Anonymous wrote:The public Hebrew schooll model works in NYC because of the demographics there. You have a very large population of lower middle class jews who would utilize such a school. DC does not have that population in significant numbers. Jews in DC send their kids to Sidwell, GDS, and Deal a Wilson in very large numbers. My concern is that Jews will not use the school in sufficient numbers to reach a Gladwellian tipping point. My children are half Jewish; I am willing to try the school out next year. My son is at Deal and we live in ward 3. It would be worth it to me just to get away from anti-semites.

Everything other point you make (not that there were too many good ones) is immediately discounted because of reference to pop-statistical guru Gladwell. Please try again.

jesus freaking christ. they are gonna get christmas off!! i went to an orthodox jewish school for jr. high. we got christmas off b/c it's a national holiday! plus, it happens to fall during winter break. aren't there more important things to worry about? like jewish athletes:

deena kastor

OY! They're gonna' get Christmas off. The poster you're quoting was just jerking your chain!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new_york/teaneck_charter_sparking_fresh_debate


One thing I wonder is, this Hebrew school will follow the regular D.C. vacation schedule, right?

Every charter sets its own schedule, including first day of school, last day of school, days off. For example, YY has a day off for Chinese New Year. I would imagine Washington Hebrew would be off on Yom Kippur, Hannukah, and will have school on Christmas.

If non-Jews will attend the school, and I would hope every student would get a fair chance, why wouldn't they get Christmas off? Is this a religious school or a language school?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious why everyone assumes this will be a quality school, anyway?

Because everybody knows that us Jews value a good education!!!

Right! How else have we been able to rule the world for so many years?

What a freakin' douche bag you are.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way this school attracts more than a handful of black kids. And a school without black kids cannot make enrollment in DC. I predict this school closes before the end of the fall because they can't make their payroll with 50 kids enrolled.

-a private school teacher with one Jewish parent

Maybe DC will decide to call it the Sammy Davis Jr. Public Charter School.

Better yet, they should call it the Sammy Davis Jr., Jr. PCS!

Anonymous wrote:The public Hebrew schooll model works in NYC because of the demographics there. You have a very large population of lower middle class jews who would utilize such a school. DC does not have that population in significant numbers. Jews in DC send their kids to Sidwell, GDS, and Deal a Wilson in very large numbers. My concern is that Jews will not use the school in sufficient numbers to reach a Gladwellian tipping point. My children are half Jewish; I am willing to try the school out next year. My son is at Deal and we live in ward 3. It would be worth it to me just to get away from anti-semites.

We haven't found anti-Semites at Deal. What's this all about?

I don't live in DC, but I'm following this thread with interest. I'm Jewish and my kid goes to public school in Arlington. In December, they learned about "winter holidays around the world." The official handout had scenes of Christmas in Germany, Christmas in Argentina, Christmas in... you get the idea. No "winter holidays." Just Christmas. The teacher added something about Hanukkah for my kid. Nothing for the Muslim or Hindu students. In March, they learned about that great secular holiday of St. Patrick's Day. In April, the got to color the Easter bunny. Just the normal shit that a minority group has to put up with, but it makes the caterwauling about how Hebrew is too closely related to Judaism to make a sound basis for a charter school rather ironic.

Anonymous wrote:No way this school attracts more than a handful of black kids. And a school without black kids cannot make enrollment in DC. I predict this school closes before the end of the fall because they can't make their payroll with 50 kids enrolled.

-a private school teacher with one Jewish parent

Maybe DC will decide to call it the Sammy Davis Jr. Public Charter School.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't know that there were different categories of AAs when considering who will attend the school.

So if middle-upper class blacks attend Hebrew then it really isn't like black kids are attending it because they are more like white kids. You have to have "less educated" black parents choosing the school to really mean that blacks are choosing the school.

Got it.

Sorry it was supposed to read like this, I missed a break:

And guess what, there are more or less educated Whites and more or less educated Hispanics, too. Are we going to pretend that class divisions don't exist? Because that's all the PP is observing. Middle and upper-middle class AA families DO want the same things middle and upper-middle class white families want. Why? Has nothing to do with race, it has to do with the fact that we're talking about class. Let's not conflate the two and then play dumb.

I don't think that anyone is playing dumb. Charters are started for different reasons. Did I hear outcry when MV was starting because they weren't serving poor black kids instead of middle-class black kids? Of course class divisions exist. That is why there are specifc charters which focus on low income black children. It doesn't mean that all charters have to focus on them though.

No, but as they serve poor Hispanic kids, they apparently get a pass.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't know that there were different categories of AAs when considering who will attend the school.

So if middle-upper class blacks attend Hebrew then it really isn't like black kids are attending it because they are more like white kids. You have to have "less educated" black parents choosing the school to really mean that blacks are choosing the school.

Got it.

Sorry it was supposed to read like this, I missed a break:

And guess what, there are more or less educated Whites and more or less educated Hispanics, too. Are we going to pretend that class divisions don't exist? Because that's all the PP is observing. Middle and upper-middle class AA families DO want the same things middle and upper-middle class white families want. Why? Has nothing to do with race, it has to do with the fact that we're talking about class. Let's not conflate the two and then play dumb.

I don't think that anyone is playing dumb. Charters are started for different reasons. Did I hear outcry when MV was starting because they weren't serving poor black kids instead of middle-class black kids? Of course class divisions exist. That is why there are specifc charters which focus on low income black children. It doesn't mean that all charters have to focus on them though.

I wasn't suggesting that they should. I was responding to the PP "it really isn't like black kids are attending it because they are more like white kids." I don't think she should play games, if she wants to make it about class then she should come right out and say so. And, after that, perhaps justify whatever is awful about allowing middle class parents to have decent choices which they prefer for their children.

If it's a good school, most DC parents won't care if its Yiddish, Japanese or Esperanto immersion.

Nothing against Hebrew, but it's pretty much useful in one country, most of whose citizens speak pretty good English, so I'd rather have sent him to the Arab immersion school, but speaking as someone who isn't Jewish, I will certainly check it out if it gets good reviews.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't know that there were different categories of AAs when considering who will attend the school.

So if middle-upper class blacks attend Hebrew then it really isn't like black kids are attending it because they are more like white kids. You have to have "less educated" black parents choosing the school to really mean that blacks are choosing the school.

Got it.

Sorry it was supposed to read like this, I missed a break:

And guess what, there are more or less educated Whites and more or less educated Hispanics, too. Are we going to pretend that class divisions don't exist? Because that's all the PP is observing. Middle and upper-middle class AA families DO want the same things middle and upper-middle class white families want. Why? Has nothing to do with race, it has to do with the fact that we're talking about class. Let's not conflate the two and then play dumb.

I don't think that anyone is playing dumb. Charters are started for different reasons. Did I hear outcry when MV was starting because they weren't serving poor black kids instead of middle-class black kids? Of course class divisions exist. That is why there are specifc charters which focus on low income black children. It doesn't mean that all charters have to focus on them though.

Not the PP but what on earth are you talking about? The only thing that was noted by previous posters was that middle class blacks--by virtue of education and exposure-- would be more open to a Hebrew school than low income/ less educated blacks. This is probably true across races, DC just happens to be predominately AA. If you can't attract at least some AA to a Hebrew charter then the school is going to have a problem. FWIW I think they will attract some because they like the program, others because it may be the best/only option on the table. But that's true for every charter in DC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't know that there were different categories of AAs when considering who will attend the school.

So if middle-upper class blacks attend Hebrew then it really isn't like black kids are attending it because they are more like white kids. You have to have "less educated" black parents choosing the school to really mean that blacks are choosing the school.

Got it.

Sorry it was supposed to read like this, I missed a break:

And guess what, there are more or less educated Whites and more or less educated Hispanics, too. Are we going to pretend that class divisions don't exist? Because that's all the PP is observing. Middle and upper-middle class AA families DO want the same things middle and upper-middle class white families want. Why? Has nothing to do with race, it has to do with the fact that we're talking about class. Let's not conflate the two and then play dumb.

I don't think that anyone is playing dumb. Charters are started for different reasons. Did I hear outcry when MV was starting because they weren't serving poor black kids instead of middle-class black kids? Of course class divisions exist. That is why there are specifc charters which focus on low income black children. It doesn't mean that all charters have to focus on them though.

I've lived in NYC and in Washington, D.C., and believe you me, the similarities between the cities and public schools far outweigh the differences. In both places, the public schools are poor (with several beautiful exceptions). The choices for parents are: lousy, perhaps dangerous school; horribly expensive private school, or move out of the city. I'm SO excited that these charter schools are being a reality. I'm rooting for the language schools in particular, because they address the poor language skills of many Americans. Oh, for an Italian charter school!
Here's an excerpt from the NY Times article on a similar school in Brooklyn:
"When state officials approved the school, critics wondered whether it would become a publicly financed religious school masquerading as a place open to everyone. And after a battle for space, it landed in a yeshiva.

But as the school’s first year draws to a close, its classrooms are filled with a broad range of students, all seeming confident enough to jabber away as if they were elbowing their way down Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem. Perhaps surprisingly, the school has become one of the most racially mixed charter schools in the city. About a third of the 150 students are black, and several are Hispanic.

The school’s organizers say it has been so successful that they plan to help create dozens like it, pledging to spend as much as $4.8 million next year to seed schools in Phoenix, Minneapolis and Manhattan Beach, Calif., in addition to one set to open next fall in East Brunswick, N.J.

But despite its diversity, the school still faces scrutiny over how it will handle religion and the complicated politics of the Middle East..."