Jewish schools to receive more STEM money from New York state

To help support the STEM (science, technology, education and math) learning occurring in yeshivas and Jewish day schools across New York state, the new budget includes $40 million – a $10 million increase from the previous fiscal plan – for that educational programming. The amount represents a record investment in students at local non-public schools. 

State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, a Democrat who represents the Five Towns, noted that the money performs two services aiding to boost learning and reducing the educational cost.

“Every child deserves a first-rate education — and our local yeshivas provide that and more,” Kaminsky stated in a news release. “I was proud to help secure a record investment in STEM for our local Jewish day schools this year, helping propel our children to the careers of tomorrow. Importantly, the more aid we secure for our yeshivas from Albany, the less parents are called upon to shoulder the tuition burden.”

Hebrew Academy of Long Beach Executive Director Richard Hagler said the Woodmere school is appreciative of the money. “This funding will go a long way in preparing our students for the jobs of tomorrow and spurring a lifelong love for sciences, math and technology,” Hagler said in the release, noting what he said was Kaminsky’s “unwavering support for and commitment to education and our yeshiva.”

The Orthodox Union’s Teach Advocacy Network Executive Director Maury Litwack, whose organization who rallies every year in Albany for more money for STEM education, thinks the funding is “historic and groundbreaking in America, and what it does and continues to do for Long Island yeshivas and day schools is monumental,” he stated in the release.