The Continental Council for Jewish Day School Education sponsored a successful workshop at the 2002 General Assembly entitled "It's Not the Same Old Day School
Story: New Opportunities, New Achievements."

Council Co-Chairs Dr. Lynda Giles and Rabbi Joshua Elkin, and Vice Chairs Claire Ellman and Rabbi Robert Hirt moderated the program, which concentrated on three of the council's five key content areas -- marketing and advocacy, affordability and community relationships.

A highlight of the session was a presentation by Alan Dershowitz, Harvard
University professor of law. Filling in for Daniel C. Kurtzer, U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mr. Dershowitz spoke via videotape about the importance of his day school education and how it shaped his personal and professional life.

Yehuda Kurtzer, a day school graduate and Wexner Fellow at Harvard University, and Jaymee Alpert, a day school graduate and rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, spoke about the significance of day school education.

Robert Aronson, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, described the creation of Detroit's Jewish Education Trust. Gary Shiffman, chair of the Shiffman Family Day School Assistance Fund in Detroit, explained his family's motivation for creating this multi-million dollar day school tuition assistance fund.

Finally, Howard Jacobson, president of the Jewish Federation of Kansas City, described the process in which Kansas City's JCC and day school learned to work together to share human and financial resources on a newly-developed campus. This presentation was so successful that Mr. Jacobson has been booked to fly to another community to consult with them on this issue.

The Continental Council for Jewish Day School Education looks forward to reporting on the progress of some of its initiatives at the PEJE Donor and Leadership Assembly in Los Angeles on Feb 2-4, 2003.

For more information, please contact steve@jesna.org.