As Jewish Day Schools Grow, We Need to Build the Educator Pipeline Now More Than Ever

A Snapshot of What We Know

Day schools and yeshivas are part of a larger ecosystem where knowledge and trends related to the educator pipeline provide context and relevance. Drawing on data from day schools themselves as well as the world of general education, independent schools, Jewish professionals, and Jewish education more broadly, we know so much about why and how to make a difference.

One of the biggest selling points of a career in education is “the promise of meaningful work,” and more than 85% of independent school teachers felt satisfied with their ability to have an impact on students. This is especially true at Jewish day schools; teachers choose to work in our schools out of personal passion and identification with mission. A 2022 McKinsey report found that 31% of those who had recently quit their job reported a lack of “meaningful” work, suggesting an opportunity if we can harness the desire for meaning through our schools.

And yet, even some of the unique rewards of a Jewish day school environment may fade in the face of the challenges, and even some of the most idealistic of teachers pursue other careers in the Jewish community. Thirty-five percent of Jewish day school and yeshiva teachers have recently considered leaving the field because of the difficulties of their jobs, according to a community study conducted by Prizmah.

The challenges affecting the Jewish educator pipeline are evident in the wider education sector: the National Education Association reported in February 2022 that there were 335,000 fewer public school educators than before the pandemic. And, it is not only a matter of volume: Since the 1970s, the percentage of students from the top ten percent of high school achievement testing entering the teaching profession has been halved.

Financial matters are incredibly important, and perhaps in many cases the sole factor, that motivates great educators towards teaching. The average starting salary for a full-time teacher at a Jewish day school is $47,000; the overall average salary for full-time day school teachers is $65,000. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, people with a master’s degree in the US earn a median salary just under $82,000. The Economic Policy Institute found that teachers’ salaries across schools were about 24% less than salaries of other college graduates.

Our knowledge is powerfully enhanced by the treasure trove of existing research from The Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education (CASJE) on career trajectories of Jewish educators. CASJE data indicate that in the US alone, day schools employ almost 10,000 full-time educators. According to JPro, day schools are by far the largest employers of full-time faculty and staff among the major Jewish communal networks in the US and Canada.

In 2022-2023, through Prizmah’s school data collection, conducted in partnership with the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), we found that Jewish day schools reported 13% staff attrition, in line with teacher turnover in the US which grew to 14% post-pandemic, according to the Rand Corporation.

We are tracking dangerously below the curve if we want to ensure we have sufficient excellent educators for our students today and in the future, and the impact is obvious.

The Playbook

Given the overwhelming amount of data and connected anecdotal evidence for the need to address the educator pipeline, Prizmah’s goal in partnering with the Jewish Education Innovation Challenge (JEIC) to establish the JDS Educator Pipeline Working Group was to leverage the wisdom of the field and generate practical solutions to address these needs. Their recommendations are ambitious, and the playbook, as its name implies, is designed to reimagine the pipeline of Jewish day school educators.

Our working group addressed the range of complex needs, from early pipeline through the arc of the career of an educator. The intention was not to generate a “silver bullet” that we might falsely expect to solve a range of issues. Instead, we are presented with a rich and practical playbook of ideas that can be implemented from the individual school to the communal level.

Over the past twenty or so years, educational, training, and mentoring opportunities to incentivize careers in Jewish day school education have proliferated and been reinvented. We have tried many approaches and learned much along the way, yet we still find that some of our best-trained professionals are leaving our schools. With enrollment on the upswing and the promise of Jewish day schools never more highly valued, we need to make sure that teaching in a day school is the best professional opportunity for our top students and educators.

I am optimistic. Jewish day schools remain the Jewish people’s winningest investment for a vibrant and continuous Jewish future. Let’s make our payoff the biggest imaginable.

Acknowledgements

With special thanks to the Mayberg Foundation, Melissa Kushner and Jeremy Kaplan, and Evelyn and Dr. Shmuel Katz.

We are thankful for the wisdom and commitment of the working group, appreciative of our partnership with JEIC, and extend our gratitude to the Mayberg Foundation, Melissa Kushner and Jeremy Kaplan, and Evelyn and Dr. Shmuel Katz for making these resources possible.