A venerable Jerusalem girls' ulpana is searching for ways to survive the current economic crisis.
Neve Ruchama, a junior and senior high school that serves religious Jewish girls aged 12 to 18, is facing a financial crunch the likes of which it has never known – one that almost threatened this year to close its doors for good.
The parent body was stunned at such a prospect.
The school is unique in many ways, not the least of which is its focus on individuality – a rarity in the era of overcrowded classrooms.
A highly successful experiment that placed an emphasis on building leadership skills in girls who otherwise might have been lost in the shuffle of the crowd, Neve Ruchama's budget requires more funding than some other schools.
The school program itself is unique with its tailor-made training and individualized support to meet each student's specific needs. It is a philosophy that has resulted in 70 percent of its graduates continuing on to university programs and careers as teachers, nurses, art and music therapists, and other professions.
Leadership training includes courses in Jewish heritage and history, various extracurricular activities and hands-on field trips designed to actualize the lessons learned in the classroom.
Support at Neve Ruchama includes remedial teaching to help a student acquire specific learning skills and counselors to provide the student with someone to talk to when a problem has become too overwhelming to struggle with alone.
Students in every grade are also required to provide volunteer services in the community, as a way of building and strengthening the girls' sense of "Jewish peoplehood."
All of this extra programming, however, takes money. A lot of it.
"There are several reasons the school has found itself in a serious financial situation," said founder and executive director, Cissy Chalkowski – who, according to the school's website, is "retired and volunteers her time."
One, she said, is unemployment, which has cut the parents' ability to pay tuition. Chalkowski, who helped start the country's first ulpana decades ago, has been an educator since 1960; she adamantly refuses to reject a student based on finances. "I have never turned away a student based on their parents' inability to pay," she said.
Unemployment has not made that situation easier. "We used to have 70 percent of the parents who were able to put all of the money together," said Chaikowski. Today, less than 15 percent of the parents are able to pay the tuition.
The other reason has to do with different funding streams that have been cut from the Education Ministry. "They aren't specifically targeting my school," she explained in an interview with Israel National News. "But for my school it becomes more, because we have smaller classes and I am funded from the Education Ministry per person, not per class.
"This means that as far as they're concerned, every two classes of mine is really one class, because they see a classroom that is supposed to have 35 students to 38 students, and I have 20 to 25 students – and sometimes 15," she explained. It's a formula that works, building closer relationships between staff and students.
Chalkowski is still in touch with many of her students from years past, she notes. That very advantage, however, has become its risk factor in the current economic climate.
"It means that funding naturally, according to their scale, would never be able to cover for everything. So when did it cover? When I was able to get certain funding from the Education Ministry for kids who have special needs and with the parents who were in a situation in which they were able to pay."
That is no longer the case.
The Bnei Akiva Movement meanwhile has pitched in to help, recognizing the mammoth potential of the school and expressing willingness to take over its financial management. Still, past debts must be covered by Chalkowski alone – and she is determined to make good on what is owed to her teachers. Pensions are already up to date. But thousands of shekels are still owed in back salaries. The teachers have not complained, she noted.
"They are an amazing group," she said. "They are so committed to the girls, to their mission. And the girls know it. They respond to that caring."
Nearly 700 students have graduated from Neve Ruchama since the school opened its doors 24 years ago. Every student takes the bagrut (matriculation) exams, albeit not always at the same time. More than two-thirds move ahead to further their education and working in the helping professions. Some become leaders in the Jewish community as well.
"You'd be surprised," smiled Chalkowski, her eyes serene. "More than 20 years later, and my girls still call to share their triumphs and joys."