Seeking new market, Jewish Montessori school to open in Verona synagogue

By Johanna Ginsberg
NJJN Staff Writer

Ever since her ordination the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary in 1992, Rabbi Susan Lazev has dreamed of a certain kind of Jewish preschool.

“I meet a lot of women who are not affiliated [with Jewish institutions] because the establishment doesn’t speak to them,” said Lazev. “They are not drawn to synagogue preschools.”

Meeting such parents as a leader of the La Leche League, Lazev became convinced that there was a niche for an independent Jewish school that would draw on the “progressive” practices associated with Montessori and Waldorf schools.

Next September, she will have a chance to test that theory when she and Tara Prupis, a recent graduate of Columbia University, plan to open a Jewish Montessori school at Congregation Beth Ahm of West Essex in Verona.

The school, called Child’s Way* Derech HaYeled — A Jewish Montessori School, will reflect “a gentle interpretation of Montessori with some Waldorf influence. It will be very progressive,” said Lazev. At the same time, the school, serving children ages two-and-a-half through five, will seek to reach unaffiliated Jews.

“This is a way to Jewishly engage them,” said Lazev, 40, a mother of three and a resident of Essex Fells. “The idea was birthed as a progressive approach to education for children within the Jewish community.”

A not-for-profit entity independent of the synagogue, the school will meet in an 1,100-square foot area of the synagogue that was a preschool 40 years ago and will undergo renovation before September. Lazev and Prupis already have commitments from private donors for the $80,000 required for the first year, and they believe the second year will be covered as well. After that, they will rely on parents and private donations to keep the doors open. Tuition, depending on the options, will run from $3,360 to $6,500.

Prupis, 25, of Montclair, who just earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Columbia University, is one of the unaffiliated Jewish mothers Lazev has in mind. She grew up at Temple B’nai Abraham in Livingston, and met Lazev through the La Leche League. She was searching for the right preschool for her two-year-old, trying to decide between a Jewish preschool and a Montessori preschool when Lazev shared her concept. “It was one big solution to the whole issue,” Prupis said. Before she knew it, she became Lazev’s partner in the endeavor.

Neither Lazev nor Prupis have classroom training or experience, and will attend an intensive training this summer at the Center for Montessori Teacher Education in White Plains, NY. Unlike most trainees who spend a year student teaching in an established school under the tutelage of an experienced Montessori educator, Lazev and Prupis will open their school under the supervision of the center’s Carol Korngold. Their student phase will span two years and they will participate in seminars and follow-up training. Their situation is “not ideal,” according to Montessori Fund president Tim Seldin, but does fall within acceptable Montessori practice. There is no actual organization that accredits preschools as Montessori schools. “You’re not buying a franchise [when you open a Montessori school]. You don’t actually submit papers to become accredited, and there’s no Montessori police,” explained Seldin. “Each school is completely independent and only governed by the laws of the city and state. What makes it Montessori is the presence in each classroom of one or more fully trained Montessori instructors, with the classroom organized [around Montessori theory].”

Montessori, founded by Dr. Maria Montessori in Italy in the first decade of the twentieth century, came to the United States in 1915. It is based in the philosophy that children have a natural love for learning and, in a planned environment, will be motivated to learn in a self-directed manner.

The Waldorf movement grew out of a school designed by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner. Like Montesorri, it encourages children to relate what they learn to their own experiences, and deemphasizes frontal teaching.

At Child’s Way, the Jewish component will be taught in a Montessori framework, according to Lazev. “Nothing will be taught frontally. It will be very hands on,” she said. “For example, around Sukkot, children will be able to take apart a lulav and put it back together. We’ll bake hallah from scratch. Children will be involved in self-directed activities when they walk in. They’ll be able to find their own passion. That’s how they become active learners.”

Parents can choose to enroll children for from three to five days a week, from 9 a.m. to noon with the option to stay for lunch and play until 1 p.m. The school follows the cooperative model. Parents are expected to assist two mornings per month, or else pay an additional fee.

Data is sketchy, but Seldin estimated that worldwide there are about 4,500 Montessori schools; 300-400 have a religious component, and about 70 are Jewish. The Jewish schools are often found within hasidic communities, where the religious philosophy and Montessori practice are often “really compatible.”

The number of non-Orthodox Jewish Montessori preschools is small but increasing, with nearby models in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; Long Island; and Toronto.

Although the Verona school will be independent of Beth Ahm, the school’s founders and synagogue officials agree there is a warm and mutually beneficial relationship. Members will receive a discount on tuition.

“It’s always nice to have children walking into the building,” said Beth Ahm’s Rabbi Aaron Kriegel. “Hopefully, the children will become part of the synagogue, and attend services on holidays like Hanukka, Pesach, Purim. Or they might come to our Hebrew school.”

Kriegel said there had been discussions at the synagogue of restarting its preschool, but those ended when Lazev and Prupis presented their idea. “The concept of this preschool makes it far beyond any preschool in the area and we are happy to help in its development,” said Kriegel.

Deborah Lubetkin, a psychologist from Essex Fells with an office in Florham Park, said she knew it was the right fit for her. She heard about the school through www.holisticmoms.com, a network for mothers interested in holistic parenting. “I looked at a lot of schools,” said Lubetkin, a member of Oheb Shalom Congregation in South Orange. “I called at least seven or eight. Not all of them were Jewish because it’s hard to find the holistic piece in Jewish preschools. But this is my ‘just right.’”

She knows the school is untested, but “I have a good feeling. I see the enthusiasm. I just know and trust that we’re on the same path. Formal educational training is not as important as who the leaders and founders are as people. That’s what sets the tone.”

Two open houses for Child’s Way will be held on Feb. 16, from 10:30 a.m. to noon and from 7 to 9 p.m. For more information, contact the school at 973-364-0834.

Johanna Ginsberg can be reached at jginsberg@njjewishnews.com.