The Jewish day school I attended for grade school and middle school was affiliated with the Conservative movement of Judaism. It was a member of the Solomon Schechter Day School Network, its headmaster was a Conservative rabbi, its curriculum was based on Conservative Jewish principles, and the rules that governed the school (e.g., kashrut) were predicated on Conservative Jewish doctrine. The vast majority of the approximately 500 students that made up the school were from families affiliated with Conservative synagogues. Only a couple handfuls of my peers at the Metro Detroit school came from Reform or Orthodox homes.
This all changed in 2008 when the school chose to disaffiliate from the Solomon Schechter network and become a community school. There were strong feelings about this decision on both sides, but ultimately the transition began and this school joined many other Jewish day schools around the country by shedding its Conservative movement ties. While the student body didn't grow much following this decision (although that had been the projection), the diversity of its student body has certainly been altered. There are now hundreds more Reform affiliated students in the school in addition to an influx of Modern Orthodox families.
At the time, I was surprised that the school made the decision to break with the Conservative movement because it had been a core part of the school's identity while I was a student there in the 1980s. I did, however, understand that this was just another move toward a post-denominational Judaism. Why would a day school limit itself by branding itself with one denomination when it could cast a wider net and attract more students? Waving the banner of post-denominational Judaism, day schools could also use the "Community School" appellation to explain away controversial policy practices.
This all changed in 2008 when the school chose to disaffiliate from the Solomon Schechter network and become a community school. There were strong feelings about this decision on both sides, but ultimately the transition began and this school joined many other Jewish day schools around the country by shedding its Conservative movement ties. While the student body didn't grow much following this decision (although that had been the projection), the diversity of its student body has certainly been altered. There are now hundreds more Reform affiliated students in the school in addition to an influx of Modern Orthodox families.
At the time, I was surprised that the school made the decision to break with the Conservative movement because it had been a core part of the school's identity while I was a student there in the 1980s. I did, however, understand that this was just another move toward a post-denominational Judaism. Why would a day school limit itself by branding itself with one denomination when it could cast a wider net and attract more students? Waving the banner of post-denominational Judaism, day schools could also use the "Community School" appellation to explain away controversial policy practices.
