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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Folks there are multiple successful Hebrew public charter schools in the NY/NJ area that are almost 50% non-Jewish and completely secular. It has been done elsewhere, and can certainly be done well in DC. I only wish Sela had been around when my children were young. [/quote]

I hear this from Jews who moved out of DC and don't have kids who can attend SELA but I would be curious how many DC Jewish families SELA ends up with.  Immersion takes a lot of commitment and over the long haul, I would rather my child devote that energy to a more useful language and honestly, if I wanted DC to attend a Jewish school, I would send them to a Jewish school not one where the majority is non-Jewish and purports to be secular other than the immersion Hebrew.  Given the lottery entrance and DC demographics, SELA will be majority non jewish in all likelihood - so not Jewish enough for Jews (same complaints as YY not being Chinese enough for the Chinese) - but teaching a language that's not broadly useful like Mandarin.  Only time will tell... [/quote]

It is a more complicated conversation and probably too in-culture for DCUM, but actually, Hebrew immersion charter is preferable for our family in a lot of ways. First, as other people have noted language is a hook into what can become a lifelong cultural pairing. I was an exchange student in Denmark, and learned Danish, and keep in contact with my host "siblings" to this day. I enjoy Danish cinema and read the news online. As to Hebrew, I want my children to know Hebrew and hope that this is a lifetime thing for them. The level of conversational Hebrew at a day school often leaves much to be desired. And, our family is liberal, reform Jewish - and depending on the day school, their classmates will likely be more religious and conservative. Also, we chose to live in the city because we wanted to live in the city, and Jews are in the minority in DC, I want my kids to be surrounded by kids from a broad strata of SES, and different cultural backgrounds. Moreover, the tuition at day schools is borderline outrageous. [/quote]

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