Metro

Shaarey Zedek's preschool will collaborate with new Hillel venture.

For the first time and as part of a new school strategy, preschoolers will be part of the Hillel student family come fall.

Shelli Liebman Dorfman

Senior Writer

T

wo longstanding, highly
regarded, Jewish-based schools
will collaborate on a signifi-
cant, new educational endeavor for
students ages 2-4, beginning with the
upcoming school year.
One day after the Hillel Day School
of Metropolitan Detroit's board of
trustees voted to establish the Hillel
Early Childhood Center, Congregation
Shaarey Zedek of Oakland County's
(CSZ) board voted for their Beth
Hayeled early childhood education pro-
gram and its roughly 100 students to
join forces with the new preschool.
The objective is for students who
would formerly have attended the 62-
year-old CSZ program — currently
housed at the synagogue's Southfield
and West Bloomfield campuses — to
now enroll in the Hillel center.
"The board's decision is the result
of a long process of values-driven self-

reflection, program evaluation and
financial analysis," wrote CSZ President
Brian Hermelin in a Feb. 11 letter to
synagogue members.
"Indeed, like most synagogues in
our community, we are facing financial
challenges and now more than ever
need to be forward-thinking in our
approach.
"We know that we can deliver an out-
standing Jewish preschool experience
for children and their parents and, at
the same time, maintain and improve
the connection for those families (and
new ones) with our clergy and our con-
gregation."
The Farmington Hills-based Hillel
— a 500-student community day
school — has seen enrollment slowly
decline over the past 10 years.
With no CSZ kindergarten — since
the end of the 2007 school year —
Hillel's hope is for the synagogue's stu-
dents to stay on after preschool along
with youngsters from throughout the
community.

Where Will We Learn?
The new center will be in Hillel's Jean
and Sam Frankel wing; the hallway and
classrooms will be completely renovated
following the end of this school year.
The third- and fourth-grade students
who now use that wing will be relo-
cated. In addition to the new preschool,
Hillel will maintain its current three
separate divisions: kindergarten-grade
4; grades 5-6 and grades 7-8.
In a Feb. 11 letter to Hillel parents,
the school's president, Nancy Adler and
Hillel's head of school, Steve Freedman
assured: "Hillel Day School can com-
fortably accommodate the new Early
Childhood Center as well as the current
K-8 school.
"The Hillel Early Childhood Center
will have the added advantage of Hillel's
outstanding facilities, Smart Board
technology and a team of Hillel educa-
tors who will work closely with the early
childhood staff to insure that Hillel
preschoolers will have a rich, child-cen-
tered program that will prepare them

for kindergarten and beyond."
"No plans have been made, as yet, for
use of the space currently utilized by
Beth Hayeled at both CSZ campuses:'
said Larry Nemer, the synagogue's
board of trustees secretary, who has
begun a preliminary survey of the
facilities.
A search for an Early Childhood
Center director and teaching staff has
begun.
"CSZ staff may apply for the open
positions, as well as any other qualified
candidates:' Freedman said. "Our com-
mitment is to assemble the most highly
qualified early childhood educators pos-
sible."
Currently, Beth Hayeled's director is
Rena Weintraub and assistant director is
Rena Cohen.
Hillel's program will offer a flexible
schedule and tuition rates that will be
comparable to Beth Hayeled and corn-
petitive with area synagogue schools

Opportunity on page 10

February 25 ' 2010

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