This moment presents a tremendous opportunity. Thanks to recent research, we have deeper insight into what Jewish families in the United States want: communities that foster belonging across diverse identities, a welcoming environment for their children to connect and develop a Jewish identity, and institutions that do both those things while acknowledging the complexity of Jewish life right now.

And, though part-time Jewish education saw a well-publicized drop in enrollment prior to the pandemic, Jewish communities are now experiencing a surge in engagement.

This news is a call to action, but educational leaders working in part-time Jewish education are stretched thin. With no consistent national funding structure to support leaders in part-time education, local budgets for professional development are often nonexistent or inconsistent.

Additionally, in this moment of renewed interest they’re being asked to do more, often without the resources to do it well. Their job titles have become multi-hyphenate; in many cases, they are no longer principals but directors of lifelong learning. One leader in a small congregational school told me their job has ballooned to serve community members “from the cradle to the grave.”

This is where funders can make a lasting impact. By supporting programs that teach cost-effective, community-driven strategies like asset-based community development and participatory action research, we can give educational leaders what they really need: the tools to lead change with their communities, not just for them.

Leaders, in turn, can better support their educators, who can then provide higher quality teaching and learning experiences — ensuring their growing learning communities not only thrive right now, but for decades to come. 

Moving towards careholder-informed leadership

What does this look like in practice? Asset-based community development helps leaders map their community’s existing strengths — both tangible and intangible, from gathering spaces to committed volunteers and strong family networks — and use those assets to meet local needs.

Participatory action research invites careholders of all ages to the table — students, parents, teachers, lay leaders — to help in designing new structures and resources. It empowers leaders to listen, learn, and make shared decisions that reflect what people actually want.

While an educational leader might have the ultimate decision-making power, the changes they make will be more relevant, effective, and sustainable when they’re informed by the people affected by those decisions.

Together, these methodologies achieve three critical goals: 

First, they help leaders identify what their community is already doing well, and build on it. Second, they create a structure for listening and acting on community input. Third, they equip leaders with a repeatable method for solving problems collaboratively. 

People want to feel heard, and they want to be involved. These methods give leaders the tools to make that possible.

Consider the work underway at the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland (JEC). We are using participatory action research to better understand the individual thoughts, feelings, and values of those who participate in and support part-time Jewish education. We are learning what they believe Jewish education should look like — and with this knowledge, the community will help design pilots that will provide funding support as they are tested and evaluated.

It’s been thrilling to see JEC leadership expand their tools to include the voices of middle schoolers, teens, parents, teachers, and funders all together — and use that collective feedback as a blueprint for taking action and choosing a path forward.

Start local to transform the broader system

If we want to see part-time Jewish education weather this critical moment and maintain its place as a pillar of Jewish communal life, we must invest in our educational leaders. Asset-based community development and participatory action research offer a sustainable solution that can be practiced at the local level to catalyze broader, systemic change.

When we fund programs that teach educational leaders these methodologies, they gain a new mindset — one that consistently centers community voices, focuses on their community’s needs and creates change that lasts. This is how we give them the support they need to ensure a robust, thriving part-time education system, together. 

Mindy M. Gold is the founder of Gold Learning Solutions, a faculty member of the Mandel Teacher Educator Institute and an instructor at Hebrew Union College.