UWS day school rolls out innovative tuition program

An Upper West Side Jewish day school is trying a new approach to dealing with rising tuition costs.

Beit Rabban Day School, on W. 86th Street, launched a new Affordability Initiative for the 2014-15 school year. Under the program, families with multiple children at Beit Rabban who choose to participate will pay a set tuition of 15% of their Adjusted Gross Income, regardless of the number of children in the school. At least one of the enrolled children must be in the elementary school (K-5) and the minimum tuition must be equal to at least 55% of the total full tuition for the family's children. (Annual tuition for an elementary-school student at the school exceeds $30,000.)

"The cost of living ? and in particular Jewish living ? in New York is prohibitive," said Gustavo Bruckner, treasurer of Beit Rabban's Board of Trustees. "This initiative will bring relief to those families who would likely not think to ask for assistance but whose families will greatly benefit from the savings." The initiative is sponsored in part by a grant from the AVI CHAI Foundation.