campaign news - The Rashi School

winter 2006campaign news$30 million: Campaign Goal!$20 millionWe arealmostof the wayto our goal and haveraised $9 million!$10 million1/3Dear Friends of Rashi,We are delighted to share this first issue of The Campaign forRashi newsletter with you. With the opening of a new schoolyear, a new President of our Board of Directors, several newdirectors and most thrilling, certainty about the HebrewSeniorLife Campus in Dedham, there is much good news toshare. To date, we have raised $9 million for The Campaignfor Rashi with another $21 million needed to reach our goal!With your help, we will achieve our goal and create for ourchildren and generations of children to come, a fabulousnew and permanent home for the Rashi School.You’re right. You’re thinking about what a wonderfulplace Rashi already is, wondering why a new building isso important. It’s wonderful because we have such greatstudents, families, teachers, innovative approaches to oursubject areas, a seamlessly integrated curriculum, solidcore values at the foundation for everything we teach, andmuch more. It’s wonderful because we are central to thefuture of the Jewish community, creating and strengtheninggenerations of individuals who after graduation leave Rashifor the finest public and private secondary schools and thenthe most competitive colleges and universities, young menand women who wear their Jewish identities comfortablyand proudly for the rest of their lives.But we desperately need a permanent home. Our studentsand teachers deserve permanent facilities that enhance theexcellence of our programming. We need a better musicroom, science labs, multipurpose rooms, a Beit Knesset/BeitMidrash for study and worship, a technologically updatedlibrary and a separate lunchroom and gymnasium. We alsoneed more athletic outdoor space—soccer and baseballfields, outdoor basketball courts and playground space thatis contemporary and inviting. That’s just the beginning. Wewill build a school that reflects the welcoming, inclusive,progressive, egalitarian values fostered inside. It will be anopen, inviting, place with ample windows and skylights,one that attracts students, faculty and families to learn,to teach, to celebrate and to expand the warm, engagingcommunity that is the Rashi School.Thank you for reading this newsletter and for saving it touse as a reference tool every time someone asks you aboutThe Campaign for Rashi. The success of our fundraisingrequires that each of us invest as much time, energy andfinancial support in this effort as we possibly can. Won’t youhelp us build a permanent home for a school that nurtures,challenges, inspires and grounds young people? Won’t youmake an investment in the continuity of a Jewish communityrooted in text and tradition that warmly and eagerlyembraces modernity?For all that you will do to assure the fulfillment of ourdream of a beautiful, permanent Rashi School, thank you.Jill Goldenberg and Lisa Wallack, ChairsThe Campaign for Rashi

“I want to make a difference in the world. I want to lend my support to a placethat teaches children to realize their full potential. Rashi does that.” – Betty Ann MillerWhen Giving has the Power to Change the WorldComing to the Rashi School for the first time,Betty Ann Miller thought she had “comehome.” She recalls that the atmosphere,the values, the warmth of the learningenvironment, all reflected her values andthose of her young family. “People werelaughing, engaged, happy. There was joy inthe educational experience they were sharing.”Dan Miller was skeptical. He’d never beeninterested in his sons’ attending private school,least of all a Jewish day school. Then he toovisited Rashi. His immediate response waswithout ambivalence, “What are we waitingfor? Let’s enroll our boys now.”On Adam and Mathew’s first day, as theirmother watched near tears, the other studentswelcomed her boys and sang to them. “Mykids were in a loving, nurturing, vibrant,stimulating environment,” she says. “And onceother parents see the kind of an environmentRashi is for learning and growing, “I can’timagine a family inclined toward liberalJudaism, one that celebrates social justice,egalitarianism and informed choice, notwanting their child to be there.”Betty Ann and Dan MillerToday, with both Adam and Matthew atcollege, their mother feels no less stronglyabout the school. “It’s like one of my kids,”she admits. “I love it. I lose sleep over it. Icare about it.” Betty Ann and Dan made their$1,000,000 pledge to Rashi when the Campaignwas just starting. “It was a very excitingtime,” she remembers. Now that all thepermitting is complete and Hebrew SeniorLife(HSL) will officially break ground for themultigenerational campus in Dedham in Juneof 2007, the Millers hope the community buzzwill reinvigorate excitement about a newschool and involvement in the Campaign.“The new site is excellent,” they concur.“Better by far than any of the others. It exceedseveryone’s dreams for the school.”“I want to make a difference in the world,”Betty Ann says, “and children at Rashi arelearning that they matter, that they can makea difference, that each has a responsibility toactualize their own capacity to make change, toimprove the world. I want to lend my supportto a place that teaches each child to realize theirfull potential. Rashi does that.”“I always want to leverage my gift,” Dansays, “and this one will bear fruit for years.Rashi will turn out dozens and dozens ofgreat students every year because of this gift.They’ll be young people who understandtheir place in the world, that they can make apositive difference, they’ll understand theirresponsibility, have pride, and have a strongidentity. That feels terrific.”Rashi Strengthened and Enhancedby Peerless Excellence GrantThe five-year Peerless Excellence Grant totaling $10 million to each of threeday schools will fund academic programming, curriculum development,and teacher training, but not construction projects.According to Rashi’s Head of School, Rabbi Joe Eiduson, “The Peerless Granthas enabled us to provide absolute excellence for programs here, hasallowed us to give more attention to the professional growth of our teachersand has strengthened the very backbone of the school in invaluable ways.”At the Rashi Annual Dinner last spring, keynote speaker Jeffrey Swartz, Timberland CEOand a generous supporter of Jewish Day Schools, called children who study Torah, “thebuilders of our future, the guarantors of our community, the purpose for which we struggle.”He continued, “I am a proud supporter of The Rashi School and its students, part of thecommunity that will see this institution built and its purpose realized. My family’s commitmentto Rashi, both directly and through the Peerless Excellence Initiative, are not because mysons attend this school, they attend Maimonedes School… my commitment to Rashi is areflection that our children—the Jewish children in my community—must have a peerlessacademy of Reform Jewish day school learning available to them.”{“We must be builders of thisschool, investors of time andmoney for The Rashi School’sfuture. It is not someone else’stask to build Rashi for ourchildren, it is our task.”– Jeffrey Swartz

Janower Steering Rashi Toward GreatnessWith boundless energy and enthusiasm,A former consultant with the Bostona keen intellect and a riveting focus onConsulting Group, this 36-year-old mother ofwhat needs to be done, Cindy Janower wants three brings professional skills, extraordinaryto help Rashi School achieve unprecedented focus and seemingly limitless passion forgreatness. As the new President of the Board, Greater Boston’s only Reform Jewish Dayshe is leading the effort to bring to fruition the School. “We’re going to be a world classstrategic plan that she helped shape as chair of school,” she says. “Our Peerless Grant enabledStrategic Planning Committee.us to ask ourselves, ‘what do we need to do“The time to act is now.”{“The site in Dedham is magnificent, and seemsperfect for our school. The multigenerationalcampus is an exciting vision,” she says, echoingthe sentiments of many in the community.“The school is bound for greatness. We needeveryone in the community to be part of this.The time to act is now.”“The site in Dedham is magnificent. The multigenerational campus is an exciting vision.I look forward to the time when our facility is as good as the faculty and children within.”Everything good seems to be happeningat once, she explains. The Campaign for Rashiwill support the design and construction of astate-of-the-art new, permanent home on theDedham Campus with Hebrew SeniorLife.This new building will house Rashi’s uniqueintegrated curriculum, its holistic approachto children’s growth and development, itsphenomenal faculty and staff and its learningenvironment that nurtures, challenges andrespects each of its learners.to be outstanding?’ and then do it.” She saysRashi, currently searching for a new Headof School, now working with architects andplanners on their new home on the campusin Dedham, and now making substantiveenhances in our curriculum, professionaldevelopment, athletics, arts, social justice andJewish studies, just to begin the list, is notwaiting for the move, but going ahead withimprovements and enrichments now.(left to right) Cindy, Samantha, K; Michela, 3rd grade; Alexandra, pre-K; and AndrewMaking the Grand Leap From Grandparents to GrandchildrenGilda and Fred Slifka have made the largest pledge to The Campaign for Rashi the school has ever received.Their $2,000,000 pledge comes with praise for the superb education their grandchildren are getting, respectfor the teachers who have instilled a love of learning and a love of Judaism in these young people, and aheartfelt belief that there needs to be a school that brings Reform Judaism to young children grades K-8,which Rashi uniquely does.“I really never considered Jewish Day School as an option,”admits Gilda. But she came to recognize that, “You can’t valuebeing a Jew if you’re not educated about what that means.”The Rashi community is far more diverse than many realize. For families recently immigrated to America, forthose unfamiliar with Jewish tradition, custom and history, for those only beginning to explore their Jewishidentity, for those deeply committed to Jewish observance, and for interfaith and interracial families, Rashiis a welcoming, nurturing environment. Here parents and children alike experience the joy of Jewish livingand learning. “Rashi is doing a fabulous job giving these kids a great education and a great social conscience,”says Alfred (Fred) Slifka. “These kids have a strong sense of who needs help in this world.” Jennifer,the Slifkas’ daughter, and her husband Luis, started Sam, age 10 and his sister Lilly, 8 ½, at Rashi fromKindergarten and plan to enroll one-year-old Monica when she is ready. “They visited other schools first,”recalls Gilda, “but felt there was something special that attracted them to Rashi. It’s a feeling you get there.”(left to right) Fred, Gilda, Jennifer, Luis, Lilia and SamNot pictured, Monica now 15 monthsThe Slifkas describe locating the permanent new Rashi School on the proposed multi-generational campusbeing built by Hebrew SeniorLife (HSL) in Dedham as “a super idea.” According to Fred, a former HSL BoardChair, “What Len (Len Fishman, HSL’s President and CEO) is doing is the right thing to do. What Rashi isdoing is the right thing to do. Putting them together on the campus is a great idea.”Gilda is delighted with Rashi’s new President, Cindy Janower, and the recent approvals HSL received fromthe Dedham Planning Board. Both Slifkas enthusiastically embrace the prospect of Rashi building a greatnew school, with state-of-the-art facilities, and multigenerational programming. “It’s the best thing that couldhave happened,” says Fred.

Capital Campaign LeadershipCampaign ChairsJill GoldenbergLisa WallackHonorary ChairsNancy Kaplan Belskyand Mark BelskyDr. Paula J. Brodyand Merrill HassenfeldLinda and Michael FriezeBetty Ann and Dan MillerPatty and Charles RibakoffGilda and Alfred SlifkaSusan Lewis Solomontand Alan SolomontCabinetLiz BaumMichael BohnenSusan CalechmanRita GellerRobert GervisBob HaberJim KaufmanWendy Kramer-WaidaFrank LitwinDorothy MarsonMarsha MollerDale OkonowBert PaleyMarjorie PaleyMarianne Paley NadelJoan RosenbergFaryl SandlerJonathan SandlerJerome SomersHerb TobinSuzy TobinJennifer VidalLuis VidalJoan WallackMilton WallackNeil WallackJamie Weintraubin formationCJP BeneficiaryQuestions & AnswersQ. Can you tell me more about the campusRashi will share with Hebrew SeniorLife?A. The campus will be developed on 160 acres ofbeautiful, wooded land on the Dedham/Needham line.More than half of the land will remain undevelopedand nature trails and open spaces will be shared. HSLis building a variety of senior housing to accommodatepeople with a range of needs, from healthy andindependent to frail and infirm. Rashi’s space isseparate, but nearby, and programming that benefitsRashi students and seniors will be thoughtfullyintegrated into the children’s schedule. Our studentswill benefit from the wisdom of generations past;seniors will reap the benefits of engaging withand mentoring children. Extensive documentedresearch applauds the advantages for both.Q. When will construction begin?A. Hebrew SeniorLife has already begun work on theproperty. How quickly our school will be built will bedetermined, in part, by how quickly funds are committedthrough the Campaign for Rashi. We plan to openSeptember 2010.Q. Why is there such a sense of urgency?A. Our present location is bursting at the seams anda different rental situation will never include all thefeatures we want. To locate on a beautiful, open,natural setting, convenient to Rte 128, to create exactlythe school that meets all our needs, and to enable usto expand enrollment to about 450 students learning inthree classes for each grade and enjoy all the benefitsof 18 learners in a classroom is a rare and wonderfulopportunity not to be missed.As a recipient of a multi-million dollar PeerlessExcellence Grant, Rashi has received the ultimate “sealof approval.” This vote of confidence in the quality ofthe educational environment means we will continueto thrive and attract additional families to the Rashicommunity. The grant is exclusively for educationalprogramming, not bricks and mortar.Q. Can I designate my gift?A. Yes. The Campaign for Rashi is a Capital Campaignfor a permanent campus. Every dollar raised will beused for that purpose. Furthermore, there is an extensivelist of naming opportunities to choose from for thoseindividuals and families who are giving between $25,000and $10 million. If you would like to designate a gift toa specific location, such as the library, the gymnasium,the rabbi's study, or to the school building, the largercampus or the athletic fields, we would be delighted torecognize your generosity by naming such a designationin your honor.Q. How soon do I have to pay my pledge?A. To proceed with our plans to start constructionas soon as possible, we need to have as much cashavailable as possible. However, we are happy to havea confidential discussion with you about developinga payment plan that meets your needs and ours.Q. Are you still going to ask me for an Annual gift?A. Yes. If you would like to contribute a multiple yearannual gift, and not have to be asked for awhile, that iswonderful. Annual support is crucial to the operationof the school and our ability to keep tuition from goinghigher than it already is.Q. Who can I call to talk about giving?A. Paul Swindlehurst, Chief Advancement Officer,617-969-7300 ext. 235, will be happy to speak with you.Rashi School15 Walnut ParkNewton, MA 02458Nonprofit OrgU.S. Postage PaidBoston, MAPermit NO. 56407Boston Area Reform Jewish Day SchoolCritical Minds. Compassionate Hearts.