Supporting Jewish Students Requires a Systemic Approach
It is increasingly dangerous to be a Jewish student in the diaspora. Not only are Jewish students being attacked physically, but there are increasing reports of social and psychological abuse that Jewish students from early elementary grades through higher education are navigating.
I am a school psychologist and a professor. Like so many others, over the past several years I became increasingly alarmed about rising Jew hatred–and the common indifference (at best) and outright hostility (at worst) shown by so many educators towards Jewish students. This has only intensified since October 7, with regular news stories highlighting examples of educators causing harm.
As a Jew living in the US, I am used to schools not talking about or otherwise not recognizing Jewish life. Too used to it. However, it is clear that I overestimated the baseline knowledge about Jewish culture of the typical school teacher or administrator, even those who work in areas with a decent Jewish population base.
One of the things I have always liked about being a school psychologist is that we get a backstage pass to preK-12 schools, which are both unique organizational systems and also tend to be a microcosm of what is happening in the broader society. One of the challenges school administrators have is that the room typically changes when they enter. Teachers of course understand their classrooms better than anyone else, but it is very challenging for, say, a second grade teacher to have a clear sense of what is happening in the fifth grade. School psychologists typically can be the proverbial flies on the wall and get to observe all settings in the school spaces without the room changing because they are there.
One of the main benefits from this kind of unique access–combined with our training as psychologists–is that observant school psychologists start to notice patterns. Yes, there can be rogue teachers or students who make life miserable for Jewish students, but typically this kind of harassment only flourishes and spreads if it takes place within a broader culture that tolerates Jew hatred, either overtly or tacitly. Schools ultimately are systems, and steps to make schools a place where Jewish students are safe and treated with respect and dignity should be done with a systems lens.
What might this look like? Public health models can inform us. In school psychology, the predominant model is called multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS). MTSS is intended as a comprehensive approach that includes primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary prevention efforts. Adopted for supporting Jewish students, this means that some strategies should be geared towards everyone (e.g., clear districtwide policies for defining and addressing antisemitism, training in the foundations of Jewish culture), some strategies should be geared towards specific sub-populations (e.g. specific grade-level lessons/units on topics germane to Jewish culture), and some strategies should be reserved for individuals (e.g., individual work with problematic teachers), typically individuals with the greatest needs.
All of this is best done as part of a comprehensive, strategic plan. The problem is that, in practice, schools tend to be reactive. For example, school leaders know that there are children in their district at risk for self-harm, but, tragically, most schools do not spring into action to adopt more vigorous mental health screenings and interventions until after a local tragedy occurs. When it comes to supporting the well-being of Jewish students, US schools typically are operating from both a lack of basic knowledge of Jewish culture and a lack of urgency to take action until something so egregious has occurred that they feel obligated to respond.
Sounding the alarm bells about the rise of antisemitic attacks is not likely to be enough to move the needle for schools. The Jewish population is too small and too few educators are invested in supporting Jewish youth. Nor are piecemeal approaches–such as a one-time training or a single unit on the Holocaust–likely to make a dent, no matter how well designed and executed these interventions are. What is needed is a commitment to promoting a systems-level approach that centers Jewish voices (particularly the voices of Jewish students). This commitment should be incorporated into broader schoolwide practices (e.g., DEI efforts, efforts to support the mental health of all students) and be reflective of the unique culture of the school/district. These are the kinds of initiatives that require advance buy-in and are built slowly over time, but also have the greater potential for longer staying power as they are systemic in nature from the start. Jewish students are the experts in their own experiences and we can make major positive changes if we listen to them and then think and act systemically.
