October 5, 2025
Dear Mirowitz Families,
As we begin this New Year together, I want to share not only a vision of where Mirowitz is headed, but also gratitude for the extraordinary support that surrounds us. 
Over the summer, the Jewish Federation of St. Louis extended a loan of up to $350,000 to Mirowitz, providing us with the financial runway to focus on leadership, enrollment, and planning without sacrificing resources for our classrooms or asking more of families. This act of partnership signals something essential: that our community believes in the power of Jewish day school education to shape the next generation of leaders. As Federation Board Chair Todd Siwak shared, supporting strong Jewish day schools is an investment in the future of our community. And as our own Board President Scott Levine has emphasized, this support allows us to focus our resources where they are needed most—on our children and their learning—while we work together to shape the next chapter of Mirowitz.
That belief extends well beyond Federation. Rabbis, alumni, grandparents, donors, and community partners are leaning in, asking not just how can we help now, but how can we help Mirowitz thrive for decades to come?
This is why the Board has charged me, together with our Board leadership and with the guidance of Cyndee Levy and other Board members, to launch a thoughtful redesign process. I use the word redesign not because what exists today is broken, but because every strong school must periodically pause, listen, and imagine anew. We are called to ask: What do we want the full Mirowitz journey—from the earliest days to the capstone years—to look like? What will make it vibrant, rigorous, pluralistic, and distinctively Jewish? Remember, our definition of rigor is grounded in increasing our students’ complexity of thinking and doing at Mirowitz and beyond.
Cyndee and I have laid out a process to guide us through this work between now and December. It will include:
- A Planning Committee that reflects the diversity of our stakeholders—current and past parents, faculty, clergy, donors, alumni, and community leaders.
- A season of listening and learning, with sessions for parents, students, faculty, rabbis, and community partners, so that the voices of our community are at the center.
- A focus on data and context: enrollment, financial trends, competitive landscape, and stories from peer schools across the country.
- The drafting of a shared vision and strategic priorities to bring before the Board and community for feedback.
This will be a highly collaborative process—rooted in transparency, inclusivity, and respect for the community that sustains us.
For our families, this moment is both a practical one and a hopeful one. Practically, we know decisions about school pathways are made early, and clarity about the future is important. Hopefully, it is an opportunity to dream together about what the Mirowitz journey can become.
I will keep you updated regularly. In the meantime, I leave you with a few questions that are guiding us:
- What do you most hope that a student from Mirowitz will carry with them into the world?
- What kinds of experiences should define the capstone years of a Mirowitz education?
- How can we ensure Mirowitz remains the place where curiosity deepens, friendships strengthen, and leadership takes root?
Thank you for your partnership. Together, we are not only tending to the present, but planting seeds for a vibrant future.
L’shalom,
Brian W. Thomas
Interim Head of School