Defining Jewish Day School and Yeshiva Excellence

DEFINING JEWISH DAY SCHOOL AND YESHIVA EXCELLENCE

As we know, there are numerous definitions for the term excellence. They include words like brilliant, superior, outstanding, distinct, high quality, etc. But, when referring to education and the schooling of our students, these definitions become more specific, precise, focused and defining.

Jewish day school and yeshiva excellence is not an even playing-field.

There are Jewish day schools and yeshivot that define educational excellence through a wide spectrum of diverse lenses; and, there are those institutions that view excellence through a very specific and prescribed set of standards, assumptions and understandings.

Each school, group of schools, or school community has its own set of philosophical and hashkafa standards, practices and boundaries which define the education they provide. For example, there are those institutions that define educational excellence by offering an amalgamation, balance or confluence of high quality limudei kodesh and limudei chol. And, there are those that focus more exclusively on limudei kodesh. Very few if any focus almost exclusively on general studies at the expense of Judaic studies.

So what does excellence in our Jewish day schools and yeshivot actually look like and how is it created and measure?

Painting a Portrait of Excellence

Modern Jewish day school and yeshiva education balances dual curricula and prepares students to lead successful lives in both the secular and within the Jewish world.

The core dimensions of excellence in these institutions can be divided into four discrete categories.

They include: academic rigor, character development, community connection and critical inquiry.

1. Academic Rigor is the blending general studies (STEM, humanities, arts and sciences) with Judaic studies (Torah, History, Navi, TaNach Talmud and Hebrew language); 

2. Character Development focuses and emphasizes excellent middot and derech eretz, as well as personal growth and development, including participation in a variety of chesed initiatives; 

3. Critical Inquiry: encourages student learning through chavruta study in order challenge one another to analyze multiple perspectives, and challenge assumptions that engage in critical thinking as it related to Jewish law, philosophy and values

4. Community Connectedness inspires students to engage in communal projects, participate in Israel travel, educational experiences in Eastern Europe, summer camping programs and delving deeper into Jewish history through experiential learning.

These four broad categories are just a few of the many challenges and opportunities our day schools and yeshivot offer our students and community.

There are a variety of unique characteristics which are very specific to Jewish day schools and yeshivot. But the one which stands out the most, relates to the long term impact many of these institutions have on adult Jewish attitudes, behaviors and involvement.

An integral part of day school and yeshiva excellence is not only academic in nature but affective as well.

Studies consistently demonstrate that Jewish day school students outperform national averages in reading, math and college readiness. This may be due to mall class sizes, high expectations, and a culture that respects learning and scholarship.

In Judaism, learning is not just a means to a career – it is a sacred value and a reverence for limud which permeates the secular classroom as well.

In Jewish day schools, students learn to grapple with complex texts early. A child who can navigate a page of Talmud at age 10 is not intimidated by the classics or calculus at age 16. The skills are transferable. Critical analysis, debate, attention to detail, inferential thinking and comfort with ambiguity are all part of the evolving skill-set which day school students learn to navigate and an early age.

Although the dual curriculum is often very demanding, it is a strength. Students learn to master time management, mental switching and intellectual stamina that their peers in single-curriculum schools rarely develop. They often learn that hard work is normal and even expected.

Excellence in a Jewish day school and yeshiva also means….menschleckiet. Being a good decent person who exhibits exemplary character, middot and derech eretz is not extracurricular, it is the curriculum.

In the final analysis, excellence in our day schools and yeshivot is not accidental or incidental. It is rather the result of intentional communities such as dedicated teachers and faculty sacrificing parents and a student body that understands that they are part of something larger than themselves.

It is also important to note that day school students learn that they are an integral part of a 3,000 year mesorah or a vital link in a chain of responsibility for each other and for the world; and that chesed projects, and tefilla give academic learning a moral anchor.

According to PRIZMAH, a national Jewish communal organization responsible for day school research, development, and teacher training, is a well know that our Jewish day schools and yeshivot promote and inspire excellence through their very construct. To be sure, they offer a rigorous dual-curriculum that pairs elite secular education with immersive Judaic studies and foster intellectual curiosity, critical thinking and a strong moral framework, shaping well rounded students who are deeply connected to their heritage and prepared to be future leaders of our Jewish community.

Values-Driven Education

Finally, another aspect of day school and yeshiva excellence is the institution’s ability and capacity to infuse ethics and values into daily life; and empowering students to become ethical and responsible leaders who give back to their communities as they grow and mature.

The importance of giving tzedakka, and performing acts of chesed in the community are viewed as critically important values which today’s day schools inspire, promote and support.

Day schools of excellence engage professional leadership that align the school’s specific hashkafa with clear, measurable graduate profiles and desired outcomes. They are also goal-oriented and ensure that the standards of the school are aligned with the school’s values and mission as well as vision statements.

Continuous professional development and collaborative curricular planning that keeps educators intellectually stimulated and focused on instructional quality are all critically significant characteristics which help us define and exemplify educational excellence.

Failure of Day Schools and Yeshivot to Exhibit Educational Excellence

So far, we have focused on those critical areas or factors which are attributed to a school’s pursuit of excellence. Nevertheless, there are a variety of schools in our orbit which have unfortunately failed to achieve levels of educational excellence due to a variety of reasons and extenuating circumstances.

These factors which hinder or prevent excellence from being realized are as follows.

Schools fail to achieve inequities in funding, teacher burnout, and an overemphasis on standardized testing over critical thinking.

When day schools prioritize rote memorization and conformity, they stifle natural curiosity. This rigid approach often leaves students ill-equipped to confront the challenges and  complexities of the real world.

Issues such as grade inflation and poor classroom management also lower academic baselines and provide students with a false of academic standing.

Ultimately, true excellence requires a paradigm shift.in that critical thinking must be essential to helping students and schools thrive.

Finally, it is important to note that leadership churn and a constant reliance on new educational fads destroy curriculum coherence. This leaves teachers overwhelmed and unable to master new, helpful classroom teaching strategies.

Other factors which inspire failure include high professional turnover rates of teachers and senior school leadership, a lack of focused curricular goals, expectations and objectives and fizzy metrics.

It is also essential that to understand that if school leadership, faculty, parents and board do not hold themselves to a higher academic standard, than the school will slump into academic mediocrity. This hold true for both Judaic and general studies.

Moving Forward

In the final analysis, given the competitive nature of our schools, most of our day school and yeshiva communities today will hopefully strive to create and maintain high standards of academic rigor. This is evident through their curricula and the personnel they engage to lead their schools.

As our Jewish day schools evolve into the future, they will be challenged to become the “best they can be”. This means that at the end of the day it will all depend on one fact – the survival of the fittest.