“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” —B.B. King
These days, more and more students are experiencing this “beautiful thing” about Jewish education, the thing or things that no one can take away from them. In Jewish schools, students learn to understand and feel proud about their Jewish identity. They acquire the timeless wisdom that composes our Jewish DNA and will stay with them throughout their lives.
Every day, they take part in a model Jewish community, where people take responsibility for each other and for those beyond the school’s walls. They learn how to work together, to hold discussions and disagree leshem Shamayim, to accept each other in all the ways we are alike and different. They embody the school’s values, including mentschlichkeit, compassion for one’s fellow, love for Israel, and care for the wellbeing of our city and country. They learn to stand up for themselves and the Jewish people. And they do all of this in a place where the teachers and administrators know them, care deeply about them, respect them for who they are and want to help them grow as a person and a Jew.
This secret is out: Jewish schools are the place to be. Enrollment across the field continues to rise, as families—both parents and children—find their spiritual, intellectual and emotional homes in our schools. During Covid, families saw how our schools were able to stay open, keep our children safe and happy, and provide them with the in-person experience that they desperately needed.
Since October 7, our schools serve as a haven where Jewish students don’t have to hide who they are or risk being attacked or ostracized. Once families are in the door, they want to stay, often asking why it took them so long to get there in the first place. They become not only committed members of the school community but ardent ambassadors as well.
Articles in this issue look at a range of issues that can help schools boost their enrollment in small or large ways. The focus of the first section is on parents. Rivkind presents a new initiative for lateral transfers throughout the field, while Levy and Shamosh describe how two schools have achieved significant results in this effort. Dack Held and Moher dive into a large regional survey to understand parent motivation for attending, supporting or rejecting day school. Stein and Ehrlich offer a method for working with parents for long-term retention. Krieger shows how a small school can recruit and retain families who are not perfectly mission-aligned. Westle and Puchiu demonstrate the enrollment boost from the school’s support of Israel.
Section two of the issue looks at enrollment strategy. Perla investigates the relationship between affordability and enrollment. Two articles, by Zwang and Plant and Paul, look at the role that fundraising can play in supporting enrollment—and how enrollment can help drive fundraising. English maps out the many ways that your school can differentiate itself from other schools. Levy and Schmulson provide guidance on standardizing enrollment language, while Endelman suggests best practices for when schools need to decline. Apter presents the decision to encourage difficult conversations in the classroom and its impact on enrollment.
This issue’s School Feature showcases the voices of parents for whom a Jewish day school education was not originally in their plans. The third section focuses on recruitment. A communitywide collaboration on recruitment is described by Maman. Morrow showcases a sophisticated strategy for word-of-mouth marketing. Gale and Rubinson Levy argue for the centrality of educational excellence in recruitment. Braffman and Andleman unveil a successful recruitment method based in corporate practice. Feintuch introduces the role of her school’s Portrait of a Graduate in its recruitment drive, and Goldstein and Mentzer offer a how-to on recruiting students with diverse learning needs. Fraizen-Chan and Bloom reveal how the cultivation of student ambassadors can provide a powerful recruitment experience.
The final section looks at the nature of relationships in recruitment. Maayan and Bloom explore the pivotal relationship between the admission director and head of school, while Udell looks at challenging scenarios among the AD and other administrators. Luchins proposes methods for schools to build trust with families. Dalfen writes about a school’s effort to make inroads among diverse constituencies and its impact on recruitment. The last two articles discuss the role of culture in retention: Rogozen on the management of culture as a system of relationships, Sperling on the importance of teacher longevity to school culture and appeal.
We hope that you find in this issue ideas, methods and inspiration to help you and your team expand your reach and grow your school. עלה וצלח—May you ascend and prosper.
