Summit on the Affordability of Jewish Education: Report

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This report presents the preliminary findings and recommendations emerging from discussions by the leaders of Jewish organizations and communities from across the US as they delved into the issue of day school tuition affordability at the OU Summit on the Affordability of Jewish Education.

We urge all of our communities to thoughtfully review this list and determine what conversations can begin, what local changes can be instituted, and to contact the Orthodox Union for further discussions on how the OU may collaborate with communal efforts. To learn more about the ideas referenced in this report and to receive the OU’s Tuition Affordability Political Action Update email, please be in contact with Rabbi Judah Isaacs, OU Director of Community Engagement, at Isaacsj@ou.org or 212-613-8336.

Download the complete report here (PDF)

Watch the videos from the summit here

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  • Owlbay

    Seems like all the suggestions involve additional funding (donations, tax credit). Maybe also we can live more simply and salaries won’t have to be as high.

  • Guest

    1.  It is going to be very difficult to convince people (like me), who paid “full freight” day school tuition for multiple children from K through 12 — and who are now getting closer and closer to retirement — that we have an ongoing obligation to fund the day schools.

    2.  If a voucher program is enacted in any state, any administrator worth his (or her) salt will immediately raise tuition by the amount of the voucher.  Teachers may be paid more (or more regularly), or programming may improve, but tuition will not decrease.

    3.  There are hard choices to be made at our day schools.  Excellence and affordability are not likely to go hand in hand, and compromise will be unpleasant.  It’s a charming fantasy to think that there’s a fortune of money just waiting to be collected from the government, by better lobbying, and from the broader community, by better fundraising, but it’s just a fantasy.

  • Gary

    I mentioned this summit to my daughter at Shabbat lunch today. She is a high school junior. I am certain there have been dozens of such summits during her school career.

    The two schools to which I have sent my children have kept increases small since the 2008 recession.However, the tuition scale for all grades has risen by more than half during the last dozen years.

    I wish those working on the matter much success.