Providence’s Jewish schools offer top-shelf, affordable education

It’s springtime, and that means that families all over the state are starting to think about the next school year. Where should you send your child? Did you know that there are two Jewish day schools and one early childhood center right here in Providence? And did you know that all three of these schools receive funding from the Jewish Alliance’s Annual Campaign for scholarships?

All three schools – the David C. Isenberg Family Early Childhood Center, the Providence Hebrew Day School, and the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island – provide a first-class education to the next generation of Rhode Island Jews.

The David C. Isenberg Family Early Childhood Center (ECC), a program of the Jewish Alliance, is located at the Dwares JCC. The school’s mission is to provide a high-quality and developmentally age-appropriate program comprised of educational and Judaic experiences. In a secure, nurturing and loving atmosphere, it fosters the cognitive, physical, emotional and social growth of young children, both Jewish and non-Jewish. The ECC serves approximately 120 children between the ages of 3 months and 5 years old from 102 families.

Director Jo-Anne DeGiacomo-Petrie says that at the ECC, “Children’s success is measured based upon the learning process versus the product. It is respected that each child learns at their own rate and learning preferences.”

The ECC staff provides experiences that promote Jewish values, which are also human values, with the hope that exposure to these ideals will create lifelong positive behaviors. 

The Providence Hebrew Day School (PHDS) is located nearby the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. Serving the Orthodox Jewish community, PHDS teaches children a love of Torah, Judaism, mitzvot, and Israel; provides them with a program of excellence in Torah studies and general studies and prepares them to compete in a globally competitive society. Serving an average of 55 families, the PHDS also prides itself on helping its graduates gain entry into the finest high schools and universities.

According to Director Rabbi Peretz Scheinerman, “Students that attend Jewish day schools are far more likely to find Jewish spouses so, in effect, Jewish education equals Jewish survival.” Scheinerman also quotes Rabbi Alexander Schindler, the past chancellor of the Reform movement, saying, “If we don’t educate our children as Jews there is precious little that we can expect from them.”

The Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island (JCDSRI) is also located near the Jewish Alliance. With Head of School Adam Tilove at the helm, JCDSRI prepares confident, collaborative, critical thinkers for the 21st century. The school employs a progressive curriculum that nurtures each student’s innate creativity and curiosity while promoting academic rigor and developing character. JCDSRI is supported by an inclusive community of 52 families and reflects the values and ethics of a vibrant and diverse Jewish community.

JCDSRI sends its graduates to the finest public and independent middle and high schools in the area. In addition, it boasts the integration of tikkun olam, or making the world a better place, as a core value.

Tilove says, “Our students use Jewish prayer and the holidays to reflect on the meaning of their lives and explore how they can be better friends, children, brothers, sisters and community members. We use the full range of our traditions and critical thinking skills to devise ways to make the world a better place.

“This belief that Judaism can lend a sense of meaning and purpose to our lives is deeply ingrained in our community.”

Each of these schools instills core Jewish and human values as well as offering high-level education. But what if you can’t afford to send your child to one of these prestigious schools?

Not to worry – the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island’s Annual Campaign offers substantial scholarship opportunities for all three schools.

Ten percent of the families at the ECC have received scholarships. Here is how one family expressed gratitude regarding their scholarship to DeGiacomo-Petrie:

“For me, I was so scared knowing that I had two kids at the ECC and could not afford to send the third without financial assistance.  I love and trust the ECC.  I was fortunate to get assistance for my third child and felt very supported.  If I was not able to receive any support, I was going to need to take my other two children out.  I did not know where I was going to send them.  My son stayed at the ECC because of the support I received.”

At PHDS, Alliance allocations assist in financial aid to more than 60 percent of families, with a motto that no Jewish child will be left behind. Scheinerman says he is proud that PHDS has very involved alumni, many of whom attribute their success in life to the education they received at PHDS.

“This past week I met with Mr. Michael Bohnen, who runs the Sheldon Adelson Foundation, and Zamira Korff, a top fundraising specialist for CJP [Combined Jewish Philanthropies]. Both remarked to me that much of who they are today all started years ago at the school,” Scheinerman said.

JCDSRI receives a significant allocation from the Alliance, which assists with financial aid for approximately 65 percent of its families. Many families have expressed gratitude for the JCDSRI’s impact on them and their children. One family said, “Our son started at JCDSRI this year and we could not be happier. The strong academic foundation he is getting is only the start; more fundamentally, he is learning that school is a place where his instinctive love for learning and curiosity is continued and furthered. 

“The school truly focuses on the  ‘whole child’; emotional intelligence is fostered just as much as are academic skills. Most impressively, core values such as empathy and gratitude are not just paid lip service: instead, they are woven into the smallest, simplest details of the curriculum, and add up to something pretty profound.

“As parents with different religious backgrounds, we feel that our shared values have found in this school a perfect fit.”

HILLARY SCHULMAN is a development associate at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.