Move in S ecials to our atilt i t. different movements. In the wake of what is now recog- nized as a tuition crisis in the day school movement, many of the col- laborations focused on finding new sources of funding. "The cost of Jewish education has been growing faster than income for a very long time said Nathan Lindenbaum, a trustee at the Moriah School in Englewood, N.J., and Yeshivat Noam in Paramus, N.J., dur- ing a first-day session on community collaboration. "We believe the current model is not sustainable. It's impact- ing across denominations." Matter Of Funding Lindenbaum introduced session participants to Jewish Education For Generations, a group of northern New Jersey rabbis and educators represent- ing the Orthodox and Conservative day schools in the area who banded together to create alternative funding. One result is Northern New Jersey Kehillot Investing in Day Schools, commonly referred to as the Kehillah Fund. The group collects donations through its Web site, nnjkids.org . It has made one distribution to each of the area's eight elementary day schools and intends to continue distributing funds quarterly. "Our fundamental belief is there is nothing wrong with our educational model: Lindenbaum said. "Our edu- cational model is wonderful. What's wrong is our funding model." Working Together Also on the panel were Uri Cohen, director of development at the Solomon Schechter School Manhattan, and Elaine Suchow, director of development and coordinator of the Tri-State Consortium at the Solomon Schechter School of Queens. The consortium brought together area Schechter schools for a joint brand- ing campaign, the first such effort at cooperation. "In the landscape of day schools, collaboration is not assumed:' Cohen said. "There's not an expectation that the schools work together, so any col- laborations at any level is a step in the right direction." The tuition crisis was the "subtext" for the entire conference, said Moriah School principal Elliot Prager, but the event should become a model for future collaboration among the move- ments. The day school community as a whole has shifted its focus in the past two years from innovation to simply remaining viable, he added, and that is a major challenge for everyone. "Each movement may have its own visions and its own priorities;' he said, "but ultimately we're all guided by the same goal and ideal of ensuring the future of the Jewish people." "Working across the denominations is a wonderful success and break- through:' Rabbi Jonathan Knapp, prin- cipal of Yavneh Academy in Paramus, told The Jewish Standard. "We are all jointly invested in Jewish continu- ity. It's exciting [to have everybody together]." Others echoed Knapp's sentiments. "It's incredible that we have all these different networks coming together:' said Susan Weintrob, head of school of the Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School in Foster City, Calif. "We find we have a lot of com- mon ground. We have a diversity of ideas." Scope Of Sharing Ariella Allen, Judaic coordinator at Yeshiva Atlanta, said that upon her return, she would begin looking into new technologies she learned about at the conference, such as video confer- encing between classrooms in differ- ent regions. The conference was "a great oppor- tunity to learn from one another;' she said. "We have excellent educators all over the field. People have been more than willing to put aside their differ- ences and gain from what everyone has to offer." Nellie Harris, upper school prin- cipal of the Solomon Schechter Day School of Westchester in New York, said she was particularly interested in the conference's theme of how Jewish education will adapt to the 21st century. She called the confer- ence "a balance between theory and practice as educators figure out how to move forward. "There was an opportunity for us to not only talk about those skills, but also what is unique about Jewish day schools:' she said. A decision on whether to repeat the conference is still far off, Kramer said, adding, "We are leaving open the door to all the possibilities." Renee Salzberg of the Hebrew Day Institute in Baltimore said she hoped the conference would lead to more col- laboration. "It's a great beginning;' she said. El Silverbrooke Vi a :3 bedroom pith garage starting at SI,C40 bedroom with garage 2 Security Deposit Reduced at starting at $885 Silverbrooke Villa SpaciousW Bloomfield homes with private entrances Eagle Pond Patios/Balconies Townhouses Call Private entrances A Walled Lake community Sports Courts for designed for families Playground bedrooms starting a) 5 825 monthly 2 248-255-3529 Pet Friendly specials! 3 bedrooms starting $930 Patios/Balconies Private Entrances Apartments gladly shown at Sports Courts your convenience. 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