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.

Goals and Vision (excerpts from remarks on Jan. 13)

Thank you for coming this evening. Your presence reflects your passion and love for B'nai Shalom - our community's day school.

The overarching goal of the Board of Trustees is to assure that a viable, dynamic Jewish day school will continue to flourish in Greensboro, North Carolina, just as it has for the past 39 years.

Next year, we will celebrate the end of our first 40 years!

I want to tell you how sorry I am about the angst this issue has caused for some of you. In retrospect, we would have envisioned a different process - one that had a meeting like this one prior to the board vote. What happened ended generating mistrust and rumors. We hope that one of the outcomes of tonight's meeting is to design a way that this will not happen again.

I envision B'nai Shalom's graduates - and there will be many - as products of a school of rigorous academic achievement, supported by values and character education based on Judaism's legal and ethical source texts. Our graduates will deeply identify with Jewish religious tradition through shared Hebrew language and a community of Jewish culture. Thanks to this rich background, they will be solidly grounded in their ethical views and moral commitments, and likely to achieve contentment and success in their professions and family lives. They will feel a strong sense of belonging in their school, their communities and their culture.

The shared experience of a "B'nai Shalom education" will stay with them always. When they reach high school and college, they will feel strongly connected to their fellow alumni as well as other day school graduates. In their adult communities, they will become leaders in the Jewish arena as well as active in local causes. They will continue to love and support the State of Israel. In short, they will achieve academic excellence and internalize moral values in order to reach full potential as learners, thinkers and leaders.

By Law Amendment: Background Information

Last night's forum to discuss the board-proposed by-law amendment was attended by over 50 participants, including 22 pre-school parents, 16 trustees and 12 faculty and staff. Facilitators Susan Pinsker and Sue Simmons outlined the objectives of the meeting, set ground rules and established roles before presenting the agenda.

The history of the board process was presented at the meeting. Highlights are noted below:

• The issue of non-Jewish children at B'nai Shalom is not a new topic. In the 70's and 80's, a few non-Jewish children were enrolled at school and some continued throughout the program. Current parents who are also alumni of BSDS remember non-Jewish children in their classes. The school was very small at this time.


• From 2005-2007, the board studied this issue and appointed an ad hoc task force, chaired by Jeff Segal and populated by (then) current (Jewish and non-Jewish) parents, alumni parents, board members and donors.


• The ad-hoc committee researched Jewish day schools in the U.S., Europe and South Africa and conducted a national survey to which over 30 school responded.


• A number of Jewish day schools do admit non-Jewish children in pre-school and beyond.


• After many meetings of spirited discussion, the ad-hoc committee could not come to a consensus and recommended that the board table the discussion.


• In 2008, the board voted to allow children of non-Jewish staff and faculty to attend BSDS Pre-school. This was an experimental move and not a proposal to amend the school by-laws. The experiment was reviewed in May, 2009 and the board agreed to continue for another year.


• The current issue has been in active board discussion since 2008, fueled by parent inquiries, non-Jewish children at Camp Little Star and Indigo Star, parent interest in diversity and financial benefits to the school budget.


• On December 4, 2009, the board recommended to amend the by-laws to admit non-Jewish children to B'nai Shalom's pre-school on a space-available basis.

Why I Do What I Do

Jill Wilson, a local attorney for Brooks Pierce and Gail LeBauer, a psychiatric nurse, spoke to SOAR this morning about their professions. Jill, who always liked to read, became a lawyer because lawyers solve problems using written materials. Gail, always curious about the workings of the mind, went to nursing school, became a psychiatric nurse and practices as a therapist.

Jill explained constitutional rights, fundamental rights and how these play out at schools. "Lawyers," Jill said, "balance interests when they collide." She shared her favorite line from the Tinker case, "Students don't leave their constitutional rights at the school house gate," in the process of explaining how Supreme Court decisions rely on precedents set by previous cases. Students discussed a specific case regarding freedom of speech in the school environment.

Gail explained concepts of behavior modification and motivation, from smiley faces in early grades to "great job" in middle school. She told students that they need to know professional standards of appropriate behavior in whatever professions they choose, talked about "time outs for grownups" and oppositional behavior. The session concluded with Gail leading a short Channukah-themed meditation.

The Learning Curve: Everything Takes Longer Than You Might Think!

Dan Bensimhon, a local cardiologist, spoke to SOAR on December 11. Halfway through his undergraduate work at Duke, he switched from Pre-Med to Journalism as a major. He wrote about men's cycling and running, working for Men's Health and Rolling Stone magazines. Eventually, he went to medical school, moonlighting to cover night shifts for other doctors. This evolved into a business, as he began managing all of the "moonlighters" and setting them up with doctors to cover their shifts.

Dan told the eighth graders about needing a business plan, a loan and some help to start his business. He called a lawyer to get some pointers and quickly learned that everything takes longer than one might think - and more money! He explained about loans, venture capitalists (who own part of your business) and taking control of your own company. Dan advised students to retain as much of the company equity as possible, so that you have more to give away at a later stage.

He told the eighth grade to always ask questions, to take advice from those who know more than you do and to make sure that any partner can do his or her job before giving him or her a portion of your business. Dan also explained the need to anticipate by hiring ahead of growth - to be proactive in growing your business.

Dan noted that while people start businesses to make money, he feels good about helping other cardiologists and making a difference by giving back to the community.

Marketing is Pervasive

Pam Goldberg and Kevin Daniels visited SOAR class this morning. After defining PR as "spreading good news or managing disaster," Pam taught students the SWOT analysis used in marketing (examine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats). Kevin emphasized the importance of good decision making in the newsroom. He told the eighth graders that "knowledge is power;" the more they know, the better equipped they will be to make smart choices. Kevin and Pam also talked about changes in the world of marketing, including the use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Hulu and internet sites.

Students Speak

In today's SOAR session, students worked in small groups to synthesize some of the information presented by guest faculty. Steve Friedland and Micah Goldstein facilitated these sessions. Students spoke first about what they have learned from the sessions:

1. It's difficult to get a patent (from Eric Kraus).

2. If one loses a trained employee, the business loses a lot of money (from Mark Hyman).

3. You can start from nothing, do what you enjoy, and create a business (from Jillian Reich).

4. One can use his business to help others (Gary Lindenberg).

5. Build a relationship with your employees (Mark Hyman, Arthur Samet)

6. Business needs to change with the environment. Adapt to what your customers want and need (Joe Nehman, Tom Sloan).

Steve and Micah asked students to name the top three lessons that they would post on the walls of their new offices.

J and K Inc. posted: Customer Service - Good Quality - Latest Technology.

ME Enterprises: Passion - Experience - Good Education - Good Employees.

JRM Inc: Enjoy your work - Be your own boss - Help others.

D and E: Accomplish - Believe - Control.

JS Inc: Open Mind - Build relationships with clients - Don't break the law.

The discussion moved into the realm of ethics as students debated whether or not Nike and Gatorade should retain Tiger Woods to promote products. They wrestled with whether or not it was important that he represent the values of their companies. To be continued!