Hebrew High Transition Information

Please continue to check back here for information about Hebrew High and its transition as a program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle to a partner of the community.

Update on Committee Work and Strategic Planning

March 15, 2011 - Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, Herzl Ner Tamid Congregation, Congregation Beth Shalom, Torah High and the Stroum Jewish Community Center came together to review the budget for 2011-2012 academic year. In addition, we discussed creating a marketing committee and a strategic planning committee. Next steps are to send a letter out to parents to update them on transition, create a transition information page on the web site and begin looking at people to serve on the marketing and strategic planning committee.

Most Recent Correspondence

April 1, 2011

Dear Hebrew High Parents,

About six weeks ago we wrote letting informing you that starting in July 2011 Hebrew High would no longer be funded through the of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle's operational budget, and, that while the stakeholders were committed to ensuring Hebrew High would continue, we needed to raise significant funds to make that happen.

We are pleased to share that we have now secured sufficient funding to enable Hebrew High to run next year in a similar manner to the current school year. Hebrew High will be sponsored through the Planning and Allocations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, Torah High, Congregation Beth Shalom, Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation and the Stroum Jewish Community Center.

Therefore, as we begin planning for a great 2011 – 2012 school year we want to share a few things with you.

1. Amy Hilzman-Paquette will continue as Principal of Hebrew High
2. Robin Nider will continue as Principal of Torah High and will oversee all aspects of the accreditation process.
3. Hebrew High will look at expanding its programming, classes and credit. More information will be coming out after Pesach.

As we mentioned in our initial communiqué, we will be undertaking a strategic visioning process aimed at exploring supplementary education models to ensure our community can best meet the growing needs of our teens. The outcome of this process will be shaping the future of Hebrew High starting with the 2012- 2013 academic year. We will start this process in late April and are looking for interested parents to be part of the planning committee. Please contact one of us if you would like to join us for this important work.

If you have any questions about what is happening with Hebrew High please feel free to call any of us. Again, we are committed to building the Jewish identity of teens in our community and ensuring high quality Jewish education programming exists.

Sincerely,

Amy Hilzman-Paquette, Hebrew High Principal
AmyHP [at] JewishinSeattle [dot] org

Amy Wasser-Simpson, Vice President
Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle
AmyWS [at] JewishinSeattle [dot] org

Ari Hoffman, Torah High Dean
thehoffather [at] gmail [dot] com

February 15, 2011

Dear Hebrew High Parents,

Some of you may have heard by now that the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle will be changing its funding and allocations model beginning in the next fiscal year, July 1, 2011. In making this shift, the Federation will be restructuring and streamlining its operational budget to ensure that as much money as possible can flow to the areas of greatest need for our community.

As part of the restructuring, the educational programs of the Jewish Education Center, a department of the Federation, will have to pay for themselves instead of coming from the Federation's operational budget beginning in July 2011. However, some of the current Hebrew High stakeholders; Congregation Beth Shalom, Herzl Ner-Tamid Conservative Congregation, the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, Torah High and the Stroum Jewish Community Center, met recently to discuss Hebrew High's future. It was clear that providing a community supplementary formal Jewish education program for teens is still considered critically important by all the stakeholders for the continued health and growth of our Jewish community.

Our institutions have made a commitment that Hebrew High will continue to be run by the Federation, similarly to the way it has in the past, for the 2011-2012 school year. However, in order for that to take place we need to raise approximately $65,000. This gap can grow larger or be smaller depending on enrollment. You can help by talking up Hebrew High among your friends, encouraging your children to talk to their friends about attending Hebrew High and even making a donation towards the financial gap.

In addition, we want to undergo a strategic visioning process aimed at exploring models to ensure our community can best meet the growing needs of our teens with a solution being formulated to begin with the school year 2012- 2013. We will begin this process in late spring and hope you will join with us for this in-depth dialogue.

If you have any questions about what is happening with Hebrew High please feel free to call any of us. Again, we are committed to building the Jewish identity of teens in our community and ensuring high quality Jewish education programming exists.

Sincerely,

Amy Hilzman-Paquette, Principal
Hebrew High

Ron Leibsohn, Board Chair
Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle

Richard Fruchter, President and CEO
Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle