Berkeley Parents Network: Jewish Schools & Preschools

Berkeley Parents Network

Jewish Schools & Preschools

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > K-12 Schools > Jewish Schools & Preschools

Questions

Looking for a Jewish Preschool in Oakland
Getting in to Jewish Preschools
Reasons for choosing a Jewish preschool
Neighborhood Public School vs. a Jewish Day School

Other Programs

Preschools

Beth El Nursery School Berkeley
Beth Sholom Preschool San Leandro
Gan Avraham Preschool N. Berkeley
Gan B'Nai Shalom Preschool Walnut Creek
Gan Mah Tov Preschool Oakland
Gan Shalom Preschool Berkeley
Jewish Community Center Preschool Berkeley
Temple Sinai Jewish Preschool (Oakland)

Elementary Schools

Contra Costa Jewish Day School K-8 (Lafayette)
Oakland Hebrew Day School (Oakland)
Tehiyah Day School Jewish K-8 (El Cerrito)

Looking for a Jewish Preschool in Oakland

Nov 2006

We are looking for a Jewish preschool in Oakland for our 2 year old daughter next fall. We like Temple Sinai but have been told that it is almost impossible to get in next fall. Are there others that are highly recommended? I have heard that the JCC and Temple Beth El in Berkeley are really good, but that is quite a schlep for us, especially during rush hour traffic. Any other Oakland recommendations? We are Reform, by the way. -anon

Hi. I could have written your post 3 years ago. I moved to Oakland when my son was 1 1/2 and I wanted a Jewish preschool but could not get a space at Temple Sinai or Temple Beth Abraham (conservative synagogue with another great preschool). With some trepidation, I visited Gan Mah Tov, the preschool at modern Orthodox Congregation Beth Jacob. I say ''trepidation'' because I was raised reform (and now consider myself East-Bay - egalitarian conservative) and was afraid that Orthodox would be ''too religious'' or ''sexist'' or who knows what. Well, I did visit and I really liked what I saw and heard. Gan Mah Tov is a small, warm, nurturing preschool with first-rate teachers and a wonderful play-based program enriched with music, Hebrew, cooking, woodwork and more. My son has flourished there and is now in pre-K, an exceptional program in which he seems to be effortlessly and joyfully exploring numbers and letters and what they all mean. He will graduate this spring as a happy, well-adjusted, well-prepared student who loves learning and cares about others. He also has a strong, positive Jewish identity and it is a joy to experience the holidays through his eyes. As you can tell, I could go on and on. I have two main points: CHECK OUT GAN MAH TOV (www.thegan.net for Director Cheryl Schwarz) and FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME DIRECTLY WITH ANY QUESTIONS. Good luck to you! Eden

I was a member at Temple Sinai and was, I believe, the first member to be declined at the preschool -- 2 years in a row. It's a great school and worth the application if you are a member. We ended up going to Gan Mah Tov Preschool in Oakland and have been very happy with it. The school is affiliated with Beth Jacob, which is modern orthodox. The community there has been welcoming and not everyone at the school is a member of the temple. It is a warm, nurturing environment with a Jewish curriculum. The teachers are lovely. The ratios are great. E-mail me if you want more personal details about our experience there.
Suzanne

We have our kids at Gan Mah Tov (Beth Jacob in Oakland). Although the congregation is Orthodox, it is an incredibly warm and open environment for all affiliations . Gan Mah Tov has exceeded all my expectations regarding a Jewish preschool and as a family who is not orthodox, we are extremly comfortable there. You should definitely contact Cheryl Schwartz, the director, who could put you in touch with families who are not orthodox to hear their experience. Good luck.
Happy at GMT

Getting in to Jewish Preschools

April 2004

We would like to send our son (who is now 1) to a Jewish preschool, but the synagogue that we belong to does not have one. How hard is it to get into a Jewish preschool without being a member? Any suggestions on how to do this? We are in Oakland. Thanks!

We send our son to Gan Avraham, the preschool at Temple Beth Abraham. We got in at the last moment but joined the Temple once we did. You get a break on tuition and its a great Congregation, with wonderful programs for small children, so you might consider joining. We were told originally that we would not get in, unless we were Temple members as members have priority. I also looked at Temple Beth Jacob's preschool. They did not require membership and it also seemed like a very sweet program, but the hours didn't fit my schedule. I suspect that for most preschools you have to be a member to get priority admission. Why don't you just call them and find out. Temple Sinai has a preschool and so does Temple Beth El in Berkeley. Good luck anon

I highly recommend Beth Sholom Preschool in San Leandro, right off the 580 freeway. You don't have to be a member of the temple, or even Jewish, which makes for a very nice diversity of families. But, if you do become a temple member, you get $129/month discount on tuition. Since temple membership IS $129 per month, it makes sense to join because the $129 counts as a tax write off to a charitable donation and you get the benefits of temple membership with out a net increase in costs. My kids have been going for 2 1/2 years now and we love it. Edna is the director and her number is 510/357-7920. Helena

At Temple Sinai I think it varies from year to year. For many years, there were kids in the preschool whose families were not members. This last year we add a second 2 yr old class and I believe there are families who are not members. Best to check it out next fall when the application process begins again and the new Director will have a handle on the amount of interest from current member families. 2 kids at TS preschool

We live in Oakland and didn't get into our first choice preschool. We're going to send our son to Gan Mah Tov, located at Beth Jacob. This is the Orthodox synagogue on Park Blvd. We are not orthodox. I asked many questions about the education and how I, or my son, would feel being from a different affiliation. It seems that they love the kids and are open to all different kinds of families. I didn't see a lot of difference educationally between the other Jewish pre-schools I visited. I now feel really good about the placement. Definately give them a chance before ruling them out due to their Orthodoxy. anon

First of all, good job! You are right to be working on this early. I am not an expert but I can share my experience getting my son into a Jewish preschool for fall 2004. We did NOT GET A SPOT at Gan Avraham (Temple Beth Abraham's preschool) even though WE ARE MEMBERS!! (We joined very recently, so we had the lowest priority of all the member applicants.) I heard that Temple Sinai also TURNED AWAY MEMBERS. On the other hand, we were able to secure a spot at Gan Mah Tov, the preschool at Congregation Beth Jacob. As you may know, Beth Jacob is a modern Orthodox shul. BUT, approx. half the preschool kids are NOT temple members and many are not Orthodox. Fortunately for us, we fell in love with Gan Mah Tov. Good luck and Happy Passover. Eden

Rather than trying to get into a Jewish preschool without being a member and free-riding on the contributions of others, why don't you just join the synagogue instead? (The bigger question is why Judiasm is so important to you that you want a Jewish preschool yet not important enough to want a synagogue?) If money is an issue, most synagogues will arrange reduced dues based on ability to pay. Proud to be a synagogue member

I just wanted to point out that the post that stated that the bigger question was why they were freeriding and refused to join a synogogue, was inappropriate because a) I thought it was not answering the question and berating the poster but also b) because the poster already stated that they were members of a synogogue that didn't have their own preschool. I personally think synogogue membership is a great thing but a lot of people become involved after their kids do and not before and if this were the case (which in this case it appears not to be) there is no reason to make people feel bad about it. ilfeld

I take exception to the person who replied with the phrase ''riding on the contributions of others'' or whatever it was. I thought that was a harsh email and didn't adhere to your policy. Non-members are charged more than members for their children to attend because they're not members. Also, there may be many valid reasons why someone is not yet ready to commit to joining a temple but still values Jewish education. They may be in an interfaith marriage, they may want to get a feel for the congregation before making that big commitment, they may just not be joiners by nature. Its a very personal decision, and the poster didn't deserve the ''lecture'' that they got. An anonymous congregant

Reasons for choosing a Jewish preschool

RE: Beth El versus Berkeley Hills
I don't think the fact that one is Jewish and the other is not is irrelevant. I am sending my child to another Jewish preschool and really love the way she is learning Jewish culture and traditions. I also enjoy the community, and it feels very comfortable to me. However, if this isn't important to you, a Jewish preschool may not be the right place -- it will be following a religious calendar (i.e. different days off than most workplaces), the holidays the kids learn about will be Jewish, and the art projects will often connect to Jewish holidays. In terms of diversity, there probably won't be that much difference in class or racial diversity, though obviously Berkeley Hills has more religious diversity. Good luck making a decision -- it might be a good idea to do a quick visit to both again to test out how you'd feel having your child at each one.

Neighborhood Public School vs. a Jewish Day School

October 2002

Our son will be going to kindergarten next year and we're trying to sort out the tradeoffs between Jewish day school vs Crocker Highlands, which is across the street from us. And if we go down the path of Jewish day school, what are the tradeoffs between Techiya and Oakland Hebrew Day. Pros we see for Jewish day school are the strong Jewish education (hebrew and judaica) and the values taught. Downside is the distance (including harder to make friends with the neighborhood kids, harder to arrange play dates with classmates), lack of diversity and cost. Do any of you have experience with these three schools? Can you share your own decision process and what you think in hindsight? Are the downsides real (besides cost!)? Thanks for your help!

My son just started Tehiyah as a 6th grader after going to public elementary school (Thornhill) for K-5. The issue of friends in the neighborhood is significant. Our son has local friends already. Though you will make friends thru sports, summer camps and synagogue. Still, I wish we had started Tehiyah sooner because 1) my son would have been better challenged. The public school teachers repeatedly told us that he was at the top of the class but fooled around a lot when things got boring. 2) the class sizes got much bigger at 4th grade and my son was more adrift as the teacher struggled with class control 3) my son needs a much more one-on-one relationship with the teacher to feel comfortable and engaged. The public school told me they don't really have time for that. The Tehiyah teachers actually want to know the kids. 4) the Judaic studies and Hebrew are a wonderful side benefit, will make his bar mitzvah prep easier, but were not our primary reason for going to Tehiyah.

We stuck it out in public school because of money, distance, friends. We were wrong. Doesn't mean it isn't right for your kid, but mine is very high energy, got in trouble a lot, and his learning disability was completely overlooked. He sailed thru on being bright - that DOES NOT WORK FOREVER.

The teachers and administration at Tehiyah have been very responsive to any concern I have. They like my child and he likes them. His core teacher says his hand is "always up." That may be a bit of a pain for her, because she can't call on him over and over again, but it tells me that he really likes the learning process and is involved.

Good luck and remember, either way you can switch if it doesn't work. Dawn

also see: Reviews of Tehiyah Day School (Oct 2002)

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