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The city’s first Hebrew-language school will open this fall, but the charter school’s ethnic makeup and curriculum are causing some to worry that it will cross the church-state divide.

In an article in this week’s Forward, Gal Beckerman profiles the controversial Hebrew Language Academy, which is cohabiting with a Yeshiva in Mill Basin, Brooklyn after a long search for building space. Principal Maureen Campbell, a former city public school teacher and administrator, tells Beckerman that she’s not fretting about treading on the line between church and state.

As for whether she felt worried about the line between religion and state that critics said the school was toeing: “It’s actually not a thin line,” she said. “It is a line that is very clear. The church and state separation in New York is very clear. You can teach a culture and a language without encouraging the observance of a religion.”

The piece delves into the school’s racial composition, which is drawing criticism from those who worry it will inspire discrimination by becoming an enclave of white Jewish children in a racially diverse neighborhood. (more…)

The City Council’s education committee voted today to recommend closing schools on two Muslim holy days observed by as many as 10 percent of the city’s schoolchildren. But the advisory vote is unlikely to change the city schools’ calendar, unless Mayor Bloomberg has a change of heart about slimming down the school year.

Several council members said during the vote this morning that they were conflicted about recommending that schools be closed for any length of time. But only one, Oliver Koppell of the Bronx, voted against the resolution during the main round of voting. Ten council members cast yes votes at that time, and at least three others added their yes votes as the committee continued its main hearing, on high school graduation requirements.

The vote followed a hearing nine months ago on the subject, when dozens of people testified in favor of having the days off and not a single person testified against them, committee chair Robert Jackson said today. Muslim families and religious leaders have been pushing for the holidays since 2006, when students were scheduled to take state tests on the first day of Eid Ul-Adha, one of Islam’s holiest days. (more…)