Choosing who educates your child is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. With so many great options available, including public, independent and charter schools, today’s parents need to navigate the scholastic landscape carefully to select the right environment for their child. And while not everyone may consider Jewish day school, this route offers unexpected benefits to your little one.
From math and engineering to literature and music, Jewish day school students grow to view things from a very distinctive point of view. They’re challenged to understand the world in ways that enhance successful learning across every subject. Questioning. Interpreting. Debating. Evolving. Looking outward and inward, backward and forward in time, they acquire knowledge while gaining wisdom beyond their years — all while satisfying their insatiable sense of curiosity. Here’s how.
Can your child’s brain actually change by thinking in two languages? Researchers resoundingly say yes. A recent Georgetown University study confirms that bilingual people have more grey matter in the areas of the brain that control executive functioning, like memory, task flexibility and problem solving.
Jewish day school students benefit from a true language immersion environment, which goes far deeper than learning Mandarin once or twice a week. From the first day of school, dual-language skills such as pattern recognition and reasoning broaden their ability to grasp higher-level subjects like algebra, coding and poetry. As bilingual kids go on to middle school, high school and college, they are able to learn additional world languages more easily than single-language speakers. And they are often confident, perceptive communicators, too.
EIQ is a big buzzword in the modern workplace. More than IQ, employers seek out candidates with a high emotional intelligence quotient or EIQ, which is the capacity to understand others’ intentions while appreciating our own feelings, fears and motivations. Kids with strong EIQs also tend to have sharper academic communication, negotiation and conflict management abilities.
Belonging to an inclusive educational community, like a Jewish day school, helps develop your child’s EIQ – improving her adaptability, empathy, social acumen and leadership. In his research, author and psychologist Jeffrey Kress, PhD, notes that the inherent EIQ development approaches found in Jewish day schools are key to forming relationships, solving everyday problems, responding to change and forging identity. “A wealth of psychological and educational research suggests that social and emotional skills can be learned by students in classroom settings and put to use in real-life situations,” he says. “These skills underlie not only successful inter- and intra-personal functioning, but also sound academic skills.”
Remember when the gym was part of your daily routine? Or when you played violin or had soccer practice every day after school? Remember how good it felt when it was second nature? For kids as young as 4 or 5, a daily routine of challenging academics positively affects every aspect of their lives. Jewish day schools weave the wonders of history and ethics into everything a child experiences – with surprisingly cool modern advantages. Students obtain a unique view on 21st-century skills, such as collaboration, environmental consciousness, social responsibility and global citizenry.
Children who regularly analyze Jewish text in exciting, meaningful ways develop higher critical thinking skills in other areas, too. Your child learns to balance school, family and friends – bolstered by the indelible life lessons taught through the ages. Rabbi Ken Carr, religious leader at Temple Chayai Shalom in Easton, Mass., and longtime educator, explains, “The Talmud teaches us not to say, 'When I have time, I will study,' because we always face competing demands. Day schools incorporate regular exploration of timeless ideas into everyday life, well beyond the school day.”
Even knowing day school's intrinsic value, some parents assume they can’t afford it. Many Jewish day schools offer need-based financial aid, payment plans and other helpful programs, including generous donor-funded incentive grants.
While Jewish day school tuition in Greater Philadelphia is favorably aligned with that of other independent schools, the investment yields additional rewards. By fusing Jewish and general studies, day school students go on to higher learning uniquely prepared for the future.
If you’re considering Perelman and want to learn about financial assistance, please call Mindy Andelman, Director of Admission and Enrollment, at 610-658-2518, ext. 207.
Forman Center
Kindergarten - Grade 5 • 7601 Old York Road, Melrose Park, PA 19027 • 215-635-3130
Stern Center
PreK - Grade 5 and Administrative Offices • 49 Haverford Road, Wynnewood, PA 19096 • 610-658-2518
