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One Educator’s Response….. on the Findings of the Pew Report and the Jewish Future

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By Nancy Parkes

I have read the reports and the responses. I have attended meetings and have discussed the findings of the Pew report with many of my colleagues and with experts in the field, all whom I would define as people who care deeply about the future of Jewish life in America.

And, like many others, I am concerned about the Jewish future. But not in the way you may think.

It is clear from the findings of the Pew Report that we still have work to do in making Jewish learning and life meaningful, engaging, and relevant for American Jews. I don’t believe that anyone would deny that. My issue with the articles and proposal presented by Steven Cohen and Jack Wertheimer is that there is absolutely no mention of the value and importance of supplementary synagogue education.

It is interesting that despite the Pew Report demonstrating that supplementary education in the high school years is indeed effective, the proposal makes no mention of supporting these programs. It does, however, mention day schools, Jewish camps, youth groups and trips to Israel.

I don’t know of one Jewish educator, lay leader, or Rabbi that would dispute that day schools and informal educational experiences are powerful influences in the lives of our young people. I certainly believe that they are. One of the reasons why these experiences are so effective is that they do not occur in isolation. As noted by Cohen and Wertheimer, “These programs work synergistically with each other and also with formal schooling during the critical high-school years.”

As a Jewish educator and director in a supplementary synagogue school, I would never claim that supplementary education alone guarantees or leads to Jewish engagement as adults. Why then is this the way so many evaluate our programs?

Educators and directors in the synagogue setting have done much soul searching during the past decade. We were told that our system was “broken”; that children and parents were not finding the joy in Jewish learning in our settings; and even more importantly, we were told that the learning that was taking place was not leading to Jewish living.

We took all of this to heart- because we were concerned and because we care deeply about the future of Judaism.

How did many of us respond? We made changes – significant changes – in the structure and design of our schools. We advocated for Jewish camp and even brought the camp experience into our schools. We made youth groups an integral part of our educational programming blending the formal setting with this valuable informal Jewish experience. Many programs now take teens on trips to Israel, and more and more programs take learning out of the traditional classroom setting. Perhaps one of the most significant changes that has been made is the education and involvement of parents. We involve them because we know that if Judaism is not relevant and meaningful for them, they as the decision makers, will not only remove themselves from Jewish life, but their children, as well.

With more than 60% of our families enrolling their children in supplementary educational programs, we know that much is at stake in the kind of educational experiences we create for our learners. So, what kind of message are they receiving by the silence – and worse, the negativity – leaders in research and education send them by not supporting their decision with funding? That they are not worth the investment? That they have made the “wrong” decision? That they care less about their child’s Jewish education?

I keep a running list of the negative comments I hear from lay leaders, clergy, and professionals in the Jewish world about supplementary education. Unfortunately, the list is long and continues to grow. Is it any wonder that less and less young people are going into the field of Jewish education, and why synagogue schools have difficultly finding educators and leaders for their schools? This kind of rhetoric perpetuates a self-filling cycle.

Supplementary schools matter – and they do make a positive difference in the lives of our families. Can they be better? Absolutely. But, they need support to do so.

Here is my proposal:

  • Stop the negative narrative. Leaders and clergy need to become vocal advocates for supplementary education, whether it is from the pulpit, in writing, or at conferences.
  • Be our partners. We need more leaders and clergy to truly be our partners in creating the educational excellence that we all want. If your synagogue school is not a place that you would send your own child, how can you work with your educational team to make it so?
  • Encourage people to consider Jewish education as a career. We need more Jewish educators – in all settings. We need to do a better job at reaching out to those who we believe could make a difference in the Jewish world of informal and formal Jewish education. We also need more scholarships dollars to help those who wish to become Jewish educators to realistically be able do so.
  • Provide mentorship and consulting for supplementary education directors. Change is hard, and it’s even harder when you are doing it on your own.
  • Collaboration. Jewish camps and youth groups “work.” So does supplementary education when it is combined with these informal experiences. More conferences should be held which bring leaders in these fields together to think about how they can truly collaborate to bring powerful experiential education to the supplementary school setting, while also encouraging our children and teens to attend camp and become active members in youth groups.

I am not an alarmist, but I do believe that supplementary schools matter and that the lack of support that they receive and the negative narrative that is perpetuated is indeed, in the words of Cohen and Wertheimer, “a condition that is dire enough to warrant the serious attention of anyone concerned about the Jewish future.”

Nancy Parkes is the Director of Congregational Learning at Temple Israel Center in White Plains, an egalitarian synagogue in White Plains, NY.

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  1. Nancy,
    You are one of the pioneers creating robust learning that impacts children’s lives.

    The Story of Temple Israel Center and your team is shaping a new narrative. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OMq_mxtLDcM

    Yesterday, at work, we wondered out loud…
    Without congregational education
    * how many children* would engage in teen Jewish activities?
    *How many parents* would join congregations?
    *How many children* would participate in youth groups?
    *How many children*would go to Jewish summer camps?

    Our role is to

    1. Foster meaningful Jewish learning that impacts a child’s daily life now
    ( e.g. your video/and the stories of The Coalition of Innovating Congregations http://innovatingcongregations.org/iexpress-2/ )

    AND

    2. To build the bridges to somewhere…camp, youth group, families, friendships, Israel experiences etc…

    We humbly say, we are continuing on a cycle of innovation to enact our role more effectively
    and
    We proudly say..we make a positive difference (We look forward to publishing an IMPACT NOW study in the spring)

    So to what you wrote: Amen

    *from Non orthodox settings

  2. Amen!
    I wrote a complementary piece a bit over a year ago that takes a more statistical approach to reach a similar conclusion: http://jewschool.com/2013/09/07/30810/impact-of-hebrew-school/
    I’ll add that not only can good supplemental schools be a critical part of people’s Jewish growth, they touch the lives of many many more kids and families than day schools. If someone job is to support the growth of the next generation of Jews and they’re ignoring supplemental programs, they are failing at their job.

  3. Thank you for your comments, Nancy. It is so important for clergy, educators, communal leaders, and other opinion makers to make supplementary Jewish education a priority, bringing together the formal and informal educational approaches. I hope your comments will be the trigger for a broad conversation and some creative thinking.

  4. Nancy,

    Thank you for this powerful message.

    “what kind of message are they receiving by the silence – and worse, the negativity – leaders in research and education send them” – yes indeed! And also you and your colleagues. What message have our educators received, those professionals who have poured their hearts and souls into our children’s education?

    If the majority of Jewish families choose so-called “supplementary” programs in Jewish education, then these programs provide one of the greatest opportunities for impact in our community. We are starting to see across the country what innovative programs can look like. With more investment, with more attention, we will see even greater opportunities and results of part-time Jewish education.

  6. Amen v’amen. The impact (and possible impact) of supplemental religious schools is immense; and their success is pivotal to our Jewish future. We ask our congregation leaders (lay and professional) what does the product (Jewish adult) of your synagogue’s religious school look like? What are your community’s goals for that child. Then, build backwards from that goal.
    Moreover, because the nurturing and molding of our future Jewish adults is an all inclusive community responsibility, religious school innovation initiatives must be rooted in partnership with the synagogue board (not silo-d within the synagogue’s board of education).
    http://www.jfnnj.org/atid

  7. Nancy:
    Your voice is important to be heard!
    Decades ago, I began my Jewish educational career at Temple Israel, as a youth leader, and running a creative Shabbat service. At that time, there was a robust youth and supplementary h.s. program, with Shabbatonim, as well as outstanding formal and informal Jewish educators (mostly Orthodox). I can attest to the strong impact the program made on many of the participants.
    YES, WE HAVE SCHOLARSHIP MONEY AT PARDES, not only for those interested in teaching Jewish Studies in day schools, but for other types of Jewish educators as well! A year at Pardes can be transformative, enriching, and energizing for a young person entering the field.

  8. Halleluya for your compelling message!!
    This is not a Mary Poppins song anymore – “Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down” is not the narrative for congregational Jewish education any more. We are training Jewish educators to be change agents and to dream about engaging young people and their families in meaningful purposeful learning that will impact their lives!!

  10. Kol Hakavod, Nancy! You are an exemplar of those proud Jewish educational innovators transforming the face of congregational “supplementary” education across North America. It’s time to stop dissing congregational education and recognize the wonderful new structural and educational approaches that leading congregations of all sizes and denominations are experimenting with and succeeding with. This is not news! And, as Cyd notes, congregational learning programs are often critical gateways to and can be partners with other valuable experiences like camp and Israel trips. It’s time to stop treating these as if they are alternatives to one another or competitors. It seems only our researchers view them this way; families surely see them as synergistic! They must work together–along with a robust Jewish home and family life–to create compelling Jewish lives today, which is critical to creating rich Jewish lives in the future. I applaud your concrete proposals!

  11. Beautifully called. To write off supplementary Jewish education is to write off thousands of children and parents. To engage with the possibility of supplementary Jewish education in a variety of settings and forms has the potential to connect with and impact children and adults in meaningful, joy-filled ways. Nancy and the team atTemple Israel Center have created a powerful educational experience, but Temple Israel Center is only one place of light, impacting learners, adult and child with powerful tools, fun, and thoughtful community. The narrative of supplementary schools might begin there.

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