Kids Try a Class
They join their grade's real classroom — stories, games, music, and questions. Especially the hard ones. Curiosity is the curriculum.
A Secular Jewish Sunday School? Yes, Really.
Kids try a real class. Parents get real answers. Families find a Jewish community where they truly belong. Built for families who are culturally Jewish — just not religious.
Come experience a morning with us and decide if we’re the right fit for your family. No pitch, no pressure — just the Jewish community that you didn’t know existed.
Free Open House · Grades K–5
The Open House costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Counting down to the doors opening
—
Days
—
Hours
—
Minutes
—
Seconds
- Sunday, September 13, 2026
- 9:30 – 11:30 AM
- Our Sunday School at Deerfield High School
- Grades K–5 · Free
Save Our Spot — Free Event
Grades K–5 · Kids Try a Class · Parents Info Session · Interfaith & secular families welcome
A Jewish community with everything you want and nothing you don’t.
Two hours, three good reasons
What to Expect
Parent Info Session
Meet the Youth Education Director and teachers. Ask anything — curriculum, tuition, Bar/Bat/B Mitzvah, and “are we Jewish enough?” (Yes.)
Meet Families Like Yours
A relaxed gathering where families connect. Be Jewish your way — with people who get it. Kids welcome, grandparents welcome. Most families leave knowing what it feels like to belong somewhere as they already are.
RSVP · Takes 30 seconds
Save your family a spot
The Open House is free — no commitment. Come experience a morning with us and decide for yourself if we’re the right fit for your family.
Straight answers
The Questions Everyone Actually Asks
Do the kids pray?
No. We do Jewish. We’re non-theistic and secular. Kids learn Jewish holidays, history, culture, ethics, and Hebrew. We make hope into reality through human action: for ourselves and together.
We're an interfaith family. Are we really welcome?
Many of our families are multi-heritage. All of your extended family — parents, step-parents, grandparents — participates fully in everything, including Bar/Bat/B Mitzvah ceremonies.
Do we have to believe in God?
Not required, we are secular. Atheist, agnostic, still figuring it out — all fine. Kids are encouraged to decide for themselves. That’s why we call it Humanistic Judaism — a positive focus on what people can know and do for themselves and others.
Can our kid still have a Bar/Bat/B Mitzvah?
Yes. The student picks their own topic and works one-on-one with Rabbi Adam Chalom. The whole family fully participates — see how our Bar/Bat/B Mitzvah program works.
Do we have to become members?
No. Membership isn’t required until your oldest child reaches 4th grade — and dues are self-selected.
So what does Sunday School actually cost?
Our youth learning is a once-a-week program on Sunday mornings.
- Annual tuition for 2nd–9th graders is $585 for the first child and $525 for each additional child — 25 Sunday sessions, September through May. (Full fee details.)
- Monthly K–1 Holiday Fun class for kindergarteners–1st graders is free for member families and $10/class for all others.
- In both 6th and 7th grade, there is a Bar/Bat/B Mitzvah program fee of $1,250 — which includes individual Hebrew tutoring, one-on-one preparation with Rabbi Adam Chalom, sanctuary for the service and an additional room for a celebration, and student and family support from our dedicated B Mitzvah Coordinator.
- Monthly family holiday and cultural events are free and open to everyone.
Our kid knows zero Hebrew.
No previous Hebrew learning is expected or needed. When the time comes, there’s one-on-one tutoring at their pace.
“We didn't mind driving an hour each way for Sunday School. It's that different.”
“We wanted a congregation focused on how to be Jewish in today's world. We found it.”
Come as you are
Your way of being Jewish is who we are
- Culturally Jewish
- Just Jewish
- Jew-ish
- Interfaith
- Half-Jewish
- Jewish and…
- Secular
- Humanistic
- Atheist
- Agnostic
- Not religious
- Still figuring it out
High Holidays at Kol Hadash
Yes, it’s Rosh Hashana weekend — that’s the idea.
Celebrate the Jewish New Year by trying something new for your family. Want the full holiday? Join us for the High Holidays too. Hear the shofar.
Open to all ages
Our Family Services — the afternoons of Rosh Hashana (Sat, Sept 12, 2:00 PM) and Yom Kippur (Mon, Sept 21, 2:00 PM) — are open to all ages, and designed for kids ages 4–11. Family services are free, open to everyone, and no registration is needed — just show up and join us.
In person or on Zoom
Our Adult High Holiday services are open to adults and kids in 6th grade and up. We also webcast our adult services on Zoom, so parents of younger children can still hear the shofar and the singing of Kol Nidre live — while the kids do their own thing at home.
Adults and older kids are welcome to explore our adult services in person or online — details and FAQs at kolhadash.com/highholidays.
Getting there
Our Sunday School at Deerfield High School
Our Sunday School at Deerfield High School
1959 Waukegan Road, Deerfield, IL 60015
Driving times on Sunday mornings
- Highland Park · Northbrook~10 min
- Buffalo Grove · Glenview~15 min
- Skokie · Wilmette~20 min
- Evanston~25 min
- Chicago north side~35–45 min
Free Open House · Sun, Sept 13
9:30–11:30 AM · Deerfield · Grades K–5