Charter school board members and the community at June 16 ribbon cutting.
Rabbi Yisrael Pinson runs the Chabad House in Detroit’s Midtown, a place for people to learn about Judaism and celebrate the Sabbath and other Jewish holidays.
But the orthodox rabbi tells "The Craig Fahle Show" he's adding to his mission: He's opening a tuition-free, nonreligious, public charter school, the Orchard Academy, for Detroit children, K-2 grades, this fall. Eventually, the school hopes to serve K-5.
The school is on Woodward Avenue and Calvert, in the city's North End neighborhood, in a building previously occupied by a CVS.
While he applauds Dr. Nikolai Vitti's efforts in running the Detroit Public Schools Community District, Pinson, president of the new charter school says: "What I can bring to the table in my opinion is creating a model of education that does not focus on academics alone, but has a mission of instilling in children a sense of mission and purpose in life.
"We look at every child as a potential of a game changer for the world and we make sure they feel they deserve love and that they matter." He says the school will value students' social and emotional needs.
The rabbi talks with Craig Fahle about his mission in the video below.
