Come Tiail,ktSlwp, Eat & Play
EARLY BIRD
CAFE
metro
School
Standoff from page
11
Daily Breakfast
and Lunch Specials
(248)
Open Every Day
682-3918
Open 7 Days a Week
Mon — Sat 7am-3pm
Sunday 8am — 3pm
3415 Orchard Lake Road
Keego Harbor
JAG LIGHTING, LTD.
Landscape Lighting Specialists Since 1986
Lisa Lis
Smart Eco-Friendly Solutions Providing Safety, Security and Beautification
Jerry and Joshua Goldberg
JerryCGoldberg@gmail.com
248.682.4990
Serving Oakland County, MI
Consultations by appointment
Professional Quality Installations
W
INTERSET GALLERIES
Upscale Consignment Furniture
and Home Decor
UNIQUE PIECES AT GREAT PRICES!
• Original Artwork
• Custom Framing
• New Jewelry
Like Us on Facebook
f
• Antiques
• Gift Boutique
248-681-8708
3041 Orchard Lake Road
Keego Harbor
Tell
them you
aaw tido
ad in the
Detroit
jewialt
Mon, Tues, Wed & Fri 10-5:30 • Thurs 11-5:30 • Sat 10-5 • Sun 12-3 ,!
TONE
FILMS
Tying a string around
your finger will not
help you remember
the moments.
That's our job!
248-223-9300
TONE-eFilms.com
CHAMPAGNE,
PLATINUM, OR
•`" LI 12 I
e‘winc+
What color will your
hair be this summer?
Come in for a cut and style and get
color or highlights for HALF PRICE.*
Good thru 7/31/13
The
AVE DA.
Color Room Salon
2038 Cass Lake (across from Gino's)
Keego Harbor
248-67,4.14MR" (4247)
1839660
Lug w
ury rai
OPEN 7 DAYS
Breakfast,
Lunch
& Dinner
ES TA URA N'T
Corn Beef
S andwich
Oft5D0 E-t1Z3E)GM%D73
gb:22 Day Service
cEg23BM g3MT crI
248 683-3344
3258 Orchard Lake Road
Just N of Commerce
Rest
Ov erstuffed
$5 OFF
Total bill of $30 or more.
•
aark. i Itali47=1/-
Not valid with any other offers.
Expires 7/15/13.
11111111/ "1 :1111
Ifeeop
licutor-
Sylvan
take
Both say they have repeatedly tried
to find compromises.
"Just don't have the litmus test;
don't restrict teachers from applying
who are not shomer Shabbat," she
said. "We are not telling them who to
hire; just find the best teacher."
Hannan Lis asked, "What are they
afraid of? What is the downside of
getting rid of the litmus test? We
want the school to be successful. It's
a really good school, and we think
it can be even better. They have to
be honest about their shortcomings,
evaluate and move forward."
Quality Education
FJA Head of School Grossman said,
"The thing we hear more than any-
thing else from parents is 'My kids
are happy."'
Jessica Polk of Commerce
Township (Class of 2011), however,
didn't find the school necessarily wel-
coming. She came to FJA from Hillel
Day School in Farmington Hills. She
was used to the Jewish day school
drill, to minyans and Judaic studies
classes. She was not used to the dis-
respect she experienced from some
Orthodox students.
"It happened more outside of class,"
she said. "On a fast day, I was fasting
and they said, 'What's the point, you
are Reform. Why bother?' I went to
the more Orthodox minyan; the min-
yans for Reform students were a joke.
They [Orthodox students] suggested
I leave their minyan. I prayed every
day. At minyan, you are supposed to
pray. That's what I learned at Hillel.
"I never understood why they did
what they did," Polk said. "They are
Jewish; I am Jewish. Why is what I do
wrong because of what denomination
I belong to?"
No one interviewed for this story
disputes the success or quality of the
Jewish college preparatory school. All
agree that most students are happy
and that graduates are being accepted
into top-notch universities.
"We hear feedback from kids that
they feel accepted, don't feel judged
and that the school is a welcoming
place for all different backgrounds:'
Grossman said. "We want them to
feel good about being here. We want
to be open!'
The school is attracting students.
FJA has grown from 51 students in
two grades in 2000 to 230 students in
four grades in 2013, and from using
portable classrooms in the early years
to occupying its current state-of-the-
art digs inside the JCC. Tuition, with
fees, has grown to nearly $22,000 per
student for the 2013-2014 academic
year, with 60 percent of students
receiving some financial assistance,
according to Newman.
"Our donor base represents our
student diversity, and we are as
strong as ever:' he said.
Though frustrated by policies,
Reform rabbis still support FJA.
"We don't want to hurt the students
or the school;' said Rabbi Bennett.
"We would never tell students not to
go there. We continue to sign recom-
mendation forms and to be full part-
ners. And we will continue to work
for an open partnership.
"But I wouldn't send my child to
a school where I wasn't allowed to
teach:' he said. "And there are not
other Jewish options."
One Reform parent with a son and
three stepchildren at FJA has her own
take on the school and situation.
"It's so interesting to me that, in
the end, whether you're Orthodox,
Conservative or Reform, we're all the
same religion and all want the same
thing for our kids:' said Jill Mayers
Marx of West Bloomfield.
She says she believes that not all
students come to FJA specifically for
a Jewish education. Some parents
don't like the public schools; others
like the tuition structure at FJA over
Roeper or Detroit Country Day.
Marx wants her son at FJA because
of the quality education and because
she knows the school will give him
more Jewish knowledge than he'd get
at home.
"I know someday down the road, if
my son needs to be part of a minyan,
he'll know how to do it," she said.
"I wouldn't. He'll always have that.
It's a good foundation. I'm glad he's
exposed to it, and he can choose."
She says she hears zero complain-
ing from the four teens.
"They know this is the school they
are going to and they have to abide
by its rules," she said. "At home, they
have different rules.
"We have four kids there, and all
have different levels of success. With
each one, the administration is truly
amazing. They have stepped up to
the plate. I am 100 percent happy we
made this decision and would not
have it any other way." ❑
1839220
June 27 • 2013
17