Q & A: Pre-school By-Law Amendment

In this post, I'll addressed the FAQs (frequently asked questions) about the board-proposed pre-school by-law amendment.

Q. Were any pre-school parents on the board that proposed this amendment?

A. Four current pre-school parents sit on the Board of Trustees, as well as 10 former pre-school parents.

Q. Why weren't pre-school parents included in last year's parent survey?

A. The parent survey was a national survey conducted by Measuring Success through PEJE: the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education. The survey was for day school parents of students in Grades K-12 only.

Q. Will financial assistance be given to non-Jewish pre-school families?

A. B'nai Shalom does not offer financial assistance for any pre-school family - Jewish or non-Jewish.

Q. Did B'nai Shalom lose money with Madoff?

A. No. BSDS did not have any investments with Madoff.

Q. Will the teacher/student ratios change?

A. No. Student/teacher ratios are already well below state recommendations.

Q. Music and art were cut this year from pre-school. What will happen next year?

A. The art program remains the same as in previous years with pre-K children working with the art specialist in her classroom. The other children are too small for the stools in the art room and have art in their classrooms with their regular teachers. Schedules will be re-arranged so that the music specialist will be teaching in pre-school next fall.

Q. Will the pre-school curriculum be affected by this proposal?

A. No. The pre-school curriculum, including Jewish life cycle and holidays, will remain the same.

Q. What if a non-Jewish family wants to continue in kindergarten?

A. The current proposal is for pre-school admissions alone.

Q. How will B'nai Shalom monitor kashrut?

A. The school kashrut policy will not change.

Q. Will the mission of the school stay the same?

A. Yes - unequivocably.