Would you send your non-jewish child to a jewish school?

[Anonymous]

My kids went to a Jewish preschool and it was no big deal. We liked the school and approach they took to early childhood education, and there was no harm done by weekly Shabbat celebrations or playdoh matzo making. The school was pretty liberal and probably about 1/3 the class was non-Jews. We're agnostic/atheists, raised catholic. The community was welcoming though we were definitely somewhat outsiders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Jewish schools in our area have not been competitive academically with the independent (private) schools. Makes no sense to me to put your child at a disadvantage unless you are religious.

This is interesting to me. My kids are at JDS. The school is working to increase enrollment and one of the committees is focused on what can be done to bring more students to the school. If the school is not academically competitive with the independent private schools, then that is something that should change. My question is why do you think the jewish schools are not academically competitive? Which schools do you consider academically competitive? What do you think the differentiators are?

My impression is that a lot of class time is spent on Hebrew language and Judaica. If my kids are unlikely to want to live in Israel, will not be pursuing joint citizenship, and are borderline observant, it makes so sense that they would spend time on subjects that they won't use, rather than core academic subjects.

This is nothing JDS can change. It is at the core of the school's identity. But that rules it out for certain families for whom those subjects aren't important and who are concerned other subjects could suffer as a result.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Jewish schools in our area have not been competitive academically with the independent (private) schools. Makes no sense to me to put your child at a disadvantage unless you are religious.

This is interesting to me. My kids are at JDS. The school is working to increase enrollment and one of the committees is focused on what can be done to bring more students to the school. If the school is not academically competitive with the independent private schools, then that is something that should change. My question is why do you think the jewish schools are not academically competitive? Which schools do you consider academically competitive? What do you think the differentiators are?

I am not the PP here, 15:41 is my only contribution to this thread so far.

I think that many parents in this area define "academically competitive" as "academically exclusive". That is, they think that if a school limits enrollment to kids with high academic skills and high academic potential, that the school is somehow "better". They measure the success of the school by the academic achievement of the average student there, without asking how the school serves a wide variety of students well, and how well they develop the skills of the kids at the margin.

This philosophy doesn't match up with the philosophy of many faith based privates, who view their mission as to serve the variety of learners in their faith community. Those schools are more likely to take a chance on a kid who may need support. In serving these kids, they develop the abilities of their teachers who learn to differentiate up and down. Every student benefits, but since including those kids means that their ERB scores drop a little, they get a reputation as less "academically competitive".

In my experience, JPDS has a well earned reputation as a warm nurturing place that celebrates and educates a wide variety of children, all of whom are challenged and stretched. That's way more important than being "academically competitive" IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Jewish schools in our area have not been competitive academically with the independent (private) schools. Makes no sense to me to put your child at a disadvantage unless you are religious.

This is interesting to me. My kids are at JDS. The school is working to increase enrollment and one of the committees is focused on what can be done to bring more students to the school. If the school is not academically competitive with the independent private schools, then that is something that should change. My question is why do you think the jewish schools are not academically competitive? Which schools do you consider academically competitive? What do you think the differentiators are?

My impression is that a lot of class time is spent on Hebrew language and Judaica. If my kids are unlikely to want to live in Israel, will not be pursuing joint citizenship, and are borderline observant, it makes so sense that they would spend time on subjects that they won't use, rather than core academic subjects.

This is nothing JDS can change. It is at the core of the school's identity. But that rules it out for certain families for whom those subjects aren't important and who are concerned other subjects could suffer as a result.

This is true. My kids are in the lower school and 1/2 of their day is spent in hebrew/judiacs. The school day is longer than MCPS elem but not 50% longer. I have no way of knowing if what my kid is learning in math is on par with low/grade/high level MCPS or other private school math. I wish I had a comparative method. It would be so nice if all the schools would post by grade level what their expectations were for each subject.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Convert first. Otherwise sending your kid to a school where he's made to feel like goyim is cruel.

Doubt that. But there's no doubt that "goyim" have been cruel to Jews for centuries.

[Anonymous]

Very (liberal) Catholic friend sent her son the nursery school at Rodef Shalom. They loved it, absolutely loved it. The people, the customs, everything. Many non-Jews go there.

[Anonymous]

We aren't Jewish and are sending our kid next year to a Jewish school. Like you, we feel that it aligns closely with our teaching and parenting philosophy and that it's a great school. We also know that there are at least some other non-Jews at the school and that it is not overtly religious (more cultural teachings than directly religious).

I would NOT send my child to a religious school of any type if it were overtly and specifically religious.

I would ask at the school to get a feel for how open they are to accepting non-Jewish students and how much of the curriculum is focused on Jewish education. I discussed this when touring our school and felt the answer aligned with what we had hoped for.

We also consider ourselves Unitarians, and I really appreciate the UU ideals of exploring other religions. I feel that time in Jewish school and learning about Jewish traditions and holidays will only benefit my child.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know that preschool? As a general rule, I would have no problems sending my child to a Jewish preschool. I am Christian, raised Catholic, but lived in an area of New York where I was a very small minority in a Jewish majority. You learn a lot, and I feel completely comfortable in a Jewish environment. I have lived with very observant Jewish roommates, so I know how to adapt to dietary and other restrictions in the home.

I was looking around the website, and they don't make any statements about encouraging non-Jewish families. (I did see some of the phrases that lead me to believe it's welcoming of gay families). It appears to be connected to a Conservative (not Reform) temple. So I think the school is going to have a strong religious component, as opposed to some preschools in religious institutions where the curriculum is either highly secular, or like in my son's preschool in a Baptist church, they had a "religious education" segment that consisted of singing "God is Love" and they didn't have to ignore Easter and Christmas.

So if you don't mind having your kids totally immersed in the Jewish calendar and culture, you could try it. But as others have said, if you don't follow that calendar and don't want your kids learning a strong religious component, it might not be the place for your family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We aren't Jewish and are sending our kid next year to a Jewish school. Like you, we feel that it aligns closely with our teaching and parenting philosophy and that it's a great school. We also know that there are at least some other non-Jews at the school and that it is not overtly religious (more cultural teachings than directly religious).

I would NOT send my child to a religious school of any type if it were overtly and specifically religious.

I would ask at the school to get a feel for how open they are to accepting non-Jewish students and how much of the curriculum is focused on Jewish education. I discussed this when touring our school and felt the answer aligned with what we had hoped for.

We also consider ourselves Unitarians, and I really appreciate the UU ideals of exploring other religions. I feel that time in Jewish school and learning about Jewish traditions and holidays will only benefit my child.

Thoughtful post.

[Anonymous]

This is preschool, not Day School. There isn't intense Hebrew and Judaic studies. Yes, there are Jewish holidays and Shabbat. But these are 3 and 4 year olds and this is not a Yeshiva school. We are at the DCJCC and looking and half the kids in the class are not Jewish. I would bet at the Gan the classes are more Jewish-skewed, but this is not something to worry about if you like the foundation at the school. You should ask to attend a Shabbat. Usually it's the school coming together to sing about peace and love and community. And the head rabbi is gay and Adas has female rabbis as well, and it does lean liberal.

Good luck with your decision!

[Anonymous]

We are Jewish (but very non-religious) and sent our kids to the Gan. If you are OK with being the only non-Jewish parents in your kids class (so no socializing around Jewish holidays, etc), it is a wonderful, wonderful school. Also, you'll have to come in twice a year to "host shabbat" with your child - the kids get very into this. But it is a nice way to learn about another culture, etc. And the school really is great - amazing teachers, small classes, lots of support.

[Anonymous]

We're protestant and sent our kids to a reform Jewish preschool for many years. We've made many friendships that have lasted post-preschool. Great school, similar parenting beliefs, great teachers at a decent price. It was a great fit for us.

[Anonymous]

Why not send your child to a UU-based preschool. Isn't there one attached to the River Road Congregation in Bethesda?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not send your child to a UU-based preschool. Isn't there one attached to the River Road Congregation in Bethesda?

There is one at Cedar Lane, but it's probably a 1/2 drive from the Gan. Who wants to spend 2 hours round trip driving your kid to 1/2 day preschool?

The preschool at River Road (the UU one in Bethesda) is just a tenant.

[Anonymous]

We are not Jewish and have 2 children at Rodef Shalom. The emphasis is on values and social justice, which we love. It is a bonus that we are all learning about another religion. We feel quite comfortable there. I would agree with the pp who suggested you meet with the director and ask questions to determine your comfort level with the school. Good luck.