Religious School Update
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We’re excited to open early registration for next year’s Religious School! As we plan for 2025–2026, we’re also making some important changes that we wanted to explain in detail here.
New Sliding Scale Tuition Model
Starting this year, we’re moving to a sliding scale tuition model for our member families. This means member families can choose the tuition amount that works best for them:
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- 70% of actual costs per child
- 85% of actual costs per child
- 100% of actual costs per child
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Why the change?
This new model lets us avoid raising the base tuition rate (which we’ve had to do most years) to make sure our program stays accessible to everyone. It also gives families the option to contribute a little more if they’re able, helping us offer scholarships, excellent teachers, and meaningful programs for our kids.
We invite you to select the tuition tier that feels right for your family. And as always — if the 70% tier presents a hardship, please reach out. We’re committed to making sure no child misses out because of cost.
Register and see tuition details here! Please register by May 26 to get the early-bird discount and help us plan for our classes. As was true last year, the base tuition increases by 5% in June.
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*Note: Early bird and sliding scale rates are available only to member families. If you'd like to learn more about becoming a Bonai member, click here. In addition to these benefits, members receive 50% off on tuition, and are eligible for membership dues reductions or tuition scholarships if needed.
To register for Religious School:
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New Day: Moving from Thursdays to Tuesdays
We’re also making a scheduling change next year: Religious School will meet on Tuesdays instead of Thursdays.
After listening to family feedback, we believe this shift will make it easier for more students to participate fully and consistently in our program. Moving to Tuesday means:
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- Fewer conflicts with school events and extracurricular activities
- Kids will be fresher earlier in the week and better able to focus
- It will be easier for families to join us for Friday night services and programs without Religious School the night before
- And since BVSD has late start on Wednesdays, staying a little later on Tuesday evening may be a bit easier on students
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For next year, our schedule will include:
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- 2-3 Sundays, 1 Saturday, and most Tuesdays each month
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We hope this new pattern creates a smoother, more balanced week for families while keeping Jewish learning a joyful priority.
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Curriculum Highlights for 2025–26
We’re also thrilled to share that next year will bring some exciting updates to our curriculum, as part of our ongoing effort to offer a dynamic, meaningful, and relevant Jewish educational experience.
A few highlights:
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- Onward Hebrew: We’re adopting a nationally recognized, research-backed methodology called Onward Hebrew, used successfully by Religious Schools around the country. It emphasizes:
- Jewish Life Vocabulary
- Expanded Communal Tefila (prayer)
- Hebrew Through Movement
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This approach immerses students in hearing and using Hebrew in context — creating a foundation of meaningful vocabulary before decoding words on a page. It aligns with the latest research on language acquisition and makes Hebrew learning more natural, more relevant, and more fun. This will bring some changes to our Hebrew program, and we’ll be sharing much more about it over the summer — including an info session for families to learn about the philosophy and what to expect.
One shift this will bring is to our weekly structure. In the past, Judaics were taught on the weekend and Hebrew language instruction happened during the weekday class. With this new model, Hebrew will no longer have its own separate day — it will instead be integrated into both class days, providing more consistent exposure to Hebrew in meaningful, context-rich settings and freeing up valuable time for deeper Jewish learning as well.
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- Communal Tefila (prayer): As we expand communal tefila, Sunday mornings will begin with a community Shacharit service. Families are warmly invited to stay, sing, pray, and learn alongside our students. It’s a beautiful opportunity to model Jewish practice together and strengthen our community connections.
- Text Learning, Not Just Learning About Texts: We’ll be incorporating Pedagogy of Partnership, a methodology developed by Hadar that equips students — even from a young age — with the skills of paired text study. They’ll learn how to listen attentively, engage meaningfully with both a text and a partner, thoughtfully challenge and support one another’s interpretations, and hold themselves accountable to the wisdom of our core Jewish texts. This practice fosters respectful, reflective conversations rooted in our tradition.
- Aspirational Arc Educational Vision: We’ve been working on laying out a clearer, more intentional educational arc — a curriculum that ensures each year builds on what came before, is guided by our core values, and minimizes unnecessary repetition while deepening students’ connections and skills as they grow.
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More information about all of these exciting updates will be shared over the summer along with info sessions where families can learn more about these changes — especially Onward Hebrew.
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Thank you for being such an important part of our community. We can’t wait for another wonderful year together!
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Wed, May 21 2025 23 Iyyar 5785
