Metro

Affiliation Shift

Hillel no longer Conservative as board votes to become a community day school.

Keri Guten Cohen
Story Development Editor

H

illel Day School of Metropolitan
Detroit's board of trustees voted
Sept. 10 in favor of becom-
ing a community Jewish day school
rather than a day school affiliated with the
Conservative movement.
The Farmington Hills school, founded
in 1958 by Conservative Rabbi Jacob
Segal of Adat Shalom Synagogue, has
550 students, the majority coming from
the Conservative movement. A little less
than 100 come from Reform families,
and about 30-40 children are Orthodox,
said Jim Berger of West Bloomfield, board
president and parent of two Hillel students
and a Hillel graduate.
The decision was not made to stimu-
late enrollment, Berger said, which has
declined somewhat because of demo-
graphics and the economy, and follows
a national trend affecting most private
schools. Hillel had 578 students in 2007-
08 and 592 students in
2006-07.
"We really want to
have the children cel-
ebrate the similarities all
Jewish children have, not
the differences based on
denominations:' he said.
"It's the concept of being
a welcome guest versus
a full family member."
Hillel has belonged to the Solomon
Schechter Day School Association of
United Synagogue of Conservative
Judaism (USG)) since the early 1970s.
"The decision before the board was
not about which support organization to
belong to; rather it was about affiliation
with a particular movement:' said Steve
Freedman, head of school.
"Should Hillel Day School operate as a
community day school or remain affiliated
with just one denomination of Judaism —
the Conservative movement? The board
will have to examine its options regarding
support organizations, but that discussion
has not taken place," he said.
Berger said a board committee will look
at possibilities.
"I hope they will continue [with the
Schechter association]; they have a long
and wonderful history with us:' said Rabbi

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September 18 • 2008

Robert Abramson, director of education
for the USCJ in New York. He was head of
Detroit's Hillel for 14 years more than two
decades ago.
Hillel has been the only Schechter-
affiliated school in Metro Detroit. With
this decision, it becomes the only com-
munity day school at the elementary level
in the city. The Frankel Jewish Academy,
a high school in West
Bloomfield, also is a
community day school.
In a Sept. 11 letter to
parents, Freedman said,
"We remain proudly
committed to our core
Jewish values that have
always characterized
Steve
Hillel
and our grounding
Freedman
in Jewish law."
He also assured fami-
lies that expectations and policies regard-
ing kashrut, Shabbat, admission policy
(matrilineal descent), time devoted to
Judaic and general studies and dress code
will not change.
"In a school steeped in core Jewish val-
ues and guided by Jewish law;' Freedman
said, "Hillel promotes tolerance, inclusive-
ness and respect for all Jews, as we share a
common fate. The shift in affiliation better
reflects who Hillel is."
The shift also parallels the trans-
denominational trend now happening in
America.
"Because of the rise of the community
day school network, schools see there is a
way to convey this trans-denominational
message said Dr. Elaine Cohen, USCJ
associate director of education. "We think
it's good for children to be grounded, but
for a school to still be open and serve a
wide community. In the contemporary
Jewish scene, this trans-denomination is
something we are definitely noting."

Evolution Of Change
In January, a re-accreditation process
conducted by ISACS (Independent Schools
Association of the Central States) began.
The board decided Hillel's affiliation
should be reviewed concurrently with its
mission statement.
A board subcommittee examined the
mission statement, which led to discussion
of changing affiliation from Conservative
to a community day school, Berger said.

In the following months, the board
studied the issue of affiliation, receiv-
ing input from parents, clergy, donors,
a PEJE (Partnership for Excellence in
Jewish Education) consultant, RAVSAK
(the organization supporting community
Jewish day schools) and the Conservative
movement.
Six informational meetings also were
held for Hillel parents. Berger said a total
of about 35 parents attended.
"Some parents are very comfortable;
some are having a hard time with it,"
Berger said. "Some parents know the
school is a great school and will continue
to be a great school."
Inclusiveness emerged as a dominant
theme.
"First of all, I would be sad to think that
[any] families that go to Hillel have felt
unwelcome or second class because I don't
think that's what Hillel is all about in my
experience," said Dr. Jeffrey Lupovitch of
West Bloomfield, whose family has a long
history with the school. He and his three
siblings are graduates of Hillel, and two of
his four young children are there now The
family belongs to Adat Shalom Synagogue
in Farmington Hills and to the Sara and
Morris Tugman Bais Chabad Torah Center
in West Bloomfield.
"A broad spectrum of families has made
a home there over the
years — some more
observant, some less. I
hope it's been welcoming
already over the years.
So if that's the case, this
change might have very
little impact at all."
Still, he says he wor-
Jeffrey
ries that if the school
Lupovitch
shifts left or right along
the spectrum, it might
shift in a way that no longer suits his or
others' needs.
"There is a lot of uncertainty," said
Lupovitch, who attended an informational
session, as did his wife, Dr. Alissa Citron.
"My impression is that people are not clear
on what drove this change and who drove
the change and why.
"If there are litmus test issues people
feel passionate about, then affiliation with
a movement allows a framework to articu-
late its policies:' he said. "Now, each of the
movements can be the framework, then it

will be difficult to justify why a particular
position is the school's on any given issue."
Citron said, "I was surprised and disap-
pointed with the decision. We are unsure
about implications for the future, but we
do have a lot of faith in the headmaster
and people on the board. Hillel is still the
right place for our kids; we're just trusting
this is a good decision despite our con-
cerns and unanswered questions."
Board member Susan Knoppow of
Huntington Woods has two children at
with a preschooler on the way.
"I am very much in favor of the deci-
sion," she said, speaking strictly as a par-
ent. "I really believe a school is different
from a synagogue. I am happy about this
because I don't think the denominational
divides belong in school. Hillel has been
very inclusive, and I'm thrilled my kids
are in school with Conservative, Reform
and Orthodox children. I want my kids to
know they belong to a vibrant, larger corn-
munity.
"I think others in
the community should
consider Hillel, and
they may not be look-
ing because they think
the school may not be
right for them. There
is a sense — and I feel
Susan
it a little bit — that
Knoppow
there are certain rules
and they belong to the
Conservative movement, not their move-
ment.
"Those values we represent are Jewish
values, may be expressed in a more cen-
trist Conservative way, but I believe we can
teach theses values in the school setting to
everyone. I think we do it now; we can do
it even better, more consciously and more
inclusively.
"Nothing was particularly broken that
needed to be fixed," Knoppow said. "Hillel
is healthy and in great shape. It's exciting
to be looking forward, at the forefront of
something.
"As a parent, I'm excited because this
presents great potential for my children
and our community. I trust it's the right
thing and believe that very strongly. I love
Hillel. My children are happy. We've had a
wonderful experience and look forward to
even better."

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