How much do Jewish Day School's cost?

March 22, 2018 10:08 AM

Help me find a jewish day school for my niece and nephew.

We grew up totally secular and didn't get any formal jewish education. My brother wants to raise his kids differently and would like to find a conservative Jewish day school for his kids ages 5 & 9 either in NY or Maryland. I think he's willing to look at other denominations as well, but conservative is the preference and he has the option to live in either state. When I try to google this I'm having trouble finding out what the denominations of these day schools are. shouldn't that be the first thing listed? And a lot of them don't show tuitions. I have no kids so maybe it's just that I'm clueless about this stuff.

posted by fantasticness to Religion & Philosophy (9 answers total)

Can you explain what you mean by "having trouble finding out what the denominations of these days schools are" means? Some day schools are secular, for example. And you'll probably get further with calling the schools that don't show tuition and just asking them. Are you looking under the Admissions sections on the websites? That's usually where tuition information is found.
posted by cooker girl at 10:14 AM on March 22, 2018

Where in MD and NY? They're big places.

I googled "baltimore jewish day schools" and came across this school, which has its tuition schedule there on the page.
posted by rtha at 10:18 AM on March 22, 2018

Is there a specific accrediting body for Jewish day schools? If so they will probably have a list of members.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 10:20 AM on March 22, 2018

If they want Conservative specifically, they want a Schechter school.

There's one in Baltimore, and there are a bunch in the NYC Metro area .
posted by damayanti at 10:42 AM on March 22, 2018

The Wikipedia page on Jewish day schools is surprisingly helpful. Still, there’s no evidence that there’s a single authoritative accreditor of Jewish day schools, which I guess makes sense!
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 10:47 AM on March 22, 2018

Some schools are pluralistic or otherwise just not super clear-cut in terms of being affiliated with one denomination. Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, MD is pluralistic, and they list their tuition here.

I think the school linked above in Baltimore, Beth Tfiloh, is loosely Modern Orthodox - many of the teachers and staff are Orthodox, though much of the student body isn't.

Also, I don't know your brother's financial situation but it is my experience that Jewish day schools offer tuition assistance to people who otherwise can't afford to send their kids to Jewish schools.
posted by needs more cowbell at 12:00 PM on March 22, 2018

Part of the issue is that a lot of schools are nondenominational, which makes it easier for them to have a larger student body (which is an important consideration in areas since even in areas considered to have a high Jewish population, Jews are still very much a minority). If you're finding a Jewish Day School that isn't calling itself Orthodox, you're almost certainly looking at a school that is welcoming to Conservative families. They will often have stricter rules when it comes to things like kashrut and the liturgy they teach (because kids on the more religious end of the spectrum have to feel welcome there), but will be more relaxed in things like dress code.

I can personally second the recommendation for Schechter schools in general and Charles E. Smith (in Rockville MD, so nearer to D.C. than Baltimore), in particular.

The Heschel School in New York City is fantastic, but if money is a concern, it probably isn't on the table.
posted by Mchelly at 12:19 PM on March 22, 2018

You also also could take a look at Prizmah's site, which is more aimed at the schools themselves, and covers a wide range of Jewish schools (including Orthodox), but will likely have some resources.
posted by Mchelly at 12:21 PM on March 22, 2018

SAR Academy is Modern Orthodox, in Riverdale, NY.
Tuition is $24K and they do have financial aid resources.
Building is kinda unique, built into the side of a hill, with no walls/open classrooms. Very good STEM instruction. Teachers are insanely dedicated, as evidenced by the 1 am tech in education email chains I was cc'ed on.
posted by Sophont at 8:50 AM on March 23, 2018