Name: JCDS, Boston 's Jewish Community Day School
Address: 57 Stanley Avenue , Watertown , MA
County: New Haven
Phone Number: 617-972-1733
Fax Number: 617-972-1736
Web site: www.jcdsboston.org
Email: for information, please contact HelenQ@JCDSBoston.org
Director: Betsy Hecker
Type of school: Pluralistic
Ages/Grades: K-8
School Size: 165 students
Tuition:
For the 2007-2008 school year, tuition is as follows:
Kindergarten $17,800 per student.
Lower School $18,850 per student (Grades 1-4)
Middle School $19,600 per student (Grades 5-8)
Financial Aid: Available through our Flexible Tuition Program
Camp Programs: No
After-School Programs: Yes

The mission of JCDS, Boston 's Jewish Community Day School, is to provide a premier education that

• nurtures each student's capacity for intellectual discovery and decision-making within a respectful, pluralist, bilingual Hebrew-English environment.

• gives our graduates the capacity to create their futures informed by Jewish values, texts and culture, and to make a difference in their communities and the world.

• kindles the flame of life-long learning in all its constituencies and serves as an inspirational model of innovative, effective and joyful teaching and learning beyond the school.

The program at JCDS empowers children to acquire knowledge in general and Judaic disciplines of study and gain the skills necessary to become life-long learners; to love learning and pursue interests with intellectual curiosity, flexibility and critical thinking; to develop insight and understanding of self; to learn respectful ways of relating to all human beings; to achieve personal Jewish identity and a love for the Jewish people and the land of Israel; to perpetuate the unique gift of Jewish culture and tradition; to become caring, responsible members of the Jewish people, of American society, and of the world community.

JCDS was founded in 1995 to provide a child-centered environment for joyful exploration and learning for children whose families identify proudly with Judaism in different ways. Its founders came together out of a commitment to a shared goal of creating an educational institution focused on providing their children with an excellent, engaging, challenging, and nurturing education. This goal is reflected in the school's motto: “A child is not a vessel to be filled, but a flame to be kindled.” JCDS's founders were committed to pluralism and tolerance and to preparing its students in becoming knowledgeable, caring and committed Jews in an atmosphere of respect.