Community Day School enjoys visit by the Islamic Society

In November, a group of Hershorin Schiff Community Day School middle school students, in partnership with the Women's Interfaith Network (WIN), traveled to the Islamic Society of Sarasota and Bradenton to visit its school and mosque, and view an afternoon prayer. It was a day of sharing – faith, traditions, and food – as well as an opportunity to experience new perspectives. They enjoyed touring the school and mosque, and learning about the Islamic religion and traditions, followed by the afternoon prayer. The children gathered for photos and cookies afterward.

Since that time, WIN’s founder and chair, Arlene Pearlman – who helped to build the bridge between the two organizations – passed away. But an event that she helped to plan, a visit by the Islamic Society to Community Day School, highlighted the type of interaction that she had hoped for while also offering an opportunity to honor her memory.

On February 13, Community Day School enjoyed the reciprocal visit by students and teachers from the Islamic Society's Nur Academy. The group was welcomed warmly and then given a tour of the school, with some background offered on its history, educational philosophy and purposeful pluralism by head of school, Dan Ceaser.

Then the group headed outside to the school's garden. In honor of the recent passing of Pearlman, there was a brief memorial, with numerous women from WIN and a past president of the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, Rick Stein, in attendance. Students from Community Day's Shir Squad sang "Imagine," Pearlman's favorite song, and then a tree was planted as a memorial to her lifelong commitment to building bridges and ensuring that all have equal chances in life.

The following hour was spent with students enjoying activities incorporating team-building and highlighting commonalities. Plans for continued visits are in the works.

Community Day School board member Lillian Lincoln Lambert has been a member of WIN for a handful of years. She said that Pearlman would have enjoyed seeing the warmth and friendship between the students during the visit.

"These are all kids - they don't see differences that adults see," Lambert said. "It's very good for students and adults to learn from each other and understand that we have a lot of things in common. It helps to break down the barriers that separate us."

While Community Day is a Jewish day school, purposeful pluralism is at the heart of its educational philosophy. Studies have proven that students in diverse learning environments are much more likely to understand issues and impacts of social injustice, and display lower levels of prejudice throughout their lifetime.

For more about Community Day School, go to communityday.org.