*Second in a series

The week after October 7, Chavie Kahn, director of day school and yeshiva strategy for UJA-Federation of New York, started receiving calls from schools about Israeli families asking to briefly enroll in day schools in the tri-state area. “UJA Federation of New York has an abiding commitment to support the day schools and yeshivot in our catchment area and because we have cultivated strong relationships, when there are challenges, schools reach out,” she said.

Kahn explained that UJA-Federation of New York is giving schools $5,000 per student to help integrate the Israeli students into their schools. “We stand shoulder to shoulder with the schools in good times and during challenges, and we want to support these schools as they support these students and families.” The funds will help defray an array of costs including tuition assistance, English language learning, academic tutoring, mental health support and counseling, nutrition, technology, transportation and supplies.

“Our community, the schools, students, parents and faculty are embracing the enrolled Israeli students who span kindergarten through high school and are in the process of identifying and assessing their individual needs.”

Kahn said that UJA-Federation of New York is staying in close communication with its schools as they continue to assess what the needs are while the Israeli students get acclimated. “What schools have shared with us is that they anticipate increased mental health and counseling support for the children. Some require ESL support and of course that is separate from the costs of things like transportation, school lunch, laptops.”

While the number is constantly changing, with families returning to Israel and new families coming all the time, Kahn said that over 140 Israeli students have been enrolled in 23 day schools in New York City, Long Island and Westchester. “We have so much empathy for these families. They are under a significant amount of stress and uncertainty and we think it’s incredible how the New York schools have stepped up.”

Over at Manhattan Day School (MDS) on the Upper West Side, close to a dozen Israeli students have been enrolled, with one family subsequently returning to Israel. Julie Hausner, director of communications at MDS, shared how well the students have been doing, “When you see them in pictures you can’t even tell that they came in the middle of the year because of a terrible situation. They just fit right in.”

When inquiries first started to come in, MDS Head of School Dr. Pesha Kletenik sent an email to the faculty explaining that this is how a school can truly help Israelis. She wrote: “The most impactful way we can help is to welcome families who have fled Israel, as the children there have not been in school and have been spending their days in or near bomb shelters.”

The school regularly makes chesed a part of the curriculum, and taking in these students, she said, is a call to action. “It was so motivating and everybody was excited to play a part. Everyone at the school wants to help Israel, and this provided a perfect opportunity for the school to do just that,” Hausner added.

MDS made the decision to expedite and condense the admissions process for these students. “We knew that these kids just really needed stability; they needed to start school right away. We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for them,” Kletenik said. Children were carefully placed in the classes that the faculty felt would work best for them and an additional teacher was hired for the early childhood department. The UJA-Federation of New York stepped in to help cover some of the costs and an anonymous donor graciously offered to cover any additional expenses.

Hausner said that it has been a team effort and everyone was just so happy to have them there. “Everyone’s attitude at MDS was simply, ‘What do you need?’”

Rabbi Asher Abramovitz, head of school at Kinneret Day School in Riverdale, continues to field dozens of inquiries from families looking to temporarily enroll, with several students who have transitioned in and out in the last month.

“The children in the classrooms were thrilled that they were able to help Israel through this family,” Rabbi Abramovitz said. “They were thrilled just to be able to do something. They coddled their Israeli classmates, immediately inviting them into their homes.” He added that the Israeli children not only got to experience some normalcy in their lives, but also “had a great introduction to children in America who could speak to them either in English or Hebrew, which they were thrilled with.”

Rabbi Abramovitz recalled a teary-eyed mother who came to drop off her daughter in the morning a few weeks ago. Before leaving, she said to him, “Tishmor li al hayalda”—Watch my daughter. Rabbi Abramovitz remembers the little girl “smiling ear to ear and full of energy” as she ran into her temporary school to hug the new friends that she made.

For more information or to learn more visit https://www.ujafedny.org/

To learn more about Manhattan Day School visit https://www.manhattanday.org/

To learn more about Kinneret Day School visit https://kinneretdayschool.org/