Good and interesting point re Federations. Here in the Bay Area, where the Jewish community took shape as predominantly Reform in the mid-to-late 1800s (to the degree that they sent money eastward to resettle Eastern European Jews there in the early 1900s so those more observant Jews wouldn’t end up out here), our Federation was for years anti-day school, which its leadership felt was self ghetto-ization. It took some very wealthy Federation supporters who sent their kids to day schools to turn that around, though it’s still the case our Federation’s support for day schools is modest at best.
I think before we go to free Day School -- recalling that, in microeconomic terms, there's infinite demand for free goods -- we need to first allay the underlying concerns you identify. It's natural to assume that a Jewish day school means that secular curriculum is somehow compromised -- but it's not true (look at test scores, private high school or college admissions, or any other metric you choose). The "lack of diversity" argument is also a false assumption -- a good Jewish day school is inclusive of all Jews and their families (different affiliations, levels of observance, backgrounds, heritage, etc., etc.) and teaches its students how to understand and respect differences and provide a welcoming inclusive atmosphere for all, which is a better foundation for diversity than what you get in secular schools. And the values underlying the education last a lifetime. We need to make these arguments much better in order to assess actual demand for Jewish day schools, then figure out an inclusive financing strategy. Otherwise, making day school free lowers the bar for what the education needs to provide, puts day schools into competition with synagogues (or JCCs or anywhere else that charges dues or fees) as a way to "punch the Jewish ticket" for families and kids, and makes the Jewish part of the education less likely to lead to the continuity of identity correctly attributed to day schools.
I think those are great points. I'd only say that what I hear from Federation people is that a lot of big funders simply don't think day schools are a good way to go, which shocks me, since dollar for dollar the impact of day schools (and camps) is so very high. I am always amazed by those statistics about the amount of philanthropic giving that goes to the arts versus education and poverty -- the Metropolitan Opera has a far easier time raising $100 million than any elementary school (and I'd point out that universities have an easier time than elementary schools). But elementary schools are so crucial.
All that said, I totally take your points, and I thank you.
Agree! Twenty years ago in Seattle we had a program to heavily subsidize Jewish high school education where the cost in today's US dollars would be about $5,000. It was wildly successful in growing enrollment. It was a five year plan and once complete, no other donors stepped in to fund at the same level. The perception that donors perceive other, less expensive investments as a bigger bang for the buck is real. Excellent Jewish day school education is expensive and will take a sustained effort among many funders with a long term vision for the future. But research shows us that this investment is sound!
I agree with you that Hebrew Day Schools should be almost free or heavily subsidized. We sent one of our daughters for one year of Jewish school in Toronto. She liked it but the next year they told us that the help they can give us will be reevaluated. We could not afford it as is and even less if they would reevaluate it. The process as you mentioned is really humiliating as you need to show them everything and anything. She went to public school like her other siblings. Today although she knows she is Jewish, she is not interested in maintaining her Jewishness. Her friends are not Jewish and the community is disconnected and is not interested in her. All institutions organize staff for their communities.
It is not welcoming to outsiders. It's always within the immediate school, synagogue and etc. At home we speak Hebrew and celebrate holidays and she still remembers the holiday songs taught in school. If the school was free, we would be happy to keep all our 3 kids there.
Even if it was just price competitive with a Catholic parochial school (6k a year here in central Ohio), it would be an option for a whole lot more families. Instead the Jewish Day schools around here are priced more along the lines of a independent private school (north of 10k for grade school).
Good and interesting point re Federations. Here in the Bay Area, where the Jewish community took shape as predominantly Reform in the mid-to-late 1800s (to the degree that they sent money eastward to resettle Eastern European Jews there in the early 1900s so those more observant Jews wouldn’t end up out here), our Federation was for years anti-day school, which its leadership felt was self ghetto-ization. It took some very wealthy Federation supporters who sent their kids to day schools to turn that around, though it’s still the case our Federation’s support for day schools is modest at best.
I think before we go to free Day School -- recalling that, in microeconomic terms, there's infinite demand for free goods -- we need to first allay the underlying concerns you identify. It's natural to assume that a Jewish day school means that secular curriculum is somehow compromised -- but it's not true (look at test scores, private high school or college admissions, or any other metric you choose). The "lack of diversity" argument is also a false assumption -- a good Jewish day school is inclusive of all Jews and their families (different affiliations, levels of observance, backgrounds, heritage, etc., etc.) and teaches its students how to understand and respect differences and provide a welcoming inclusive atmosphere for all, which is a better foundation for diversity than what you get in secular schools. And the values underlying the education last a lifetime. We need to make these arguments much better in order to assess actual demand for Jewish day schools, then figure out an inclusive financing strategy. Otherwise, making day school free lowers the bar for what the education needs to provide, puts day schools into competition with synagogues (or JCCs or anywhere else that charges dues or fees) as a way to "punch the Jewish ticket" for families and kids, and makes the Jewish part of the education less likely to lead to the continuity of identity correctly attributed to day schools.
I think those are great points. I'd only say that what I hear from Federation people is that a lot of big funders simply don't think day schools are a good way to go, which shocks me, since dollar for dollar the impact of day schools (and camps) is so very high. I am always amazed by those statistics about the amount of philanthropic giving that goes to the arts versus education and poverty -- the Metropolitan Opera has a far easier time raising $100 million than any elementary school (and I'd point out that universities have an easier time than elementary schools). But elementary schools are so crucial.
All that said, I totally take your points, and I thank you.
Agree! Twenty years ago in Seattle we had a program to heavily subsidize Jewish high school education where the cost in today's US dollars would be about $5,000. It was wildly successful in growing enrollment. It was a five year plan and once complete, no other donors stepped in to fund at the same level. The perception that donors perceive other, less expensive investments as a bigger bang for the buck is real. Excellent Jewish day school education is expensive and will take a sustained effort among many funders with a long term vision for the future. But research shows us that this investment is sound!
I agree with you that Hebrew Day Schools should be almost free or heavily subsidized. We sent one of our daughters for one year of Jewish school in Toronto. She liked it but the next year they told us that the help they can give us will be reevaluated. We could not afford it as is and even less if they would reevaluate it. The process as you mentioned is really humiliating as you need to show them everything and anything. She went to public school like her other siblings. Today although she knows she is Jewish, she is not interested in maintaining her Jewishness. Her friends are not Jewish and the community is disconnected and is not interested in her. All institutions organize staff for their communities.
It is not welcoming to outsiders. It's always within the immediate school, synagogue and etc. At home we speak Hebrew and celebrate holidays and she still remembers the holiday songs taught in school. If the school was free, we would be happy to keep all our 3 kids there.
Even if it was just price competitive with a Catholic parochial school (6k a year here in central Ohio), it would be an option for a whole lot more families. Instead the Jewish Day schools around here are priced more along the lines of a independent private school (north of 10k for grade school).