The first Hebrew charter school opened in August 2007 in Broward County, Fla. The Ben Gamla Charter School “is not a religious school in any form,” explains its principal, Sharon Miller, “but a Hebrew-English public charter school” educating 585 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, and a high school scheduled to open in 2010. This coming fall, a second Hebrew charter school, Hebrew Language Academy, will open its doors in Brooklyn, N.Y., offering a completely secularized dual-language curriculum committed to academic excellence and Hebrew-language proficiency.
Before the emergence of these charter schools, families interested in a Hebrew education had essentially two choices — a private Jewish day school, where the Hebrew language and a religious curriculum are an integral part of the day, or “Hebrew school,” an afternoon or Sunday program for children in public school or nonsectarian private school. A Hebrew charter school is neither of these. By law, it cannot teach religion, and yet it is more than an extracurricular program.
Are these schools drawing in new families who would otherwise never have received a Hebrew language and cultural education? Or are they offering an affordable but religiously diluted Jewish education to kids who would otherwise have gone to a Jewish day school? Are they a welcome development or a worrisome one?
“By law, it cannot teach religion,” that’s why. Judiasm is more than learning Biblical hebrew. Jews would be foolish to let the state dictate what they teach.
The best solution is a strong voucher program. Strong in the sense that:
(1) the program is well funded, making the vouchers large, so that poor families have just close to the same range of choice as rich families do,
and (2) the program permits the family to use the voucher for any school that meets standards, including schools with an explicitly religious dimension (Catholic schools, Hebrew schools, etc.).
I’m skeptical of vouchers since it’s too easy for the government to claim it’s “their” money and thus subject religious schools to public control. It’s much better to make the purported voucher a refundable tax credit and give the parent complete control over its use, with the only proviso being the child(ren) be enrolled in an accredited school or taught a suitable homeschool curriculum.
The North Carolina General Assembly severely restricts the number of charter schools. Asheville is blessed with Maccabi Academy a private Jewish community day school now serving K-3 and adding a grade a year through 8. My wife Lucy Oliver serves on the school board.