JEIC seized an opportunity to hear from many diverse voices in the Jewish day school (JDS) field by partnering with Prizmah to host “Listening Booths” at their bi-annual conference in March 2019.
We wondered what JDS stakeholders would say are their dreams, visions, and wishes for Jewish education, and we wondered how those responses might help JDSs achieve the optimal results of students internalizing Jewish values that can help them develop enduring Jewish identities and connections to Jewish belief and practice.
We invited conference attendees to participate in a 20-minute recorded interview in which they shared their opinions and ideas confidentially. Fifty-two participants shared their insights. Some of what we heard validated what many in the field already believe to be true. Other ideas were somewhat surprising with a few that were truly out-of-the-box.
Eight major themes emerged in this research, and a significant number of participants also commented about “making education relevant,” relating Jewish content to the lives of current and future generations of children.
The Listening Booths participants imagined Jewish day schools that:
Emphasize Child-Centered Approaches
Instill Passion and Joy for Jewish Learning
Increase Diversity in Learners, Families, Teachers, and Content
Individualize Teaching and Include All Learners
Increase the Jewish Educator Pipeline
Professionalize the Field for Jewish Educators
Implement Best Practices to Increase the Quality of Education
Manage Affordability and Sustainability
Jewish day school stakeholders abound with creative, original, and ingenious ideas, and Listening Booths participants offered some ideas that have not been commonly circulated in the field to date.
Access the complete report, What We Heard in the Listening Booths: Summary of findings from the JEIC Interviews at PrizmahCJDS’s 2019 Conference, The Greenberg Team, 2019. We thank the Mayberg Foundation for funding this report.
Our listening continues, as our shared success comes from partnering with JDS stakeholders like you. Share with us your dreams, wishes, and visions for Jewish day school education!
Out of the Listening Booths research emanates good news and an opportunity to be fearless. The good news is that there are a great number of impassioned, creative JDS stakeholders who are committed to improving Jewish education and creating the strongest and most enduring future for the Jewish people. These stakeholders have the ideas, and they are ready to execute them. The opportunity to be fearless means stakeholders in the field need to be ready to jump into action, collaborating, taking risks, innovating and inviting others (including funders) to be a part of the solutions.
Will it be difficult? Yes. Is it impossible? A fervent no. Are we committed to making progress, even one step at a time? Absolutely. Join JEIC on our journey to radically improve Jewish day schools. Let’s continue to imagine, experiment with, and bring to fruition the vision of a bright Jewish future.