Board members of the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island vote in favor of granting $425,000 for the community school idea.

Federation grants $425K to community school plan
Big Victory by Partnership, 2006 goal set
From March 4, 2005 Jewish Voice & Herald
By Jonathan Rubin

CRANSTON —In many ways, the stakes couldn’t have been higher: $425,000 of community money was on the line, as well as the future of the Alperin Schechter Day School, and the two-year dream of creating the first trans-denominational community Jewish day school in Rhode Island.

At the Feb. 16 board meeting of the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island (JFRI), the proponents for the school grant laid down their points: Jewish education has “plateaued” in its current state in our community and cannot compete with secular private schools; that a pluralistic school serving Reform, Conservative, Modern Orthodox and unaffiliated students would serve the broadest spectrum of Jewish children; attract a wider donor base and bring new Jewish families to the region.
Others, many of whom were admittedly enamored by the vision, focused on the many yet-to-be-determined details — location, a projected budget — and what some saw as an aggressive timetable opening the school by next year.

Passionate praise and exacting questions were batted back and forth for two hours. Numerous attendees voiced their support for the school’s concept; retired judge Richard Israel, after an hour-long stalemate that left the meeting at an apparent impasse, boldly underlined the importance of the vote by stating:

“What you have before you are two priceless intangibles;. the first is the principle, the concept of a community day school. The second is trust — do you as a board trust the leadership of this community who are asking you for the $425,000?”

When the vote finally came for dispersal of $425,000 of JFRI Endowment income, it was 71 in favor, one against and three abstentions.

The allocation will be used for start-up costs of the school, including the search for a new head, administrative, marketing and recruiting costs, consultant fees and planning expenses related to the investigation of other community school models.

“For 20 years this community has been saying that Jewish education is a priority.. I’m thrilled that we’re putting our money where our priorities are,” said Alice Goldstein, of Warwick.

The proposed school will serve children from kindergarten to the eighth grade, and day school committee members said there is the possibility that a high school will eventually be added. Both Partnership leadership and the newly established Day School board have repeatedly called the community school movement “the wave of the future,” and are the fastest growing Jewish day school movement in the United States.

“Transdenomination is the Jewish future,” said Rabbi Alvan Kaunfer, of Providence, who led the community day school committee.

He said the new school will be a “community resource,” and its benefits will extend beyond the school itself. It can “meld of families from diverse religious backgrounds, increase Jewish identity” for the families involved and become a spawning ground for “new leaders.”

Partnership vision

Deedee Whitman, chair of the Partnership organization that had been spearheading the community school idea, was “thrilled” at the board’s decision.

“We came together as a team to make this dream a reality,” she said.

The vote comes as a huge victory for the Partnership, an independent organization convened by the JFRI and charged with the lofty goal of improving the Jewish landscape of Rhode Island. The organization has come under criticism for losing steam on its many community-building initiatives and its inability to keep its 200-plus volunteers focused on task. However, at the board meeting, its community school vision triumphed.

Alperin Schechter

Preliminary interviews of current ASDS parents have shown great interest in joining the school, said Wolpert, and plans will be drawn to integrate ASDS into the “Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island”

Wolpert, who had been on the Schechter board for 12 years, admitted that he was “ skeptical at first,” of the community school idea. However, after three years of studying it, he “became absolutely convinced that the community day school model is the best choice for our community.”
“Why not come back in six months with more information?” asked a board member.

"We could have waited another six months” and produced more budget figures, said Bruce Wolpert, newly elected president of the community school project, but then the school’s opening would be delayed until 2007 or later.

People want the school to open as quickly as possible, he said, and a “loss of momentum” caused by waiting would be very difficult to make up. He said that hiring of full-time professionals is essential to quickly solidifying a budget and readying the school for the 2006 opening.

Location

One of the most frequently asked questions during the meeting was about location and the facility needed for the new school. ried and few times and failed.”

The school will most likely occupy an interim site initially (“modular classrooms” were an option mentioned at the board meeting), with plans to eventually move into a permanent site.

“Clearly, this will look fantastic in a community campus,” Wolpert said, referring to an ongoing Partnership study into the creation of a new consolidated center (or, perhaps, centers) of the Jewish community in a new facility.

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