Daniel A. Wasserman, a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, is one of the parents actively involved in the Jewish Cooperative School in Florida (http://jewishcooperativeschool.org/index.html). He has taught post graduate courses, was an instructor for the Florence Melton Program, and is currently an adjunct professor in Dietetics and Nutrition at Touro College South.In this article, he describes how a group of parents joined to create a small, low-cost alternative to traditional day schools.

Businesses are a relatively simple conglomerate of systems that run concurrently. A product is made or service rendered for the consumer. The challenge resides in creating a pricing structure that entices the consumer to make a purchase while creating the necessary income for the business to continue production. No matter how great the product, if buyers are not interested or if the price is too high or the profit too low, the business will not succeed.

Schools are a business – perhaps not profitable, but a business nonetheless. They have producers (teachers and administration) and consumers (students and parents). There is great demand for education and there is plenty of supply. So where is the problem? The problem is that the cost of the product is above the reach of many families. The traditional solution is for schools to offer tuition assistance, and of late, to offer more tuition assistance. What this does, in effect, is transfer the burden of payment from the individual consumer and spread it across to other consumers, without their explicit consent. This also creates a domino effect, through which more consumers are unable to afford the product and the burden is transferred to a decreasing base of consumers who can meet the burden – for now. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying “Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.”

We, a concerned group of parents in Florida, have hit upon an idea to alleviate this strain. This solution actually came about unintentionally. We had been searching for an alternate to the local day schools for the education for our children. Looking to provide a Torah-centered education program that would also prepare our children for the secular world in which we live while instilling in them a love for Eretz Yisrael proved to be a challenge. Two years ago, four families pooled their resources and hired a teacher for their nursery age children. The parents interviewed and chose a teacher, cooperatively decided the curriculum, and were actively involved in the education of their children while giving the teacher the freedom to teach. The children were happy and engaged learners. This year we expanded the program. We have grown to a Pre-K class of 7 students, limited by The Florida Department of Children and Families guidelines for the space we are sharing. The Jewish Cooperative School (JCS) was formed.

Throughout this process we decided to adopt a co-op model for our school. In the co-op model, parents are encouraged to be actively engaged in their child’s education by donating time to the school. If a parent is good with technology, then they come to fix the computers. If a parent is a lawyer or accountant, they can provide their professional services. Parents who are educators help select curriculum and work with the teachers when concerns arise. Some of the other ways parents have been involved in making our school a success and a unique learning environment include: moving and setting up playground equipment, donating and setting up the classroom computer, helping the children create a havdalah garden, and even arranging for a barter of professional services wherein a Florida Master Naturalist and Environmental Educator provided a weekly hands-on nature class for our children in exchange for services provided by one of the parents. Other parents can fill in as substitutes when needed, arrange carpools for a trip or even be in charge of picking up the snacks. When the parents take an engaged and active role in their child’s education, we believe that everyone is a winner.

Running a co-op school has both distinct advantages and challenges. The most obvious advantage is financial. One of our goals has been to keep tuition to less than half what local schools charge. We have been astounded by the encouragement we have received from the local shuls we have approached to rent space from. They are willing to rent to us at prices much lower than a typical commercial property and are supportive in offering us what we need to make our classrooms work, which has been very helpful in achieving this goal. Our books are open to every parent and our money goes towards those things we feel are most important for our children’s education. There is transparency in the accounting. Tuition goes directly to (1) hiring the most fitting educators, (2) rent, (3) insurance, and (4) supplies. Parents share the cost of each expense and get a choice in what is needed in the school. If we decide that a computer lab is necessary, then the parents need to meet and discuss how much of our budget should go to that expense. The accounting is clear, the expenses are known and that is split evenly among the parents of the class. Of course, there are challenges in this enterprise as well. The financial opportunity of our co-op presents a challenge as well, in the fact that we, the parents, must meet the financial obligations of the school. If there is a deficit, it must be covered. Our biggest challenge has been getting other parents to take a “leap of faith” to experiment with something different from the typical day school system. We are aware that most parents are not prepared for our kind of arrangement, and that means that we are not seeking nor are we likely to become “competition” for traditional day schools.

Our idea is to intentionally keep the classes small with a cap of 10 students per class. This gives the teacher the ability to really teach to the student’s strengths. The curriculum is integrated; if you walked into our preschool class you would not know who is the Judaic teacher or who is the general studies teacher. We intend to continue this model where appropriate in the older grades. Some people ask us how we deal with discipline issues without a principal. Our teachers have found that with smaller class sizes and engaging teachers these discipline issues are dramatically reduced.

Having a school costs money. There are salaries, rent, supplies, insurance and incidentals to be paid. Like any business, if the expenses exceed the income we will have a failing organization. We do not have a paid administration team. The parents are taking on the role of administration in dealing with human resources, advertising, securing classroom space and meeting local ordinances, supplies and purchasing. As one enthusiastic parent said: “We have hand-picked our very own experienced teachers, and ensured that our children are receiving a warm, loving, Torah-based education with high secular subject standards. No-one makes a profit – except our children. This is truly streamlining at its best.”