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*
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LATER
from page 19
depth study; and a middle school edu-
cational support center, run by two full-
time faculty, for extra individualized
instruction.
The school received a three-year grant
from the Jewish Women's Foundation
for a series of workshops that will assist
middle school girls with developmental
issues and coping skills.
Last winter, Hillel announced a new
lateral entry program, which encour-
aged students to enter Hillel from pub-
lic school at the sixth-grade level. "We
got a few kids, and we learned quite a
bit," Freedman said.
While parents and children have
shown interest in transferring to Hillel
at middle school, last year's experience
showed that the process has to begin
earlier, he said. Hillel board member
Tammy Gorosh of West Bloomfield,
who chairs the marketing committee for
the lateral entry program, said the first
of several parlor meetings for families to
discuss lateral entry with Hillel adminis-
trators will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday,
Nov. 9.
Other changes help middle-schoolers
make their own decisions as a step
toward a healthy adulthood.
Saul Rube, Hillel's new dean of Judaic
studies, leads a tefilot (prayer) commit-
tee of eighth-grade students that has
organized a range of ceremonies.
"Now, every Tuesday we have various
minyanim [prayer sessions]: a singing
minyan, a dancing minyan, an outside
minyan, a study minyan," Freedman
said. "Tefilot have more energy and the
kids feel empowered."
Building Support
Hillel has seen a decline in enrollment
over the past few years. School opened
this year with 610 students, as com-
pared to 656 last year and 720 students
in 2002-03.
Some of this decline is demographic,
Freedman said. Lower enrollments are a
fact of life at independent schools
throughout the nation, as the number
of school-aged children declines. "We're
still one of the largest Conservative day
schools in the country," he said.
Liz Schubiner, Hillel's director of
operations, learned at a recent confer-
ence of the Independent Schools
Association of the Central States
(ISACS) that enrollments are declining
at private schools throughout the
nation. Based on figures presented at
the meeting, which was titled
"Rethinking School Finances and
Operations," the decline at Hillel is
lower than the average.
LATER om page 22
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21