Rabbi Marc Baker is the Head of School of Gann Academy – the New Jewish High School of Greater Boston in Waltham, MA. He is a graduate of the Pardes Educators Program and the JTS-AVI CHAI Day School Leadership Training Program (DSLTI). In this article, he embraces Hebrew charter schools for what they are, and advises caution for what they are not.

Introduction

While the initial reaction of the Jewish day school community to the idea of Hebrew charter schools does not seem to be positive, and there is much to critique about these schools, I sense that this initial response is too reactive. It stems from a place of fear – fear of the competition that these schools will create, fear of declining enrollment, fear for the future of our schools, and fear about the quality of Jewish education that the next generation will receive. I want to suggest that if we day school proponents are able to approach the idea of Hebrew charter schools from a non-defensive place and with confidence in the education we provide, Hebrew charter schools might actually advance rather than detract from the Jewish day school field.

Intra-day school competition

Many Jewish day schools suffer from a lack of competition that can lead to comfort with the status quo and taking our student and parent body for granted. Many of our schools are more parochial than we realize, and we continue to teach to the choir. Over the past decade, we have not expanded enrollment as much as many believed we would, and we continue to rely on what the Boston Jewish community’s 2004 Lieberman study (www.peje.org/docs/DAFStudy.pdf) calls our “believers” to maintain our enrollment (“believers” was the term used to identify the population that was most committed to Jewish day schools). For this reason, the idea that some of our families might defect to Hebrew charter schools certainly appears threatening.

In communities such as Boston and Atlanta, in both of which I have served as a day school teacher and leader, Jewish families have multiple K-8 day school options. These schools are reaching out and even competing for families who are not “believers.” The increase in recruitment and of families who previously would not seriously have considered day school has forced these schools to compete with public and secular private schools, often raising the bar of the education they provide. The rise of “pluralistic” or “community” Jewish day schools (perhaps, high schools, in particular) in many communities has put pressure on Orthodox, or more well-established community schools, which used to be “the only game in town”, to improve. In the short term, this competition may have been painful, but many educators and parents credit this competition with pushing their schools’ leaderships to ramp up the quality of education they provide. Competition between day schools often pushes schools to clarify their mission, determine whom they aspire to serve, and communicate more effectively, through both marketing and their educational program and priorities.

More Jewish options for the Jewish community

In a world of shifting notions of Jewish identities, where greater value is placed on personal and familial autonomy and choice more than on tribal-communal affiliation (see, for example, Steven M. Cohen and Arnold M. Eisen’s The Jew Within: Self, Family and Community in America), where Jewish social entrepreneurship, Birthright Israel, and independent minyanim each in their own way offer new access points into Jewish living and challenge traditional Jewish institutional life, it certainly appears that more Jewish educational options are usually good for the Jews. In particular, in the non-Orthodox world, parents who have relied primarily on Hebrew schools and, perhaps, Jewish summer camps as the sole providers of their children’s Jewish identities can now choose among various compelling educational options, including new Hebrew school models, alternative supplementary high schools, a growing number of Jewish summer options, and Israel experiences. In addition, adult educational initiatives such as the Florence Melton Adult Mini-school and Boston’s Me’ah create opportunities for adults to engage in serious Jewish learning and develop their own sophisticated Jewish identities later in life. We see a spectrum of Jewish educational options that include a range of intensity and levels of sophistication of Jewish learning and Jewish identity development.

It seems that Hebrew charter schools will take their place somewhere on that spectrum. They will offer students the opportunity to attend school primarily with other Jews, creating a Jewish social atmosphere that many parents seek in Jewish day schools and that might contribute positively to children’s Jewish self-identification and communal affiliation. (For our purposes I will assume that Hebrew charter schools will cater primarily to Jews. I will not address here the implications of the possibility that Hebrew charter schools could be as religiously and ethnically diverse as other public schools. However, it is worth noting that by law, admission to a charter school is by lottery, so the better the school is, the more likely it is that non-Jews will apply.) They will provide students with opportunities to learn modern Hebrew language, as some public schools do already, and, they claim, to study Jewish history and culture. While the content and quality of these classes remain unclear to me, proponents of these schools certainly view this as a compelling approach to developing Jewish identity.

Hebrew charter schools have the potential to attract significant number of Jews who would not consider Jewish day schools. If this is true and if we assume, as do Birthright Israel and University Hillels, for example, that more opportunities for Jews to “do Jewish” with other Jews is good for the Jewish community, strengthens Jewish identity and is likely to promote Jewish continuity, then we must acknowledge that these charter schools are an important development, especially at their low cost. From this perspective, if Jewish children are going to attend public school anyway, the experience might as well be as Jewish as possible. The question is: which families will Hebrew charter schools attract and what this will mean for Jewish day schools?

A challenge and an opportunity for Jewish day schools

If Hebrew charter schools attract families who are not currently considering Jewish day schools, they actually have the potential to expand the pool of potential applicants to day schools. Bringing people along the spectrum from less affiliated to more affiliated increases the likelihood that they would, at least, consider day school as a serious option.

In reality, however, Hebrew charter schools will compete with many day schools, especially schools whose enrollment has relied on families who have chosen day school not because of the intensive Jewish education, but rather for Jewish culture and community. Not surprisingly, the first response of many day school advocates is reactive and defensive. Concerned about the future of our school and our field, especially in light of the economic crisis, we rush to judge the seriousness of a charter school’s Jewish education, we raise issues of separation of Church and State, and we criticize proponents of charter schools as irresponsibly or even unethically sabotaging Jewish day schools. To me, however, this defensiveness is a sign of our weakness. Rather than take this as a threat that needs to be condemned, we need to respond with what Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, calls an “abundance mentality,” optimistic that more options can result in more total Jews in the system and confident about our place as the jewel in the crown of the spectrum of Jewish educational opportunities. It is the job of day school leaders and supporters to acknowledge the potential implications of Hebrew charter schools for Jewish day schools and to make the case for why parents should and will still opt for day schools.

You get the Jewish education you pay for

First and foremost, let us be clear: Hebrew charter schools are not a free version of Jewish day schools. These are two dramatically different models of Jewish education, and the very choice between the two forces us to clarify our vision of Jewish identity and the future of the Jewish People. The description “Hebrew” rather than “Jewish” before charter school says a great deal about this Jewish educational movement. The reduction of Jewish content to Hebrew language and some Jewish history and culture is not merely a symbolic nod to opponents of religious charter schools. Rather, this represents a vision of Jewish identity and community that sees little need for Judaism, or Jewish religion, and that sees little value in the classical texts of our tradition, rituals or spirituality. The homepage of the Ben-Gamla Charter School’s website (www.ben-gamlacharter.com) does not mention the word Judaism, and, in fact, shows no traces even of Jewish history or culture. Even if these schools offer after-school classes to augment their secular-cultural educational program, this reinforces the dichotomy between school and Jewish learning, a dichotomy that already creates challenges for Jewish supplementary schools.

In the words of Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, “There is no cheap alternative to day schools.” He writes, “Modern America is the most sophisticated, dynamic, general civilization ever inhabited by Jews. Every way of life and every value system are available to everyone, and they are often offered in highly attractive packages. Only when Judaism is experienced in a form as satisfying and fulfilling as these alternatives will Jews embrace their identity and tradition. And only day schools offer the tools to make a mature embrace of Judaism plausible for many of our young people” (www.forward.com/articles/120123/).

If our children are going to choose Judaism as adults, if their Jewish identities are going to influence the choices they make about the people they marry and the kind of human beings they want to be, if they are going to identify with the Jewish People, the State of Israel, and Jewish history, they need Jewish educational experiences that are intensive, sophisticated, and inspiring. We need to do a better job of highlighting the value added of the day school experience for students’ Jewish identities. Day school students develop into committed and passionate Jews who will not just pass Judaism onto their children as a cultural-tribal responsibility but who are empowered to find meaning in their heritage and who will invest in the quality – the mission and purpose – of their people. Our students will not merely pursue continuity for continuity’s sake, for we know that this cannot withstand the spiritual and cultural marketplace of the modern world. Instead, in our schools, they discover why they should preserve and strengthen Judaism and our people.

What are some of the values added of Jewish day school education over Hebrew charter schools?

• Integration of Jewish and General studies sends a profound message to students about integrating their identities as Jews, Americans, and citizens of the world. Judaism is not something you “do” after school for a few hours a week; it is the lens through which you see the world. Jewish day schools model this kind of integration and are able to devote the quantity of time needed to deliver a deep and intensive Jewish education.
• Total Jewish identity development engages the intellect as well as character and spirituality. To separate out language, history, and culture from tradition, values, and spirituality is to amputate core aspects of Judaism, to ignore core dimensions of students’ selves, and to limit entryways into meaningful Jewish living. If Judaism is going to survive and thrive into the future, we need all of it. Schools play a powerful role in the formation of students’ minds, their character, and their hearts and souls, and Jewish day school education (religious education in general, actually) sees this holistic educational approach as core to its educational mission.
• Students form powerful and purposeful relationships with Jewish peers and Jewish educators who model inspired Jewish learning and living and who are fellow travelers with students on their Jewish journeys. These relationships are more than just friendships with other Jews, which Hebrew charter schools will offer, as well. Because the relationships are formed in a purposeful Jewish environment, the relationships grow out of and reinforce students’ search for meaning, their questioning and exploration of the Jewish tradition, and their process of active identity construction
• Day schools prepare the next generation of Jewish leaders who have a sophisticated understanding of Judaism, who have been shaped by compelling Jewish experiences, who have a deep commitment to Klal Yisrael, and who are intensely invested in the Jewish future. Because they graduate in search of Jewish communal life that matches the depth and intensity of their Jewish day school experience, day school graduates become builders and transformers of, rather than just participants in, Jewish life. They become leaders of college Hillels, founders of independent minyanim, scholars, rabbis and Jewish educators, committed lay leaders, and creative Jewish social entrepreneurs. Jewish day schools are laboratories for developing this kind of leadership and Jewish civic participation.

The unrealized benefits of independent (private) school

To articulate the unique value of a day school education, we also must, once and for all, stop apologizing for the fact that we are independent (private) schools and celebrate the tremendous advantages of an independent school education. Because many Jews and Jewish educators, especially Jewish day school “believers” who are more concerned with children’s Jewish identities than with the totality of their educational experience, are so uncomfortable with the idea of attending private school (let alone paying for it!), we tend to ignore, if not resent, the fact that we are independent schools. Instead of stereotyping secular independent schools as the elitist, old-boy, competitive, value-less “prep” schools where we would never send our children, let us celebrate that we are part of a long tradition and community of independent schools that have compelling educational philosophies and offer significant educational advantages.

Some of these advantages include:

• Small class sizes, individual attention, and educators who know every child
• Meaningful relationships with faculty outside the classroom who are also coaches, advisors, and role models
• Extensive, high-level extracurricular and co-curricular opportunities in arts, athletics, clubs, and community service that tap into students’ passions and talents outside the classroom
• Leadership opportunities that give students ownership and responsibility over school life and culture
• Powerful mission, purpose, and values that infuse the educational experience and that view shaping character and engaging the heart as well as the mind as fundamental to the educational process
• Emphasis on community, including both the teachers, students, and parents who are currently part of the school community, as well as alumni and all those who have been part of the school’s history and tradition

We need to articulate why and how we are not just Jewish public schools and what we, as independent schools, offer that Hebrew charter schools will not. My sense is that many parents simply do not realize how much of what they value in Jewish day schools is not necessarily a result of our Jewish educational mission, but rather is core to the (expensive) independent school experience.

Some Jewish day schools work so hard to recruit families who are less concerned with their Jewish mission and more concerned with “outstanding secular education” that they feel they must downplay the Jewish aspects and emphasize only all of the above. This has the potential to create a private version of the Hebrew charter school and it is not what I am suggesting. The power and intensity of our Jewish educational mission and vision is core to the Jewish day school value proposition. However, it is also time for us to acknowledge and celebrate that many independent school values and characteristics are the very reasons why parents make such tremendous sacrifices to send their children to Jewish day schools.

Retaining the “middle third” – the economic implications of charter schools

Even when we are able to make the case for why Jewish day schools are the premier Jewish educational experience because of their unparalleled capacities to shape Jewish identity and because of the values added of the independent school model, we still must acknowledge that a day school education is expensive. Independent schools acknowledge this as well and many feel a strong mandate to address issues of socioeconomic diversity through recruitment initiatives and providing generous scholarships to a significant number of families. Unfortunately, many Jewish day schools have not yet reached the point where they can financially sustain the level of financial aid that their mission-driven commitment to educating all Jews inspires them to provide.

One of the economic implications of competition with free Hebrew charter schools will be the initial drain of families who do not value all that a day school provides, either because they would prefer a different educational option or because the school has not succeeded in articulating or delivering on its educational mission. In the short run, a significant exodus of families for these reasons would be damaging for some day schools and could even threaten their existence. But, in the long run, I believe that survival of the fittest will push day schools to ramp up their quality and to make their case more effectively. If they cannot, then I think we will need to be addressing larger questions about Jewish day schools rather than the challenge posed by Hebrew charter schools.

What concerns me is the real possibility that families who truly do believe in the Jewish day school mission will opt for a less compelling educational option for purely financial reasons. Many families who have significant needs for financial aid and who are willing to ask for it receive generous support from our schools. But, especially with middle income families, our schools also face the significant recruitment challenge of the price tag alone preventing potentially outstanding families and students from even walking through our doors, even though many of them might well receive generous financial aid if they gave us a chance. Charter schools have the potential to exacerbate this recruitment challenge and to cause a “middle third” brain drain, if you will.

While we need to stop apologizing for the cost of our schools and focus on making the case for our value, we also need to communicate more clearly and aggressively about our financial aid policies and our commitment to making it possible for any family who is willing to make the financial commitment to be able to afford a day school education. In order to deliver on this promise without threatening the quality and financial sustainability of our schools, we need to commit ourselves to principles of financial management that are healthy and transparent, to levels of tuition that cover the costs of an uncompromisingly excellent education, and to raising endowments that make it possible to give out generous amounts of financial aid. These are not new or innovative ideas – they are fundamental to a thriving school. But even the thought of competing with free Hebrew charter schools should be a wake-up call to day school leaders, Boards, and the Jewish philanthropic community, that we must take serious steps toward actualizing these fundamental aspirations.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the case is ours to make. Hebrew charter schools and their approach to developing Jewish identity will illuminate just how unique and formative the Jewish day school experience is and how essential day schools are, or, at least, should be, for the future of the Jewish community. If we are able to approach this new challenge from a place of strength, perhaps we day schools will even pursue collaborations with Hebrew charter schools in which our inspiring teachers and inspired students model the transformational power of the day school experience and our commitment to serving and transforming the entire Jewish world. As day school leaders, we should be confident enough in the value of our education to celebrate the idea of more options on the spectrum of Jewish educational opportunities while proudly differentiating the day school experience and earning our rightful place on that spectrum.