GMW Right Start provides a $1,000 gift voucher toward the cost of tuition for families enrolling their children in a Jewish 2-year-old school program for the first time.
A child’s early years are the most formative. What a child experiences before age 5 becomes the foundation for thought patterns, value structures, and ways of viewing the world into adulthood. Jewish early childhood centers partner with families to ensure each child’s earliest years are filled with engaging play, exciting discoveries, nurturing teachers, laughter and friendship. Through the richness of traditions, rituals, and stories, Jewish early childhood centers help families raise children who have a sense of wonderment and responsibility for the world around them.
Jewish early childhood centers aren’t just about the children. Through each child’s experience, the whole family is engaged. They are immersed in the richness and diversity of Jewish life. They are welcomed and supported, and the friendships created can grow for years to come! Learn more and apply below.
Is My Child Eligible?
To be eligible for the GMW Right Start Voucher, a child must be:
- The first child in the family to attend a Jewish early childhood program in Greater MetroWest NJ.
- Enrolling in a Jewish early childhood program in GMW for the first time.
- A member of a family where at least one parent or guardian identifies as Jewish, regardless of background, knowledge, family make-up, or observance and whether affiliated, unaffiliated, interfaith, or non-traditional.
- Enrolling in a GMW Right Start School for the 2023-24 school year beginning September 2023.
- A resident in Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest’s catchment area (Essex, Morris, Sussex, Union, and parts of Somerset counties).
- Enrolling in 2’s program* where the child attends independently and meets five days per week. The program may be half-day or full-day.*If enrolling in a school that begins older than the 2’s, GMW Right Start tuition vouchers are available for the school’s point of entry.
Participating Schools
| Chabad Jewish Center of Basking Ridge, Zimmer Preschool, Basking Ridge |
| Congregation AABJ&D, Lauren Elise Beir Nursery School, West Orange |
| Congregation Agudath Israel Early Childhood Center, Caldwell |
| Congregation Beth El, Thelma K. Reisman Preschool, South Orange |
| Congregation B’nai Israel Preschool, Milburn |
| Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, Rabbi Barry H. Greene Early Childhood Center, Short Hills |
| Golda Och Academy, West Orange |
| Gottesman RTW Academy, Randolph |
| JCC Metrowest, Sharon & Stephen Seiden Early Childhood Center, West Orange |
| Jewish Educational Center, Elizabeth |
| Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy, Livingston |
| Morristown Jewish Center Beit Yisrael, Shalom Yeladim – Judie Gerstein Early Learning Center, Morristown |
| Oheb Shalom Congregation, Mickey Fried Preschool, South Orange |
| Cheder Lubavitch of Morristown, Morristown |
| Shomrei Emunah Preschool, Montclair |
| Suburban Torah, Iris & Errol Berman Early Childhood Center, Livingston |
| Temple Beth Shalom, Livingston |
| Temple B’nai Abraham, The Early School, Livingston |
| Temple Bnai Or Preschool, Morristown |
| Temple Emanu-El Early Childhood Education Program, Westfield |
| Temple Har Shalom, The Orchard Academy at Mountain Top School, Warren |
| Temple Ner Tamid, Shoresh Preschool |
| Temple Sharey Tefilo Israel, Iris Family Center for Early Childhood Education, South Orange |
| Temple Sinai Early Childhood Education Program, Summit |
| YM-YWHA of Union County, Union |
For help finding a program that best fits your family, please be in touch with Emily Fox, Director of Jewish Educational Initiatives at efox@jfedgmw.org or (973) 929-3145.
Have questions or need help finding a program that best fits your family? Contact Emily Fox at efox@jfedgmw.org
GMW Right Start was created to increase awareness and access to Jewish early childhood programs for Greater MetroWest families and is made possible by the generosity of The Cooperman Family Fund for a Jewish Future of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater MetroWest.
Matching funding is provided by the national JEWISH RIGHT START® program, an initiative of the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, made possible through the generosity of an anonymous donor.