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Closing school for Jewish holidays is matter of numbers
(by Sue Hoffman - October 08, 2008)
Closing school for Jewish holidays is matter of numbers
By SUE HOFFMAN
Whether local districts close schools on the Jewish high holidays has to do with the numbers, school administrators said last week.
The two holiest days on the Jewish calendar -- Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement -- are days off from school in the Orange, Solon and Beachwood school districts when they occur during the workweek.
Since 2003, the Chagrin Falls School District has closed for one of the two holidays each year, and this year it was Rosh Hashana, Sept. 30. Chagrin Falls schools are scheduled to be open on Yom Kippur, Oct. 9.
The Kenston and West Geauga school districts remain open for the Jewish holidays, but administrators said they try to avoid scheduling important events on those days.
According to information from the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland's demographic survey of 2004, some of the Jewish population has moved east. About 33 percent of the 81,500 Jewish people in the metropolitan area live in the Beachwood, Pepper Pike, Orange and Chagrin Falls area, the survey showed. That area was found to have 19 percent of the Jewish population in 1996. Nearly 8 percent now live in Solon, Twinsburg and areas southeast of the city, as compared to 5 percent in the 1996 survey.
Solon School Superintendent Joseph V. Regano said his district decided to close schools one day each for the Jewish holidays under his administration about 17 or 18 years ago. The decision resulted from the district's "significant numbers" of Jewish students, he said.
He said the decision to close school does not mean that the district is celebrating a religious holiday. "We're just not in session. We respect that children need to be with their families," he said.
The district also does not schedule sports events those days, Mr. Regano said. The Northeast Ohio Conference cooperates by not scheduling events on those days, even though several of the schools do not have a significant number who observe the holidays, he said.
The Orange School District has closed school one day each for the holidays for about 20 years, said Louis DeVincentis, communication coordinator.
The Chagrin Falls School District began closing for one of the Jewish high holy days in 2003, community relations director Leonard May said.
At the time, former Superintendent David E. Axner said the closing was due to the "logistical fact that 100 students are out, and that hampers the running of the schools." He said the same philosophy holds true for Good Friday, which has traditionally been a holiday.
The question of whether to close school has come up in the Kenston School District, Superintendent Robert A. Lee said. "We see how many are signing out to observe," he said, "and the numbers aren't there." He said the district hasn't had teachers taking off the holidays either.
At the same time, Dr. Lee said, "we want to respect the religious observance. We want to make sure we're not an obstacle to them."
He said that he annually meets with the building principals to announce the dates of the Jewish holidays to prevent the scheduling of major exams and events on those days. "We block those dates out," he said.
Dr. Lee said there had been some mistakes in scheduling events in the past, and the district wants to avoid creating problems for families. If the district's demographics change, the district would consider closing, he said.
The West Geauga School District is also open on the Jewish holidays.
"Currently, there is no move to have these days off," said Bonnie Gruttadauria, director of communications. "While there may be certain events-sports on these days, consideration is taken to prevent conflicts when scheduling sporting and other events during these Jewish holidays."
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