Metro

Akiva President Mark Nadel of Southfield and his wife, Ariella, editor of the school

publication, the Chronicle

Akiva Alumnus of the Year Dr. Robert Kelman of Southfield and his wife, Carolyn

Making The Grade

Akiva aims to parlay academic successes into overcoming fiscal hurdles.

Robert A. Sklar

Editor

T

he annual dinner of the Detroit
Jewish community's third-old-
est day school was a celebration
of academic accomplishments and an
acknowledgement of financial challenges.
"We've had consistency in academic
growth, which is consistent with our
message;' said Mark Nadel, president of
Yeshivat Akiva in Southfield.
Nadel addressed 500 supporters at
the 44th annual dinner of the Zionist
day school. He took the opportunity to
announce that he hoped a new president
would be in place by the start of the next
school year. He is 31/2 years into his presi-
dency, but declined to name the prospec-
tive new president.
Meanwhile, he also announced that
Rabbi Yigal Tsaidi, the longest-serving
principal in school history, will step
down at the end of the 2008-2009 school
year when his youngest son graduates.
That will mark the end of Dr. Tsaidi's
ninth year with the school.
The 310-student school has posted
a myriad of achievements this past

school year. Nadel is especially proud
of one particular success — both as a
school leader and as a parent. Two Akiva
students finished first in the North
American Region of the International
Bible Contest. Two others also placed.
North American Division first-
place winners were Akiva's Elizabeth
Goldmeier, daughter of Laurie and Dr.
Phil Goldmeier, in the High School
Division and Dovi Nadel, son of Ariella
and Mark Nadel, in the Middle School
Division. They will represent the U.S.
in the world competition of Hidon
HaTaNakh, the International Bible
Contest founded by David Ben-Gurion
in 1949. The contest is sponsored by the
Education Department of the State of
Israel.
Immediately after Pesach, Goldmeier
and Nadel will leave for Israel for three
weeks of preparation, including the study
of 416 chapters. The 60 divisional win-
ners, representing 35 countries, will take
a 50-question qualifying exam. The 16
highest scorers will participate in the
International Bible Contest final to be
held in Jerusalem on Yom HaAtzmaut,
Israel Independence Day, on May 8. The

event will be broadcast by satellite world-
wide.
Akiva's Noga Ben Ami and Jacob
Korman placed second and third, respec-
tively, in the North American Region's
Middle School Division.
"Akiva's triumph is a credit to Detroit's
Jewish community:' Nadel said.

Crunching Numbers
This school year, Akiva also hired a new
executive director, Sidney Katz, a 1987
Akiva graduate. He oversees development
and donor management and running
the business office. The former financial
consultant, property manager and litiga-
tion support professional holds a master
of business administration degree from
Wayne State University in Detroit and a
law degree from the University of Detroit.
Akiva's operating budget is $3.5 mil-
lion. Nadel calls it a shoestring with more
than 40 percent of the students receiving
financial aid. Tuition ranges from $8,500
to $11,500. Over the years, Akiva has lost
some high school students to Frankel
Jewish Academy in West Bloomfield and
also has attracted some FJA students.
Over the past 10 years, Akiva's high

school enrollment has stabilized between
45 and 57 each year.
Currently, Akiva has 55 high school
students, 18 percent of the entire enroll-
ment. Overall enrollment has increased
by a net 70 students since Rabbi Tsaidi
arrived in 2000.
"Due to the Detroit area's economic
slowdown, our scholarship requests have
increased to nearly 30 percent and we
have lost crucial donor income Katz
said. "Because of our financial con-
straints, we have had to begin painfully
weighing the costs of enrolling additional
scholarship students!'
To that end, Akiva has launched a
Sponsor A Student campaign where
donors can cover all or part of the cost of
a student's tuition. Sponsorships range
from $250 to $50,000.
"Donor development, public relations,
alumni networking, and budget tighten-
ing are all directed toward the single
goal of bolstering the financial security
of Akiva and ensuring that every quali-
fied student can be the beneficiary of an
Akiva education:' Katz said.

Making The Grade on page A24

April l7 • 2008

A23