When Chicago Jewish Day School (CJDS) parents Ashlyn Gorlin and Jeni Elyashar, who are sisters, welcomed a packed gymnasium of 275 CJDS parents and community leaders in December, they remarked that the school's very first students "could not imagine what we have for our students today."
The event officially dedicated the renovated Mozart Street building, which serves as the new home of the CJDS middle school, and honored the leadership of the multidenominational day school who guided the project's journey.
The renovated Mozart building features the Rothner Family Student Union, a flexible collaborative space for student groups, as well as the Walder Innovation Lab, a maker space for STEM building across grades. These spaces were brought to fruition by gifts from the Rothner Family and Walder Foundation, respectively. Other renovations include new classrooms, the middle school science lab, a kitchen and food lab, and the Beit Midrash Katan, a ritual and multi-purpose space inspired by a past parent, David Harris.
"Together, these new spaces represent our commitment to creating an environment where every student can grow, thrive, and lead," said Tamar Cytryn, Director of Judaic Studies at CJDS. "This expansion has been nothing short of transforming."
In addition to acknowledging generous donors, CJDS Head of School Judy Finkelstein-Taff recognized the school's rabbinic advisory group, and especially Rabbi Michael Siegel, who will be "graduating from his role" as Senior Rabbi at Lakeview's Anshe Emet Synagogue in June. "Rabbi Siegel has also served CJDS with unwavering dedication," said Finkelstein-Taff.
The dedication concluded with the community affixing a mezuzah on each new space.
But, as CJDS Founding President and Board Member Wendy Platt Newberger explained, there may be another mezuzah hanging in two or three years. "We left room for a little more expansion," she quipped.
Founded more than 20 years ago, CJDS originally consisted of just seven kindergarten students and rented space out of the third floor of St. Alphonsus Church in Lakeview. Over the years, the Jewish day school kept moving-because it kept growing. Today, the school boasts 234 students from junior kindergarten to eighth grade, and for now is content to grow in place.
