WDS Advocates for Jewish Day School Funding in Albany

Earlier this month, Westchester Day School was proudly represented at the Teach NYS mission to Albany, where past parents, current parents, and students advocated for critical Jewish day school funding—particularly for STEM and security.

Among the advocates was second grader Charlie Schulman, who attended with his father, Ben Schulman. Charlie joined WDS Board Chair Jessica Katz, current parent Aaron Lauchheimer, and alumni parents Lizzy & Josh Trump in standing up for Jewish education. One participant described Charlie as “a total rockstar in Albany—great WDS representation!”

Reflecting on his experience, Charlie shared, “I met with Senator Andrew Gounardes, Assembly woman Nily Rozic, Senator Luis Sepúlveda, Senator Mitchell J. Silver, and Senator Shelley Mayer—who has been a big supporter of Westchester Day School. I was a little nervous but also excited to meet all these important people.”

During his visit, Charlie even had the chance to meet Governor Kathy Hochul. “At the end of the day, she gave me a special ‘challenge coin’ that she designed,” he said. “Someone even offered me $10 for it, but I said no! The governor heard that and told her assistant to get him a coin too.”

When asked what he learned on the trip, Charlie noted, “I saw how many people work in Albany and how many Jewish schools there are in New York. It made me realize how important it is to advocate for them.”

As for his hopes for STEM funding at WDS, Charlie has big ideas. “I think we should have science twice a week and start learning about engineering in second grade. Last year, we built bridges—I’d love to do more projects like that, maybe even design boats that float or remote-controlled cars.”

It’s only fitting that today, Charlie is in STEM class with Mr. Merel—the very type of hands-on learning he advocated for in Albany!