
Akiva's dual secular and Judaic curricu-
lum. All Jewish day schools combine
Judaic studies with secular studies.
Past enrollment figures for Hebrew
Day School and the numerous
Lubavitch schools in the area were not
available, but leaders with the Lubavitch
Foundation of Michigan say enrollment
has been relatively stable over the past
five years, with a larger than usual
increase this year stemming from the
expansion of its girls' high school,
Beis Chaya Mushka.
Jewish Federation.of
Metropolitan
Detroit allocations to
Notes:
individual
day
schools do not nec-
*For Beth Yehudah and Darchei Torah,
essarily
mirror
enrollment trends.
the boys' school goes through eighth
Darchei
Torah,
which has enjoyed
grade, while the girls' school goes through
the
most
dramatic
growth, receives
high school. Because its girls' high school
no
allocation
while
Akiva has seen
opened with a 9th grade class in '97-98,
its
allocation
grow
by
26 percent in
Darchei Torah only currently goes
the past two years. In the past two
through 10th grades. Figures for each
years, Federation allocations to day
institution include combined girls' and
schools have increased by 22 per-
boys' school enrollment.
cent and total Federation alloca-
tions for Jewish education have
increased by 27 percent.
In addition to annual alloca-
tions, the United Jewish
Notes:
Foundation of Metropolitan
*At Akiva Hebrew Day School and
Detroit (the Federation's banking
Hebrew Day School of Ann Arbor, par-
and real estate arm) provides
ents are also expected to make additional
grants and loans to day schools.
contributions to the school, depending on
While no comprehensive data
their income level. Akiva, Hebrew Day
exists, anecdotal information sug-
School and Hillel Day School also require
gests Jewish day school enrollment
parents to volunteer their time for fund-
is on the rise throughout the coun-
raising and/or other school activities.
try, said Leora Isaacs, of the Jewish
Education Service of North
**Hebrew Day School allocations come
America.
from the Jewish Federation of Washtenaw
"More day schools are opening
County. Federation allocations for other
and many existing ones are
schools come from the Jewish Federation
expanding grades," said Isaacs,
of Metropolitan Detroit.
who is JESNA's director of
research and evaluation. "There is
***Hillel Day School's two-tier system of
also a more positive climate of
tuition is determined on the basis of fami-
opinion regarding Jewish day
ly income. Several schools also offer
school education, and people are
tuition discounts depending on the num-
talking about them more than
ber of children a family enrolls.
they have before."
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may not sound dramatic, over the past
five years most day schools — except
for Akiva and the Lubavitch schools—
have enjoyed considerable growth.
Growth is particularly significant in
two non-Zionist Orthodox schools:
Darchei Torah and Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah, each of which offers elemen-
tary schools for boys and girls along
with a girls' high school.
Darchei Torah is up by 65 percent
from 1993-94, while Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah has grown by 34 percent in
the past five years. Yeshiva Gedolah, a
non-Zionist boys' high school, is up
by 17 percent and the Conservative
Hillel has grown by 13 percent.
In contrast, Akiva, which is Zionist
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9/25
1998
Detroit Jewish News
19