Jewish Day School Offers New Opportunities for Middle School Students

Pauleen Faynberg was a 5th grader when her parents began thinking about her middle school options. The then 11-year-old was a good student, but she’d had no Hebrew or religious education. A Jewish day school education seemed out of the question.

So it was with some reservations that the Faynbergs included the former South Area Solomon Schechter Day School in Norwood (now Kehillah Schechter Academy) among their possibilities. And when Pauleen announced that KSA was her first choice, her parents agreed – all the while wondering how she would manage the challenge.

The Faynbergs found that KSA’s child-centered approach to learning allowed Pauleen’s teachers to assess her knowledge and place her with classmates at her level for every subject. Working in groups of 4 or 5 students, the 6th grader quickly advanced in Hebrew and Judaic studies. By the time she became a bat mitzvah, Pauleen requested the ceremony be held in Israel – and she was fluent enough to speak conversational Hebrew with Israelis.

With a significant number of 6th and 7th graders, and even an 8th occasional grader entering KSA each year, the Norwood-based day school has developed an effective approach to integrating students at widely varying levels into the program. Grouping students with others at their level and supplementing their Hebrew studies with early morning study sessions with teachers, KSA helps students narrow the gap in learning and achieve their full potential.

“I tell the parents if I have a student coming into our school in 7th grade, I know he’s not going to become a fluent Hebrew speaker and reader in the two years I’m going to have him,” says Hebrew Department head Dana Bar-or. “But he is going to know what it means to be Jewish and he is going to cherish Jewish values and culture and feel proud of his Jewish identity.”

KSA’s supportive environment combined with challenging academics were what sold Paul and Karen Birnbaum on the school for their son’s middle school years. “We tried public school for Matthew in the 6th grade, but we weren’t fully satisfied with both the education and the social atmosphere,” Paul Birnbaum recalls. “There seemed to be an attitude that it was just an ‘in-between’ time between elementary and high school, and we wanted it to be more than that.”

When Matthew entered Schechter in 7th grade, the difference was striking. “Coming in, I was placed in the upper level classes for math and science,” the Emory University chemistry major recalls. “I really enjoyed that because they didn’t have that kind of course leveling in public school. I was learning calculus in the 7th grade and it was really pushing my limits.”

Matthew also appreciated his new school’s efforts to make him feel at home. “When I made the transition to Schechter, everyone was very welcoming,” he recollects. “I was included whenever everyone would get together and people were much nicer and friendlier. Even when I was first coming in, they felt like true friends.”

The school’s integration of secular and Judaic studies provided a solid foundation for growth. “In Tanakh class, experiencing Torah and seeing how Judaic studies were applied was really interesting,” Matthew Birnbaum describes. “It was a new way of learning that I apply to even my English texts when I read them.”

The close connection to Birnbaum’s Schechter teachers also made a lasting impression. “When Matthew entered in 7th grade, he was behind in Hebrew reading and speaking so he worked in a group with 3 or 4 other kids and a teacher, Morah Sue,” Paul Birnbaum explains. The relationship between Matthew and Morah Sue was so meaningful and rich, Matthew has continued to stay in touch with her through high school and college. “If he had only gotten that interaction and nothing else, it would have been worth the whole thing,” his father says.

Enhancing the appeal of a middle school transfer even more is the recent expansion of CJP’s Discover Day School (DDS) program. This valuable initiative offers financial assistance to qualified families that wish to send the first child in their family to a Jewish day school. For eligible students interested in entering day school in the 6th grade, a DDS grant may provide significant financial support for all of their middle school years.

For Pauleen Faynberg, her experiences at Schechter have continued to play a pivotal role in her life. Now a second year student at Gann Academy, Pauleen is proud of her Jewish heritage and continues to enrich her spiritual growth. “It’s been a kind of wonderful journey,” her mother says. “Not just for her but for the whole family.”