COVER STORY: Jewish high schools struggle with enrolment
Jewish high schools across the country, buffeted by forces beyond their control –including rising costs and shrinking enrolment – are looking for new ways to survive in a competitive landscape.
The announcement last month that Ottawa’s main community Jewish high school was closing because of low enrolment sent a shock wave of fear and sadness across the country.
“It scares the hell out of me,” said Rory Paul, head of Winnipeg’s Gray Academy of Jewish Education and CEO of the Winnipeg Board of Jewish Education.
Hyman leads in votes for Hobey Baker Award
It’s too early to plan the celebration and get outfitted for a tux, but with less than three weeks to go, the University of Michigan’s Zach Hyman is the leading vote-getter for the prestigious Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the best NCAA Division 1 college hockey player.
As of March 23, Hyman led the final 10 nominees with 7,560 votes, well ahead of Michigan Tech’s Tanner Kero’s 5,125.
We need a new model for day school funding
Imagine if a business that had been growing for 50 years suddenly, over six short years, lost one-third of its customers. Such a scenario would lead either to a restructuring of the business or its demise. Management and the board would devote endless energy to engineering a turnaround. New ideas and innovative thinking would be the order of the day.
Toronto-born educator to head Ramaz School in NYC
Rabbi Eric Grossman, 43, a graduate of the Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto (CHAT), has been named incoming head of school at the Ramaz School in Manhattan, a modern Orthodox day school encompassing preschool through Grade 12.
He will replace Paul Shaviv, who served for 14 years as director of education at what is now known as TanenbaumCHAT before joining Ramaz three years ago.
Vaccination of children called ‘the only responsible course’
TORONTO — Last month, as the number of people infected by the measles virus continued to grow, the Orthodox Union (OU) and the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) issued a statement reminding parents that the vaccination of children can be considered a halachic obligation and “is absolutely the only responsible course of action.”
OPINION: Closing Ottawa’s main Jewish high school is a mistake
What if the research is right? What if all our efforts to provide our children with a rich Jewish education during their elementary years are simply sowing the seeds for an adolescent rejection of their tradition?
GUEST VOICE: Save my school!
OTTAWA — My name is Ella Sabourin. I’m in Grade 10. I’ve attended a Jewish school for 11 years. I am writing this article right after finding out that that journey is over. The Ottawa Jewish Community High School, formerly called Yitzhak Rabin High School, is rejecting all new applicants for the coming school year. Only current Grade 10 and 11 students will be allowed to finish, which would leave the entire high school next year with 12 students, give or take.
Canadians to run in Israel for kids with special needs
TORONTO — Some 50 Canadians will join more than 300 runners from around the globe to represent Shalva in the annual Jerusalem Marathon next month.
Shalva is one of Israel’s premier institutions that cares for and supports children with special needs and their families. The Hebrew letters shin, lamed, vav, heh comprising the name Shalva stand for “liberating the child with special needs and their family.” In Hebrew, the word shalva means, “peace of mind.”
The challenge of sustaining Jewish day schools
Jewish education in this country took a significant hit last week when the Ottawa Jewish Community School (OJCS) announced plans to close its high school program. In a letter, Aaron Smith, president of the OJCS’s board of directors relayed the unfortunate news: “A recent examination by OJCS leadership… has determined that the high school is not financially viable.”
“Put simply,” he added, “not enough families are choosing to send their children to grades 9 through 12.”
Ottawa’s main Jewish high school to close
A unanimous decision by the Ottawa Jewish Community School’s (OJCS) board of directors will see the city’s only Jewish high school program phased out by 2017.
“An extensive examination by OJCS leadership, which included a study by the school’s sustainability committee, has determined that the high school is not financially viable,” Aaron Smith, the OJCS board president, said in a Feb. 10 letter to parents about the decision to close the high school.
