SCHOOLS INSENSITIVE TO JEWISH STUDENTS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 14, 1993                   TAG: 9304140324
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
SCHOOLS INSENSITIVE TO JEWISH STUDENTS
RECENTLY, the city schools held classes on two Saturdays to make up for days missed because of snow. This decision is significant to all, not just Jews and others who celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday.
To be sure, not every Jew attends synagogue on Saturday morning, just as all Christians do not attend church on Sunday. Yet, the infringement on us is not lessened by that. The issues are those of sensitivity, choices and who should be forced to make them.
Significantly, only the city's school administration chose Saturdays to make up classes. Hastily, it was added, no new material would be covered on those days and students forced to miss school because of their religious beliefs would be excused. What did that mean? Were teachers to teach nothing on those days? Was each Saturday to amount to a black hole in the school year?
Unfortunately, this is not a new problem for Jewish students. Each year, the Roanoke Jewish Community Council advises area school administrations of the dates of the Jewish High Holy Days, and asks that no tests be given on those days. Each year, a number of Jewish students are penalized because tests are given on the days they are absent. Apologies abound, but nothing changes.
Students and their families should not have to face these dilemmas. A spokesman for the school administration said Saturday classes were chosen over shortening spring vacation so as to inconvenience as few people as possible. By making that choice, the administration forced others to make a much more difficult choice.
Public education is one of the cornerstones of this country. By choosing to hold Saturday classes, and then trivializing what would occur on those days, the school administration made a mockery of this precious commodity. It also, for those Saturdays, made public education unavailable to some. We can only hope the new superintendent of city schools will display a sensitivity the current administration so abundantly lacks. DENNIS P. BRUMBERG President Roanoke Jewish Community Council ROANOKE

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB