22 January 10 • 2019
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wo significant gifts, one by 
the Samuel and Jean Frankel 
Jewish Heritage Foundation 
and the other by the William 
Davidson Foundation, are paving the 
way for a major addition to Hillel Day 
School’
s Early Childhood Center for 
children ages 18 months to 5. 
This fall, the 15,000-square-foot 
center at Hillel will align with the rest 
of the campus, which was renovated 
over the last several years to advance 
skills in communication, collaboration 
and creativity through a project-based 
learning approach that involves the 
integration of disciplines and STEAM 
activities. The ECC will include state-
of-the-art learning suites, a central 
square or kikar for large gatherings, 
a kitchen, a large indoor playscape, 
teacher workspaces, and an outdoor 
playground and garden. 
“The expansion of the early child-
hood education program at Hillel 
benefits our entire Jewish communi-
ty,” said Darin McKeever, president/
CEO of the Davidson Foundation. 
“More children will be able to begin 
their Jewish education in their pre-
school years, establishing their Jewish 
identities within a community com-
mitted to religious and academic 
excellence.”
Hillel’
s expanded ECC will be 
licensed for 180 students, up from 
140. “I feel honored we will be able to 
educate more Jewish children,” said 
Robin Pappas, director of early edu-
cation. “We’
ve had a wait list for the 
last three years, and we will no longer 
have to turn away families.”
For a preschool that opened in 
2010 with 69 students, the expo-
nential growth is a promising sign 
that despite a decline in the Jewish 
population of Detroit over the last 

decade, there is a growing demand for 
high-quality Jewish early childhood 
education options. The Hillel pre-
school is accredited by the National 
Association for the Education of 
Young Children and has received a 
four-star rating from Great Start to 
Quality in Michigan.
“We know from demographic stud-
ies and our own wait list that there are 
more Jewish preschool students who 
could enroll in a program like ours,” 
said Steve Freedman, head of school. 
“We are confident a larger ECC will 
result in increased enrollment in the 
K-8 program.”
Pappas says the renovation “comes 
from a journey following best prac-
tices in Jewish early childhood edu-
cation.” 
In May, Pappas and three teach-
ers will take a study trip to Italy to 
immerse themselves in the Reggio 
Emilia approach to learning — from 
a Jewish perspective. This approach 
emphasizes a child’
s environment with 
access to natural materials, hands-on 
activities and multiple points of view 
in a setting that values the mind and 
creativity of each individual child.
 “The ECC is an exceptional pre-
school that partners with us on our 
family’
s desire to raise passionate, 
kind, inquisitive and independent 
children who are proud to be Jewish,” 
said parent Amye Charfoos of 
Huntington Woods. 
An official groundbreaking ceremo-
ny, open to the community, will take 
place at the Farmington Hills school 
at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16. 
“Our donors are truly second to 
none,” Freedman said, “when it comes 
to their commitment to Jewish edu-
cation and to a strong and vibrant 
future in Jewish Detroit.” ■

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in 
the

GABRIELLA BURMAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Rendering of the Gross 

Motor Skills Center at 

Hillel Day School

FIELDING NAIR INTERNATIONAL 

School Expansion

Philanthropists direct funds to aid
growth of Hillel’
s youngest students.

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