The Charlotte Jewish News - February 2008 - Page 8
Schools
Move to Charlotte and CJP were His Birthday Gift
By Jason Stoogenke
John Dippold knew he’d
remember that day. He probably
assumed it was because he was
turning forty. But, something else
memorable happened.
He and his wife, Talli, sat at
their kitchen table. They looked at
each other and John said it first.
Charlotte.
Then, Talli agreed.
“I was like, ‘Me too,”’ she says
now. “It fit. It was perfect.”
They wanted to leave
Scottsdale, AZ. Talli says the
schools were struggling and so
were her family’s lungs.
“There’s a black cloud that sits
over the city,” she says.
John and Talli spent months
looking for places to move. They
compared city after city. They nar
rowed it down to about ten choic
es.
They just didn’t know Charlotte
topped each other’s list ... not
until that moment at the kitchen
table.
A birthday wish? Maybe. A
birthday surprise? Absolutely.
They moved to the Queen City
in March, toured the Jewish
Community Center, and signed up
their children — five-year-old
Anya, three-year-old
Ethan, and two-year-old
Sasha — for the Charlotte
Jewish Preschool (CJP).
Talli says she was sold
on CJP “the minute [they]
met the director [Denise
Abadi].”
Nine months later, Talli
says the school is “even
better” than they expected.
Pitsdiool
She’s quick to mention safety,
cleanliness, and rooms with
“ample space.”
But, that’s only part of the story.
Talli and John are
watching their children
grow, especially as
members of the Jewish
Community.
“They teach us the
blessings,” Talli smiles.
“They teach us the
songs. They won’t let
us eat without saying
‘Hamotzi.’”
Abadi says more than seventy
new families enrolled at CJP this
year. Many have similar stories to
the Dippolds. Some say CJP is
more like “mini-school” than
“daycare.” Others say it’s easy to
see why some families are willing
to wait months to get their chil
dren into the program.
The Dippolds aren’t surprised.
They expected this. They wanted
this. John may not have known
this is where he’d spend his forty-
first birthday. But, the way Talli
sees it, chances are the family will
spend the rest here. ^
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When it comes to major pur
chases and decisions, most of us
operate in a similar fashion - we
research our choices on the
Internet, talk to people, and try to
get a feel for what we might be
buying, whether it’s a car, a house,
a college education, or a vacuum
cleaner. After all, we’re going to
be living with, and paying for, this
decision for many years.
Susan and Stephen Hader were
faced with a significant decision
when they moved to Charlotte ten
years ago and pondered where to
send their eldest daughter, Sara, to
school. “We went to the open
houses at two private schools and
then we went to Charlotte Jewish
Day School and we never consid
ered anything else after that,”
Susan Hader said. “We just felt
comfortable.”
Following in their sister’s foot
steps, the two younger Hader chil
dren also have grown up in the
school. Lily is now a fifth grader
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at CJDS and Kate is in the second
grade. “I really wanted my kids to
learn about Judaism from people
who were joyful about it,” Susan
said. “Religiously, my kids are
comfortable being Jewish. Their
identities are strong and they
couldn’t have gotten that any
where else.”
Of course, the academic com
ponent weighed heavily in their
decision as well. “The school is
able to tailor learning to each indi
vidual student because of the class
size and because of the structure,”
she said. “People who have had
kids in both CJDS and another
school have told me that it’s more
individualized at CJDS.”
One common misunderstanding
about CJDS is that it is a school
only for observant Jewish fami
lies. The fact is that more than half
of the 145 children who attend the
school belong to Temple Israel
and Temple Beth EL the
Conservative and Reform syna
gogues in Charlotte.
“There are some things that I
notice that my kids learn that
kinds of surprised me because we
belong to the Refonn movement.
But the types of things that you do
at home influence your child, and
parents just need to keep that in
mind,” said Ivy Saul, Sisterhood
President of Temple Beth El.
The Sauls’ son, Ben, now a
Providence High School student,
attended CJDS through fifth grade
and their second son, Isaac, is a
second-grader at the school.
“I like the Jewish component
even though they come with ideas
that are different from mine,” she
said. “I handle that by explaining,
at least to Isaac, that there are dif
ferent ways of being Jewish.”
“CJDS is a community day
school with the mission of educat
ing any and all Jewish children in
an environment that is safe and
comfortable,” said CJDS Director
Mariashi Groner. “We teach the
core values and traditions of our
heritage that apply to all Jews, and
instill children with confidence
and Jewish pride as they function
in society at large.”
Stacey Selkin, the mother of a
CJDS first-grader, Dylan, laughed
when asked if the school is “too
Jewish.”
“I grew up in New York and
had tons of Jewish friends and
there was a lot of Jewish culture in
New York. I didn’t grow up reli
gious, but I felt that my child
needed to have a Jewish education
because it’s not as prevalent here,”
she said.
She is thrilled with her deci
sion.
“I see what Dylan is learning in
all of his classes, not just his
Judaica classes, but in all of his
classes, and I’m just blown away,”
she said. “It’s quite amazing what
they’re able to offer. And when I
look at the cost of tuition, we are
getting an unbelievable deal.”
To find out more about
CJDS, call Cheryl Rabinowitz,
Director of Admissions, at 704-
366-4558.
Israel at 60
(Continued from page 3)
most other immigrant societies,
this openness to immigration has
remained consistent even in times
of economic stress and crisis. As a
result, Jews have continued to
arrive from all over the world to
settle in Israel. Naturally, the
number of “sabras” or native-bom
Israelis was relatively low when
the state was established, reaching
only 35.4% in late 1948. With
time, the percentage of “sabras”
in society increased, and in recent
years it has leveled off at just
under 61%. The eft'ect of a large
number of “olim” (immigrants)
on a small society has been high
ly significant socially, economi
cally and culturally. The need to
absorb the newcomers placed a
heavy burden on the young state,
although once integrated, the
“olim” led to considerable eco
nomic growth.
Thus the Jewish population,
while united by a common faith
and history, is characterized by a
diversity of outlooks and
lifestyles, resulting in a society
which is partly Western, partly
Eastern European, partly Middle
Eastern, but mainly Israeli.