Cancer Thrivers Network for Jewish Women
presents

Fr om Oy
To Joy

Come be inspired by special guest

Doug Ulman

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Congregation Shaarey Zedek
   #)),"7,10&6#)"

Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:45 am
Continental breakfast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:00 am
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:30 am

There is no charge for this event

RSVP to Tracy Agranove at 248.592.2267
or tagranove@jfsdetroit.org

Doug Ulman knows plenty about thriving; the
world famous motivational speaker is a three-
time cancer survivor. He is the President and CEO
of Pelotonia, a three-day cycling experience that
raises funds for cancer research. He is also the
former President and CEO of LIVESTRONG.

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continued from page 22

“FJA is that community where we can
come together, study together, get to know
each other and break down barriers.”

— RABBI AZARYAH COHEN

Regarding the teacher turnover,
Cohen, who has been with the
school in several teaching and
department head capacities since
2006, said, “Depending on the year,
we have had instructors leave for
a variety of reasons, often reasons
beyond our control.
“We understand the student-
teacher relationship is special and
do everything we can to support
our teachers’ growth, provide
opportunities for collaboration and
work to better understand teacher
concerns and priorities through
surveys, exit interviews and team-
work on key decisions.”
FJA participates in a teacher
mentoring program from the
Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish
Education of Brandeis University.
Erika Badour, chair of the math-
ematics department, heads the
program and pairs new teachers
with seasoned professionals for two
years. Throughout the year, there is
programming devoted to teacher
development in addition to weekly
development time teachers get every
Wednesday morning.
More than five years ago, when
some parents protested the board’s
makeup and election process, Reed
said, “The school became very resis-
tant about standing up to scrutiny
and letting parents say their piece.
“The Jewish way is to question and
question and question some more
and have healthy disagreement.
There has been no healthy disagree-
ment and open discussion with par-
ents for a very long time. There needs
to be a more open partnership and
communication with parents.
“Rabbi Cohen takes meetings; he
listens to what people have to say
and says he’s for change, like the
S.T.E.M. lab they so desperately need,
but I have not seen a lot of progress
yet on a variety of key issues.”

INTO THE FUTURE

Generously underwritten by a grant from the Alfred and Sandra Sherman Women’s Health Fund

24

October 12 • 2017

jn

At 176 students, FJA’s student enroll-
ment is the lowest it’s been in several
years, down from 225 in 2014-15, for
example. This year’s breakdown is 39
freshmen, 38 sophomores, 45 juniors
and 54 seniors.
“FJA continues to consistent-

ly admit between 50-55 percent
of Hillel Day School’s graduating
eighth-grade,” Cohen said, add-
ing that Hillel is FJA’s main feeder
school. “Over the last two years,
however, we have graduated some
of the larger senior classes (in the
upper 50s) while registering smaller
freshman classes as a result of small-
er Hillel classes.
“After this year, Hillel’s class sizes
are larger and we look forward to
an increased number of Hillel appli-
cants committed to the benefits of a
day school education.”
Cohen says enrollment from each
denomination and the affiliated tem-
ples and synagogues has remained rel-
atively steady. Now, he says, the school
is taking a closer look at public school
families — how to engage and inspire
this segment of the community.
“We have made it a top priority to
reach out and collaborate with our
educational partners — clergy, syna-
gogues, temples and youth groups
— to ensure that the families and chil-
dren of the Detroit Jewish community
have an understanding of the unique
educational and developmental
opportunities FJA can provide them.”
Parent Nancy Reed said, “The
school is now looking to position itself
for longevity. In my opinion, I don’t
believe students are drawn to the
school because of Judaic studies and
Hebrew; you need to give students a
high school experience and put time
and money into the sports program
and S.T.E.M.
“FJA students do amazingly well in
college and at getting into college,” she
said. “None of my kids had a hard time
transitioning to college. With the extra
studying for the extra Judaics classes
that students are required to take,
they knew how to budget their time.”
Sider points with pride to the
school’s recent ranking as the fifth
best private school in the state based
on SAT/ACT scores, quality of colleges
students consider, student-teacher
ratio, private school rates and more.
Niche.com compiled the list from the
U.S. Department of Education, Niche
users and the schools directly. FJA
earned an A+ rating.
“The [Reform issue] is history, not
news,” Sider said. “This is the story.” •