The number of Jewish children in Milwaukee who receive some kind of Jewish education dropped slightly from 2,116 in the 2005-06 school year to 2,065 in 2006-07, or 2.4 percent, according to the annual school census released on Dec. 28 by the Coalition for Jewish Learning, the education program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
While CJL has no information on the total number of Jewish children in the Milwaukee area, currently, or what percent of them attend Jewish educational institutions, it reported that of the 2,065 students enrolled in Jewish institutions, 420, or about 20 percent, attend Jewish nursery schools (up from 400 the year before); 711, or about 35 percent, attend Jewish day schools (down from 716 the year before) and 934, or 45 percent, attend supplementary schools (down from 1,000 the year before.)
Among nursery schools, enrollment increased at the Mequon Jewish Preschool and at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center’s Gan Ami Beginnings, Preschool & Kindergarten program, held in Whitefish Bay and Mequon.
However, enrollment declined by three students, or 2.5 percent at Jewish Beginnings Lubavitch Preschool (formerly Children’s Lubavitch Living and Learning Center), for an overall increase of a half of a percent.
Among the day schools, all maintained or slightly increased enrollment except the Milwaukee Jewish Day School where enrollment dropped from 314 students in 2005-6 to 297 in 2006-07, a decline of about 5 percent.
Among supplementary schools, Anshai Lebowitz closed its religious school program and Congregation Shir Hadash established a new one in 2005-06.
Congregation Beth Israel’s religious school enrollment increased by 21 students and the Pelz Hebrew School of Congregation Agudas Achim Chabad gained 13 students, an increase of 30 percent for each school over the previous year.
All of the other eight established religious school programs experienced a slight decline in enrollment with an overall drop in the total number of students in supplementary religious school programs of about 7 percent.
Steven Baruch, CJL executive director, said that the census reflects a dip that is nationwide. “It’s really a steady decline that has been going on for a number of years now.”
But, he added, there is more Jewish education going on among teens in Milwaukee than the census figures indicate. CJL has held a series of short-term programs — the Jewish Teen Day of Discovery (which will take place this year on Sunday, Jan. 28), the Jewish Teen Day of Social Action and Jewish Teen Day of the Arts — which attracted more than 250 teens.
The high number of attendees shows that there is interest in Jewish education among this age group, Baruch said, adding that CJL is continuing to build new programs for them.
Another change over last year is a change in ideological category by several schools. Hillel Academy, Jewish Beginnings, Milwaukee Community Cheder and Mequon Jewish Preschool were all listed as Orthodox last year, but chose to move themselves to the “communal” category this year.
While student numbers reflect a shrinking of the Jewish community, the census also shows that “Milwaukee is providing a large range of Jewish educational opportunities and from many different perspectives and for all ages,” Baruch added.
“There are many options for those seeking Jewish education for their children. And maintaining the quality of all of these programs is still a matter of great importance to our future.”
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