Strength In Numbers

The Gray Academy of Jewish Education aims to provide a solid foundation

By Kate Aenlle |

Why is it important to incorporate religious education with basic, academic learning? That is just one of the fundamental questions when considering a faith-based school for your child.

Rory Paul, head of the Gray Academy of Jewish Education, says, “As human beings, we require a solid base in personal values and ethics. A religious education provides that for students and creates graduates who are real individuals.”

These graduates grow up to be people who are leaders, well-educated, ethical and overall productive members of society. A plus for having a child who is taught at the Gray Academy, according to Paul, is that it allows for the “continuity of Jewish connection to community.”

He says, “The survival of the faith rests upon the continuation of education and practice of the faith and its core values.”

The faculty at the Gray Academy tries to instill important values in their students. Values like respect, tolerance, diversity and understanding are taught through the school’s everyday programming and curriculum. The school houses a diverse community of Jews from multiple cultural backgrounds and ethnicities.

Students and their families may share the same faith, but they come from all over the world. “[Walking through] our hallways is always interesting,” says Paul. “You hear all sorts of different languages, smell different foods… Because the school is like a melting pot, if you will, our daily lives afford us the ability to learn and connect to all sorts of different cultures.”

These connections serve to teach students about understanding and respect in their day-to-day experiences with each other.

Another common and very important question parents usually have is, does a student have to be Jewish to attend a school based in Jewish education? The simple answer is “absolutely not,” says Paul.

As the school has grown, the focus of the Gray Academy has shifted from a faith-based school to a school that is “community-based,” he says. Of the 600 students they usually have, only about a dozen aren’t Jewish.

“Still,” he says, “people want their children to go to our school, because it’s top-notch.”

Although you and your child may not be of the Jewish faith, attending the Gray Academy means you recognize that your child will be participating in some Jewish religion education. Paul shares a story about a family who wasn’t Jewish but still wanted their child to go to the school, simply because “they felt that our faith and our school held many of the same values they had about family and education.”

Besides their dedication to core family values and education, the Gray Academy is recognized as one of the top schools in Canada. It prides itself on some of its basic courses, which include ethics, psychology and comparative religion courses. This means that students learn about other religions as well.

The basis on which the Gray Academy accepts their students is a reflection of their beliefs in the principles of respect, tolerance, diversity and understanding.

Paul says that they will accept a child into the school under two conditions: “That we physically have room to accommodate another student, and of course, that we can provide an educational program where the child will be successful.”

The success of these students also depends upon the support of their parents. Paul encourages the parents of students at the Gray Academy to volunteer at the school. He says that it is important — particularly for children who board at the school — that parents get involved in their children’s lives and education. One problem, he says, is that “parents seem to just allow the school to raise their children.”

His solution is to have parents volunteer, whether it be in assisting children with homework or running extracurricular activities. Programming run by the parents’ council, which involves social gatherings, encourages immigrant parents to come and be involved.

The issue that Paul found is that “children of immigrant families adjust quickly and make friends when they arrive. Their parents, on the other hand, often have a harder time adjusting.”

By having these gatherings, the goal is to build a social circle for parents, so that they get comfortable with the idea of participating in volunteer activities with other parents. Events include dances for parents, movie nights and fundraising activities.

The Gray Academy’s commitment to family and community extends much further than its educational programs. Because the school’s library is shared with the public, relatives of students often come in, and are even able to help the students with homework, or just read with them. Paul says, “Here at the school, we don’t have guests, and we don’t have strangers. Everyone who comes here belongs in the school.

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