PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Perelman Jewish Day School in suburban Philadelphia has absorbed several new students from Israel. Their abrupt arrival was a direct result of the Oct. 7 terror attacks by Hamas on Israel.
The private Jewish school, which has campuses in Wynnewood and Melrose Park, has taken in seven new Israeli students since the war began. Head of School Mitchell Daar said they may take up to nine more students in the coming weeks.
The students each came to Perelman under different circumstances.
“So some, a family has temporarily relocated to Philadelphia; some, the parents are staying in Israel but they want their child to be with family in Philadelphia; some, one parent is staying in Israel, one is coming to Philadelphia with a child,” said Daar.
“Really in the past week and a half, every day it's another family.”
Daar actually credits the COVID-19 years with teaching schools “how to operate under uncertainty.”
All of the new students were processed quickly and awarded free tuition. They will be enrolled at least until January but could stay longer.
“We took them through an expedited admissions process and got to know them,” he added. “So students, before their first day, got to meet with some of our academic administrators so that we could get to know their needs.”
Perelman, which has a Hebrew-English bilingual curriculum, is also providing social and emotional support for those who need it.
“Right now, schools in Israel are in a tough spot,” Daar noted. “We’re able to provide a safe and consistent learning environment for students at this time.”