Announcement from the Board of Directors
Dear Tribeca Hebrew Community,
We would like to thank everyone who was able to join us for our Community Forum on Wednesday, May 20. For those unable to attend, we have important news to share.
We formed Tribeca Hebrew because parents wanted a Hebrew school experience that was fun, engaging and meaningful for their children and a safe place for parents to reconnect with Jewish life or connect for the first time. Tribeca Hebrew has succeeded in reaching these goals: 96 children joyfully bound down the street on the way to Hebrew school and we are a vibrant community of families that participates in Jewish life in a way that is unique, joyful and honors a diversity of backgrounds and beliefs.
The Board of Tribeca Hebrew has studied and evaluated several strategic options over the last few months. The school requires a substantial number of students to break even, which we have been unable to achieve over the last several years and reaching this target for 2009-2010 seemed unlikely. Fundraising has been insufficient to close the significant gap; hence Tribeca Hebrew cannot continue in its current form and the Jay Street location will close. While the impetus to explore strategic alternatives may have been financial in nature, the Board of Directors was also reflective and thoughtful of the evolving needs of our families and ability to meet their needs for the longer term.
The Board explored several options with a few guiding principles in mind: 1) continuation of an open, inviting community that welcomes a wide variety of families, 2) an arts based, “fun” Hebrew education for our children so they continue to “love/ like” going to Hebrew School, and 3) the long term needs of our community.
With these guiding principles, the Tribeca Hebrew Board is supportive of the community moving together to Jewish Community Project on Duane Street. Each of us will need to choose the best path forward for our individual families and we respect and honor all paths that each family takes. Our sincere hope, however, is that this unique, vibrant, diverse community moves together to JCP, where we can continue our spiritual journey as part of a larger, unified community.
We understand there are many practical implications of this decision, especially in regards to your child’s enrollment in Hebrew School for the fall. JCP will offer two programs in the Fall for children entering grades K-5: Mechina and Kesher. Mechina is one day/week and Kesher is two days/week. You can read more at jcpdowntown.org or speak to Talia Andron, Kesher/Mechina Director at 212-334-3522
To help ease the transition, Open Houses will be held at JCP on the following dates, which we strongly encourage parents to attend:
May 28, 7:00 PM
June 2, 9:00 AM
June 22, 5:00 PM
In addition, in June there will be a pizza party, where parents and children from both JCP and Tribeca Hebrew can come together. And yes, there will be popcorn! More details to follow soon.
Also, we strongly encourage as many of you as possible to attend our final Community Potluck Shabbat Dinner of the School Year with Israeli Dancing next Friday, May 29 at 6:30pm at PS 234. Please RSVP to Shabbat@tribecahebrew.org and indicate the dish you will bring.
In all our meetings, foremost has been our desire to honor the needs of our community and ensure that the spirit of Tribeca Hebrew continues to thrive.
If you have any questions or wish to discuss this further, please reach out to us by emailing info@tribecahebrew.org or calling 212-608-7120.
With sincere gratitude,
The Tribeca Hebrew Board of Directors
