Jewish Professionals Tuition Grant Aids Students

Starting next school year, full-time Jewish professionals, clergy and educators
may receive a 50 percent tuition reduction if their children are currently enrolled or have been accepted to an accredited Jewish high school in Atlanta.

Prominent Jewish community donors have created a fund to offer the tuition reduction.

Spearheaded by The Zalik Foundation, the Jewish Community Professional High
School Tuition Grant offers the tuition discount for currently enrolled and accepted
students attending Atlanta Jewish high schools accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools or Southern Association of Independent Schools.

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The program will launch with an initial cohort for the 2021-2022 school year. The JCP tuition grants are funded in appreciation for the many contributions made by
Jewish community professionals, according to the grant announcement. Supporters include: The Zalik Foundation; The Marcus Foundation; Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta; the Argo Family Fund; Gerald R. & Vicki S. Benjamin Charitable Foundation, Inc.; Radow Family Foundation; Alan Minsk and Julie Kaminsky; Halpern-Oppenheimer Family Foundation; as well as anonymous supporters.

David Zalik is a principal of The
Zalik Foundation, lead donors of
the high school tuition grant.

“The work Atlanta’s Jewish educators, professionals and clergy do on behalf of our
community is valued and appreciated, and we want their children to access the lifelong benefits Jewish high school provides, Helen and David Zalik, principals of The Zalik Foundation, said in a joint statement. “Through this program, we want to help Atlanta attract and retain top Jewish professional and educational talent. If successful in Atlanta, we hope to help expand this model to other cities nationwide.”

Eligible Jewish professionals are those employed in nonprofit organizations for
a minimum of 32 hours a week. These individuals work for the Federation or its affiliate agencies, metro Atlanta synagogues and day schools, Jewish overnight and day camps, national Jewish nonprofits, AIPAC, the Israel consulate, and other not-for-profit entities approved by the JCP committee. If at least one parent is a full-time Jewish professional or educator, the child(ren) may be eligible to receive a JCP tuition grant. All Atlanta Jewish high school children in the family of a qualified Jewish professional may receive the grant, regardless of parental income.

The JCP grant stays with the child for all the years the teen remains in good academic standing in a SACS- or SAIS-accredited Atlanta-area Jewish high school. Participating accredited high schools in the 2021-2022 school year are the Atlanta Jewish Academy, The Weber School and Temima, The Richard & Jean Katz High School for Girls.

Laya Senior, daughter of Congregation Beth Jacob preschool teacher Nava Senior is currently a junior at Temima High School. When the Senior family learned about this new grant, Neva responded, “I am awed by the generosity of our caring community and impressed that this group has chosen to support Atlanta families who want their teenage children to get a quality Jewish education.”

Rabbi Ed Harwitz, head of The Weber
School, said the new grant “reflects
visionary leadership on the part of
philanthropists in our community.”

The initial community announcement of the tuition reduction came with a candid
explanation about the motivation behind this grant program. “A Jewish day school
education is a proven leading indicator of a child’s Jewish involvement as an adult. Further, high school is considered one of the most formative periods in a child’s life. “High school is when teens begin to grapple with identity, forge life-lasting friendships, and explore the relevance of Judaism and Jewish values to their lives. These grants are funded by members of the Atlanta Jewish community in appreciation for the many contributions these professionals make to our community.”

Also considered was that over the years, experienced and respected community
professionals in Atlanta have relocated to other cities where substantial tuition reductions in Jewish schools were guaranteed.

Granting tuition reduction to children of Jewish professionals is not entirely new
in Atlanta; however, the current system will reach far beyond the days when there were three Jewish schools, including only one Jewish high school, Yeshiva High School. Yeshiva High School, The Epstein School and the Hebrew Academy reduced tuition to children of Jewish professionals, however, the reductions were determined and granted by the separate schools and negotiated individually.

This newly crafted JCP initiative establishes standard criteria for all grant recipients and high schools.

“The Jewish Community Professional High School Tuition Grant reflects visionary
leadership on the part of philanthropists in our community,” noted Rabbi Ed Harwitz, head of The Weber School. “While providing meaningful and valuable recognition for Jewish communal professionals, this one-of-a kind initiative will further elevate the Atlanta Jewish community as a destination for top professional talent that will serve our synagogues, schools, camps, various Jewish organizations and JFGA agencies into the future.”

Ari Leubitz expressed appreciation for the new grant.

In a communication to parents, Rabbi Ari Leubitz, headmaster of The Atlanta Jewish Academy, expressed gratitude for the high school tuition grant. “This generosity will significantly support our local Jewish community professionals financially, which in turn makes it more feasible for those professionals to continue to support their own children’s journeys with a strong Jewish education. Receiving a Jewish education is a gift; giving a Jewish education is also a gift. I am grateful for the JCP grant donors for these gifts.”

For students of eligible Jewish professionals currently attending or considering
applying for entrance to one of the accredited Jewish high schools for the school year of 2021-2022, families may contact:
AJA: Erica Gal, director of admissions, at egal@atljewishacademy.org or 678-298-5377
Temima: Lora Fruchtman, school administrator, at lfruchtman@temima.org or
404-315-0507 #104
Weber: Risa Arkin, director of admissions at risearkin@weberschool.org or 404-
917-2500 # 117.