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Why Madison parents are choosing Jewish day school

by Nancy Brower

Zoe told guests around her Thanksgiving table that she is grateful to go to Madison Jewish Community Day School.  Nikko comes home from school filled with a sense of pride in who he is, knowing he is a valued member of his school community.

In recent conversations with parents of MJCDS students, it was abundantly clear that the school is enriching the lives of students and their families.

Alice Schneiderman, whose son Nikko is in third grade, says that she and her husband were pleased with the education their older daughter had received at their neighborhood school, which Nikko also attended for kindergarten and first grade.  “But Nikko was bothered by being the only one of his school friends who celebrated Hannukah and Passover, and would often come home asking why he was the only Jewish kid in his class,” Alice says.

She had heard about the day school through another MJCDS family, and she and her husband, Rokker, were attracted to the idea of a school that offers an excellent curriculum of Jewish and general studies within a small, warm community.

“Nikko has always had a spiritual side, and he’s a deep thinker. The environment at MJCDS has allowed these parts of him to grow, and continues to open other doors of learning for him,” she says.

Sarah Byer and Barry Wein’s daughter, Zoe, is thriving even more than they had imagined she would after enrolling this past September.

“This is a school where you can ask a lot of questions, where you can be yourself, and where your child is being taught what it means to be a mensch,” says Sarah.
Zoe, a third-grader, had expressed a deep desire to learn more about Jewish holidays, and how to read and speak Hebrew, which led Sarah and Barry to explore the idea of transferring Zoe from a public school to MJCDS. The switch was a positive one; it was a reminder to Sarah that kids are resilient when it comes to change, and a lesson about how important is to listen to cues from your child.

Zoe, an avid reader, now spends time every night reading both in Hebrew and English. She comes home from school ready to share the lessons and themes being taught: the unit on Wisconsin history that the 3rd-4th graders worked on all semester gave Zoe the chance to complete in-depth reading and writing projects, as well as drawing and model-building.
For parents, too, the school’s welcoming atmosphere is a plus. Because the school is non-denominational, families from across the spectrum of Madison’s Jewish community come together.  Shabbat dinners, picnics, and family events lead to a feeling of shared values and fun, even if specific traditions and practices vary between families.

Alice believes that all the parents have the desire to raise their children with an awareness and pride in being Jewish, “which is so important for our kids to take with them throughout their lives. It shows in how the kids all help each other, and we all benefit from that.”

Barry, Zoe’s father, agrees. “We feel so fortunate that this Jewish day school is an option for kids like Zoe. Sarah and I were looking for a school that would challenge Zoe with the highest academic standards, nurture her love of learning with engaging and encouraging teachers, and help her build character, identity and community through a broad Jewish education that includes Hebrew language instruction,” he says. “Sarah and I both cherish our rich heritage and want to ensure that it is passed on to Zoe’s generation.”
Madison Jewish Community Day School is currently enrolling grades K-5 for the 2012-13 academic year. For more information, visit the MJCDS website at madisonjewishdayschool.com or call Rabbi Rebecca Ben-Gideon at 204-9900.