Our colleagues and friends at the YU Institute for University-School Partnership are to be commended for training school administrators and leadership to compare their school’s finances against Jewish day school benchmarks (“Day Schools Saving Millions In New Efficiency Effort,” Jan. 13). The open sharing of previously guarded information will help each school make wise financial decisions in pursuit of each school’s sacred mission.
For the last three years, the Jewish day schools that serve the greater Westchester Jewish community have met for open sharing. The Westchester Jewish Day School Roundtable, facilitated by the Westchester Jewish Council, includes lay and professional representation from six Westchester area Jewish day schools. The roundtable, which has had support from the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education, RAVSAK community day school network, the Jewish Education Project and UJA-Federation of New York, has discussed issues such as joint marketing, program sharing grant making and the support of Jewish day schools beyond day school families.
Our deliberations have been open and candid, allowing each school, while maintaining its own autonomy and unique mission, a chance to work together for the collective good of Jewish day school education. As research shows, the students of Jewish day schools are highly correlated with future leadership in our North American Jewish community.
We commend Jewish day schools for their spirit of collaboration, which will enhance their schools and fuel the Jewish community of the future.
Executive Director Westchester Jewish Council
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