The first Hebrew charter school opened in August 2007 in Broward County, Fla. The Ben Gamla Charter School "is not a religious school in any form," explains its principal, Sharon Miller, "but a Hebrew-English public charter school" educating 585 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, and a high school scheduled to open in 2010. This coming fall, a second Hebrew charter school, Hebrew Language Academy, will open its doors in Brooklyn, N.Y., offering a completely secularized dual-language curriculum committed to academic excellence and Hebrew-language proficiency.
Before the emergence of these charter schools, families interested in a Hebrew education had essentially two choices -- a private Jewish day school, where the Hebrew language and a religious curriculum are an integral part of the day, or "Hebrew school," an afternoon or Sunday program for children in public school or nonsectarian private school. A Hebrew charter school is neither of these. By law, it cannot teach religion, and yet it is more than an extracurricular program.
Are these schools drawing in new families who would otherwise never have received a Hebrew language and cultural education? Or are they offering an affordable but religiously diluted Jewish education to kids who would otherwise have gone to a Jewish day school? Are they a welcome development or a worrisome one?
The Roman Catholic diocese in Brooklyn, in financial straits, recently wrestled with this question as well, when it had to decide whether to allow some Catholic schools to be converted to charter schools rather than close down. "A charter school is not a Catholic school," explains the Rev. Kieran Harrington, the vicar of communications at the diocese. "In a Catholic school we look at the whole human person -- the mind, the body and the soul. A public school cannot be involved in the formation of the soul. Charter schools, while not ideal, are an opportunity for us to at least speak about character. We are hoping to attract some families who would never have pursued any Catholic education."
The Hebrew charter school in Brooklyn takes a similar view. "We are not an alternative to a Jewish day school," explains Sara Berman, one of the creators of the school. "We specifically wanted our school to be in a location where we wouldn't conflict with a day school. . . . [Our] students would otherwise have been at public school, and we offer them a great curriculum and a great way of learning Hebrew."
But Ms. Miller, the school's principal, says many of the children at Ben Gamla have in fact come from surrounding day schools, where tuition runs about $16,000 a year. In many cases, then, the charter school is an "alternative." As it happens, day-school evacuees have found a way to retain some of their day-school experience through an after-school program, independent of Ben Gamla, called JUMP: the Jewish Upbringing Matters Program. It teaches children the weekly Torah portions, the meaning of the holidays and other religious subjects they cannot learn in the charter school.
This mix of charter and after-school tutorial is the model that presents a real challenge to private, religiously focused day schools. One variation on the model may soon be attempted in Englewood, N.J., where a coalition of parents has proposed a program that would inject Hebrew-language instruction into the public-school system and offer supplementary religious education to families who are interested.
"Most of our core group," explains Raphael Bachrach, the founder of this program, known as Englewood Hebrew, is determined to make the after-school Jewish studies program "on par with day-school education. The parents feel that even though this is not a yeshiva, they want it to be every bit as serious." In New Rochelle, N.Y., too, plans are under way to create a Hebrew-immersion program in the existing elementary-school system, with an after-school religious studies session for those interested.
All of these alternatives are changing the landscape of Jewish education. Gary Rosenblatt, editor of the Jewish Week, recently wrote an editorial titled "Day School Model May Be Thing of the Past." "That all this is happening," says Rabbi Joshua Elkin, the executive director of Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education, "is a measure of how much economic pain there is out there. People are worried about the economic future now, not just the Jewish future."
Ultimately, though, Rabbi Elkin believes that "the essence of a Jewish education -- a whole Jewish living environment, connection to peoplehood, study of traditional texts, commitment to Jewish ethics and a system of Jewish values -- is precisely what charter schools or Hebrew-immersion public schools are unable to provide." What they can provide, however, is healthy competition, an opportunity for Jewish day schools to analyze their costs, reassess what they are and emphasize all that distinguishes them from other models of Jewish learning.
Ms. Schwartz writes a monthly column for the Jewish Week.
Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page W13
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124477110929508809.html#articleTabs%3Darticle
