Our Campaign for Rashi January 2024 Campaign Cabinet
THREE
Cindy Janower (Co-Chair)
Priorities Andrew Janower (Co-Chair) (including several Jessica Myers (Co-Chair) initiatives) Chuck Myers (Co-Chair) Michelle Black Melanie Camp Gregg Darish Kerry Epstein Helene Gelber Shoshanna Goldberg David Grossman Dena Boronkay Rashes Vikki Sherman Jeremy Shinewald Barry Shrage Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine Larry Tobin, ’01 Herb Tobin Matt Zisow
We are deeply grateful to the members of our dedicated, thoughtful, and determined Campaign Cabinet. Without your tireless commitment to this Campaign and to Rashi, we would not have achieved— and exceeded—our goals for this initial phase. This Campaign will sustain The Rashi School for generations to come.
Our current goal stands at $30M+, but the RISE Campaign is so much more than that aspirational number. It’s about increasing access to a transformational Rashi education. It’s about sustaining our treasured school through a healthy endowment which will allow us to attract and retain the best faculty, improve our offerings and physical spaces, and allow us to dream of even more ways to enrich the lives of our exceptional students and their families.
Gratitude
We are profoundly grateful to each of you, our leadership donors, who have been among the first to stand up and say “Hineni…Here I am” for Rashi. We are humbled to acknowledge that several families have chosen to make their largest ever philanthropic gift to The Rashi School through this RISE Campaign. Because of your extraordinary generosity, we have exceeded every benchmark we have set to date, raising over $24 Million in just the first two years of this comprehensive campaign. This early success has energized our efforts and will allow us to approach the public launch of our RISE Campaign in May 2024 with a confidence of purpose and the excitement of all that lies ahead for Rashi. Thank you.
Feasability Study Completed
March 2021
$8M Raised for middle income tuition assistance
Kick-Off of Leadership Phase
Case Statement Created December 2022
April 2022
3 Gifts over $2M+
Endowment Growth*
*Assumes we reach our goal of funding a $20 million endowment
Raised $24M+ as of
December 2023
9 Seven-figure gifts
Public Launch May 19
2024
83 Commitments to date
Middle School Milestone Projects Redesigned Spotlight on Grade 6 The entire school has already felt the impact of this RISE Campaign - from Pre-K to Grade 8, front office to playgrounds. Students, faculty and staff have benefited from appreciable advancements in curriculum, technology, professional development and even security on campus. With funds already collected during this initial phase of the RISE Campaign, 100% of the Rashi faculty have participated in professional development programs over the past year. In particular, Rashi’s educators have spent significant time and resources completely redesigning the Middle School Milestone Projects. With the leadership of STEAM Educators Michelle Bernstein P’19, P’22 and Melissa Rosenblatt P’29, P’31, as well as Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Dr. Nitzan Resnick, the “Cornerstone” (Grade 6), “Keystone” (Grade 7), and “Capstone” (Grade 8) projects have been infused with new standards and requirements. The Middle School team has crafted a comprehensive, iterative program which will allow students to radiate their own identity through intense research, planning, and execution that will build their skills and confidence throughout their middle school years at Rashi. With the help of faculty mentors, each student is guided by, and addresses, their grade’s essential question. Students are introduced to new academic skills—from lightning round sessions to writing problem statements, conducting interviews to presenting pitches. Each student works to solve a problem they are passionate about. Grade 6 demonstrated their hard work and newly acquired knowledge of various topics during an exciting night of Cornerstone Presentations in late December 2023. In front of an audience of parents, faculty, staff and friends, each student stood at the podium and gave their pitch. Afterwards, they presented their research and answered questions as the audience walked around and observed the culmination of four months of hard work. You can read more about these amazing projects and see some of the pitches by using this link. In Grade 6, the essential question is: “What brings a system to collapse?” - building on the notion of “failing forward.” The students conducted research, devised experiments, and diligently documented every step of their process. Most importantly, Bernstein was excited to share that the students “stayed curious…they were energetic, they were hard-working…and the Cornerstone Project allowed each student to celebrate their voice. It is evident that their work was thoughtful and thought-provoking.” As we begin 2024, Grades 7 and 8 are continuing their own projects. Already in full swing, these students are building on previously learned skills to solve problems and answer questions related to their grade’s essential question. We are excited to see their finished projects this spring, and we invite you to come to Rashi and attend the presentations in order to see the impact of your generous support first-hand. Grade 8 Presentation Night happens on April 3, 2024 from 6:308:00 PM, and Grade 7 Presentation Night happens on May 29, 2024 from 5:30-7:00 PM.
“Rashi is an important, valuable and unique asset to the Boston Jewish community and played a seminal role in helping our kids become the adults they are today. I truly think we’re better people for having parented within the Rashi community; and our kids have been lucky to have dozens of Rashi surrogate parents over the years. And now it’s our turn to inspire others through our leadership. We, collectively, have the opportunity to ensure Rashi’s future for the next generation of kids.” -Cindy and Andrew Janower, P ’12, ’15, ’18 RISE Co-Chairs
Why we give “We love The Rashi School as parents and as community members. Rashi has provided our three sons with a nurturing space to grow as students, individuals and community members. Rashi is also a spiritual home for us and for all of its families — an inclusive space where every child can thrive. We see first-hand how Rashi alumni are making an outsized impact in the broader Jewish community. They are leaders, advocates, and caring citizens of the world. We have chosen to make our largest single philanthropic gift to the RISE Campaign because it will provide Rashi with a strong financial foundation from which to grow generations of Jewish leaders.” -Jessica and Chuck Myers, P ’20, ’21, ’24 RISE Co-Chairs
Reach to create access and opportunities for even more students Innovate to drive academic excellence and support our exceptional faculty Sustain our shared Jewish identity and strengthen our vibrant community Envision a strong, financially secure future and increase our impact
Thanks to this generous community, Rashi continues to actively invest in our joyful Jewish learning and our shared Jewish identity. Together, we RISE. Rashi Development Office Kim Stone, Director of Development Amy Klotz, Director of Development, Operations & Stewardship Jillian Erdos, Campaign Director Tammy Schneider, Development Coordinator If you have any questions or would like to discuss the RISE Campaign further, please contact us at 781-355-7312