In August of 2011, the OU presented communities nationwide with a unique challenge. Their task was to develop innovative strategies to address the day school affordability crisis. Those with the most compelling ideas would receive funds to launch their missions within their communities.
We received 35 grant applications representing 14 states from across North America, reinforcing the extent to which the affordability issue has affected all of our communities.
The seven winners received a total of $150,000 in grants; these initiatives are included on this website, as well as some of those ideas that were not funded. We trust you'll find them all helpful.
If you have a brainstorm of your own, please submit it to the affordability@ou.org. The OU hopes to create a place for a vibrant exchange of ideas to address this critical issue.
“And You Shall Strengthen Your Brother”: Middle-Income Strategies
This White Paper examines the affordability strategy of targeting "middle-income" families. From Los Angeles to Boston, from Birmingham to Milwaukee, schools and communities have confronted the middle-income challenge. Efforts have been championed by donors,...
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iCap: Keeping Jewish Day School Accessible to Middle-Income Families
Download this White Paper as a PDF. By Charles Cohen and Daniel Perla Introduction: What is “iCap”? In 2011, Solomon Schechter Day School of Boston (SSDS) board members saw a surprising anomaly in their...
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Innovation in Jewish Education: A Field Report from Portland, Oregon
The primary purpose of this article is to share a “field update” regarding one of those venues, namely the use of an on-line state funded charter school known as Connections Academy.
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The Jewish Tax Return – A Responsibility and Privilege
The day-school and yeshiva community has long been seeking funds from the government and secular Jewish organizations, without success. One solution to the Jewish-education-affordability dilemma is actually laid out in the Torah. We are...
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The Matmidim Program – The School-Within-a-School Project
The Matmidim Program is an innovative cost-saving program that incorporates a Judaic Studies track into an already established Jewish community school. Led by Congregation Beth Israel Abraham and Voliner (BIAV), the program offers students...
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Ben Porat Yosef – Maximizing Facility Usage to Supplement Income
Currently, day schools operate 180 school days for approximately 8-10 hours per day per year. Ben Porat Yosef of Paramus, NJ, proposes that a greater benefit exists for the community at large, were day...
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Jewish Education Endowment Fund – Creating the Self-Funding School
The Jewish Educational Endowment Fund (JEEF) is a challenge grant program with one goal in mind – to create a self-funding school and help ensure that every Jewish child gets a high quality Jewish...
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Yeshivat He’Atid – 21st Century Judaic Studies Curricula Project The Cost-Saving World of “Blended Learning”
Personnel expenses account for 80 % of the budgets of local Bergen County day schools. Yeshivat He’Atid found a way to reduce these costs through the “blended learning” model. Blended learning combines the best...
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Rudlin Torah Academy in Richmond – Marketing Day School Education to the Next Generation of Parents
When a school fills more “empty seats,” it increases funding. Rudlin Torah Academy in Richmond, VA, created a marketing project with the potential to attract many more parents. Once the children are enrolled, not...
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Torah Academy of Greater Philadelphia – Helping Hand Tuition Reduction Initiative
The “Helping Hand” project addresses the challenge of affordability among middle-income families. Many of these families struggle to pay full day school tuition fees and usually lack the financial safety nets from which lower-income...
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