On October 8, Daniel Perla of the AVI CHAI Foundation and Brian Crimmins of Changing Our World, engaged in a lively conversation and Q&A about the affordability-related differences and similarities between the Catholic and Jewish day school systems. This conversation is related to the recently released whitepaper, Different Faiths, Common Challenge: Maintaining the Affordability of a Faith-Based Education, written by Erik Goldschmidt of the Church in the 21st Century Center at Boston College and Dan Perla, and published by Changing Our World.

Listen to the recording to hear an in-depth explanation, as well as other ideas. Here are some of the main takeaways from the call:

Opportunities ripe for collaboration between the two school systems:

• Accessing government funding
• Communal funding
• Sharing best practices -- particularly financial ones

Major differences between the Catholic and Jewish day school systems that impact affordability challenges:

• Socio-demographic differences in student body
• Differences in gross and net tuitions
• Shifts in the religious affiliation of the student bodies
• Catholic school system is much more centralized than the Jewish day school system