would definitely Ix more scholarships
necessary — it's just that those fami-
lies who can't afford it keep their chil-
dren home."
In San Francisco, "the federation
does provide scholarships to Jewish
Community Centers who, in turn,
provide scholarships to parents," a
JECEP member wrote. But the e-mail
continued, "As far as I know, there is
no direct scholarship set aside for early
childhood education, except for recent
immigrants.
According to another e-mail, a syna-
gogue in Vallejo, Calif, is offering free
pre-kindergarten and kindergarten this
year "to encourage parents to enroll
their small children, and the teacher
— actually myself and a friend who is
Russian — are teaching this without
pay."

The Bottom Of The Barrel?

Early childhood specialist Dr. Joan
Lessen Firestone, secretary of
Federation's Alliance, said tuition at
Jewish preschools averages about 25
percent higher than tuition at other
private schools.
"There are a variety of reasons," she
said. "Frankly, one of the big reasons is
a lot of the money from the preschool
is going to the general synagogue pro-
gram to support their general budget.
"They are between a rock and a
hard place — synagogues don't have a
lot of extra money"
One place the tuition is not going is
to line the pockets of preschool teach-
ers.
According to a survey done by
Federation's Alliance in 2000, pre-
sch o
- ol teachers in the Jewish commu-
nity who work full time earn an ver-
age of about $16,000 a year, Firestone
said. (Related story: Earning A Living

Jewish Community of Metro Detroit Nursery School Teachers
Jewish Education

Vg:;;,,W, • • • ,,,"

Wage," page 24.)

18-34

35-54

55-65

65+

Jewish Community of Metro Detroit Nursery Schoopl Teachers
Age Span

model Shabbat at school, they become
excited about having it at home. Then,
if they have a Shabbat dinner at home,
they are familiar with it from school
and can contribute to it."
Parents of preschoolers are receptive
to the possibility of shaping the Jewish
environment in the home, Wolfson
said.
"The problem we have is Jewish

preschools are expensive. If there's any
possible way the Jewish community
can provide scholarships, I believe they
will get a huge return on their invest-
ment," he said.
Firestone was optimistic that
Federation would eventually find a
way to make Jewish early childhood
education more affordable.
Two of the most pressing issues are

teachers' salaries and preschool schol-
arships, she said, "and the one the
community can easily move on is
scholarships.
"If you have $100,000, it isn't going
to make much difference to salaries,
but it could make a big difference in
scholarships — $2,000 for 50 chil-
dren." ❑

100Z

Source: Federation's Alliance for Jewish Education

YU R • CaVIAA

Increasingly, parents find they can-
not afford Jewish preschools, and
teachers find they can barely afford to
reach at them.
"It's out first opportunity to grab
people and we treat it like the bottom
of the barrel," said Dr. Ronald
Wolfson, director of the Whizin
Center for the Jewish Future at the
University of Judaism in Los Angeles.
A consultant for Federation's
Alliance, Wolfson also is co-founder of
the Synagogue 2000 program, which
works to revitalize synagogues and
temples.
"All the evidence shows Jewish pre-
school is absolutely the best start any
child can have toward a Jewish identi-
ty," he said. "When a child goes to a

