Jewish Community Day School immerses children in religious, academic studies

      Hanna Berger, 9, doesn't mince words about her new school:
      "These are the best friends I've ever had," is her assessment of the student body.
      "At this school, we learn a ton of Hebrew." That's her assessment of the curriculum.
      Hanna is a third-grader at the Jewish Community Day School. She is new to Las Vegas, just as her school is. It opened in autumn, with blessings from an array of local rabbis. The school has 74 students enrolled, from kindergarten through fifth grade. It currently leases space from Congregation Ner Tamid, 2761 Emerson Ave.
      Hanna moved to Nevada from New York last summer. According to her mom, Karen Berger, the family wouldn't have relocated if Las Vegas hadn't had a day school. Hanna's dad is Rabbi Moshe Berger, who leads the membership of Temple Beth Sholom.
      School director Jerome Kutliroff explains the connotation of the term "day school." It offers both a full academic education and a religious education during the regular school day. As a result, the school day runs long, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
      A day school contrasts with afternoon Hebrew school, which some Jewish children attend at their synagogue after finishing a full day in a public or secular school.
      "I guess what's unique is, the Jewish education is a `real' education," Kutliroff says. "Meaning, the most important thing is to be literate in Hebrew -- to learn to converse and write and read it. ... We teach them to read the Bible with the Jewish commentaries."
      The goal of such studies is, according to Kutliroff, to "learn vs. learn about" Judaism. In other settings where time is short, Jewish education might be reduced to "learning about holidays and customs without really understanding where they come from."
      In the kindergarten room at the Jewish Community Day School, one wall displays a huge "mitzvah tree" to record good deeds -- or mitzvahs -- the children have performed. Another wall shows students' pictures of Kohen and his Begadim, the Hebrew for Old Testament priest and his garments.
      On a recent morning, the kindergartners are singing prayers in Hebrew. Judaica teacher Chubi Aarons softly chides one boy who's wiggling a bit too much. "Remember," she says, "you're talking to Hashem," one of the Hebrew names for God.
      At recess time the playground is dotted with kipas, the Hebrew term for skullcap. All boys enrolled at the day school wear them as part of their uniform. A kipa -- also known by its Yiddish name, yarmulke -- is a sign of respect. Third-grader Jason Alpert explains, "It's not good to show your head directly to Hashem."
      For all the school's emphasis on fostering appreciation of Jewish heritage, Kutliroff asks visitors to not "let that Jewish part diminish the other part," which is a rigorous coverage of academic subjects. Even the kindergartners spend time on the schools' computers to work on the alphabet and draw pictures. In science, fifth-graders are learning about the law of conservation of matter and energy.
      Kutliroff holds a doctorate in biology, although he has spent the past 25 years as a principal or assistant principal at Jewish day schools in Rhode Island, Tennessee, Florida and Arizona. He and his wife, also on the faculty, are Orthodox Jews. But by design, the Las Vegas day school is not affiliated with any particular branch of Judaism -- while day schools in some other cities are. The Jewish Federation of Las Vegas launched a task force two years ago, which assembled the current school and its board.
      "We've got anything from Reconstructionist to Orthodox Chabad," is how Hebrew language teacher Nicole Klein explains student-body diversity at the Jewish Community Day School. Enrollment is nondiversified in only one respect: Students must have at least one Jewish parent, and parents must be committed to raising the children Jewish.
      To promote unity at the lunch table, students bring meatless lunches four days a week. This way, there's no accidental mixing of meat and dairy products, which is a breach of kosher dietary rules. Once a week, a hot meat meal is catered for the school by a local kosher restaurant.
      Linda Sklar, president of the day school's parent-teacher association, likes the mingling of families with different degrees of religious observance. "They're teaching tradition without shoving it down anybody's throat. (Children) get full exposure without rigidity and judgmentalism."
      Daniel Sklar, her second-grade son, seems to be growing more comfortable with his Jewish identity. She says he used to resist wearing his kipa. "He never ever did it at home before. He'd actually refuse. Now, if he comes home with it on, he may keep it on."
      The sense of community at Jewish Community School also was important to parents Fern Greenwald and Mark Frydman, whose daughters had attended public school. The couple owns Whippersnapperz, a store that specializes in educational toys.
      "I think it was very frustrating for them when the holidays came," Greenwald recalls. "They made Christmas ornaments (at school) unless I went into their classes and made a (Hanukkah) party or taught a lesson."
      But the Frydman family also enjoys the intellectual stimulation that the day school presents to third-grade Jana and fourth-grade Carlie. According to Greenwald, "We were looking for more of a challenge for the kids. The GATE program (for gifted children) was the best they could give (at the girls' prior school). But for one child that was 45 minutes a week, and for the other, an hour and a half a week. ... We want them to go beyond what comes easily."
      Launching the day school required consensus in the Las Vegas Jewish community, Kutliroff points out. To enhance the school's prospect of survival, the Chabad Preschool agreed to give up its first-grade class. Temple Beth Sholom closed its Solomon Schechter elementary school.
      The day school also has won strong financial support. Current tuition is $4,200 per child per year, but Kutliroff notes "scholarships amount to 30 percent of total tuition" this year. If a child received a scholarship, his or her parents were still required to pay at least $1,500 for the year.
      Next year, the day school plans to add a sixth-grade class. Long-term, Kutliroff says it would like to include a high school and move to a campus shared by other Jewish organizations, such as the federation and a facility for the aged.