BEACHWOOD, Ohio — It stands to reason that the future of any community group is tied to the education of its youth, that’s why the Greater Cleveland Jewish community recently embarked on an ambitious $180 million Jewish Day School Transformation Initiative.
“We know from a lot of research about Jewish day school education nationally that the students of today go on to become the volunteers in our community and the professional leaders across fields,” said Marlyn Bloch Jaffe, CEO of the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland.
“They’re building communities, paying attention to the world around them, really trying to improve the world and increase the vibrancy of our own community.”
To lead in that effort, the Jewish Federation of Cleveland announced Tuesday that it has received a grant of $90 million from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Supporting Foundation that will serve as matching funds.
“This is really a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” Bloch Jaffe told News 5. “It’s unbelievable, unprecedented and what we’re so excited about is both the impact it will have locally on our community and hopefully serve as the model nationally as well.”
The Day School Transformation initiative comprises a $100 million endowment fund for five Cleveland Jewish day schools – Fuchs Mizrachi School, Gross Schechter Day School, Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, Joseph & Florence Mandel Jewish Day School, and Yeshiva Derech Hatorah – and a capital improvements fund of $80 million.
“We look forward to the funding being used to recruit and retain the best possible teachers, attract the best possible volunteer and professional leadership for the schools, improve the quality of education and innovation,” she said. “Make our education more accessible in terms of financially accessible and serving a broader range of learners and really enhancing program and facilities so that the insides of what the buildings look like matches the quality of programming.”
The chair of the Federation’s Day School Transformation Initiative, Jeffrey J. Wild, said in a release that this grant from the Mandel Foundation sends a strong message to the community about the importance of Jewish education.
“Through this grant, the Mandel Foundation has made it clear that the time for our community to step up for its future leaders is now,” said Wild. “In fact, we have already received several significant gifts from donors who were inspired by the Mandel grant. Based on these early conversations with donors, we are confident this effort to transform the educational landscape in Cleveland for Jewish students will be a resounding success.”
Jehuda Reinharz, president and CEO of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, noted that research continues to show the critical role day schools play in strengthening Jewish identity and resiliency in the next generation.
“Today’s day school graduates are tomorrow’s Jewish community leaders,” Reinharz explained. “This is especially true in Jewish Cleveland, where more than 80 percent of Jewish adults who attended day school are among the most engaged and active in Jewish life here. We are thrilled to be able to play a meaningful role in the future of Jewish Day School education in Cleveland by providing these matching dollars to the community’s fundraising efforts.”
“This Day School Transformation initiative will ensure Jewish Cleveland students get the very best dual curriculum of Judaic and general studies possible for generations to come,” said Stephen H. Hoffman, chair of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation.
“By creating the first-ever day school endowment fund in Cleveland – as well as securing funds needed to address essential capital improvements – Jewish Cleveland will be ideally positioned to recruit and retain the brightest teachers, who will engage day school students with expanded and rigorous curriculums, as well as such specialized programs as those in STEM and the fine arts.”
“The impact of the Mandel Foundation’s commitment to Jewish Cleveland’s future cannot be overstated,” said Erika B. Rudin-Luria, president of the Federation. “This unprecedented matching grant will challenge our community to take our already superb local Jewish day school system to the next level of excellence. This leadership investment by the Mandel Foundation – and the investments it will continue to inspire – will reverberate throughout Cleveland and beyond for generations.”
