<HTML>I was pleased to see that Lisa Schlaff raised the important issue of
women in leadership positions in Jewish Day Schools. In fact there are
many more than three day schools seeking principals and finding it
extraordinarily difficult to identify appropriate candidates. The pool
of strong candidates seems to have become so small that a number of
schools have given up searching and have resorted to compromise
solutions.
Lisa's concerns deserve the serious thought and attention of both
Jewish educators and the community at large. To be quite candid with
you, I was disappointed in the number of responses to Lisa's
posting. It seems to me that this should be a burning issue for people
who care about Jewish education. I trust that it is not reflective of a
dismissive attitude and a preference and hope that questions concerning
women in the Orthodox community will somehow fade away. If we are
talking about models, can anyone argue with the fact that different
models are needed and that the goal in any school should be to try and
achieve a healthy balance and variety of models? Is it essential and
compulsory that the male model always be at the top of the
administrative pyramid? If we are speaking of professional
qualifications, can anyone suggest any connection whatsoever between
Semikha and effective school leadership?
Each school must of course define and determine its criteria and
preference in the choice of its principal. Our experience with numerous
schools confirms that Semikha is indeed a criteria, perhaps a sine qua
non for consideration. But how much should Semikha weigh? More or less
than professional preparation and qualification? More or less than the
ability to be an effective leader? More or less than proficiency in
faculty supervision? More or less than the ability to define curricular
goals and direct a serious process of curriculum development? And on
and on and on.
There are, Barukh Hashem, many very highly qualified women who are
preparing themselves for or have already begun careers in Jewish
education. They deserve the opportunity to serve as school leaders and
perhaps more importantly, teachers and students deserve the opportunity
to benefit from their expertise. And let us be honest with our situation
and be a bit selfish, are we so rich in talent that we can we afford to
suffer the consequences of continuing to keep them out?
I invite, encourage, urge you to respond. To borrow from Dr. Johnson, I
would rather be attacked than unnoticed. Again, the issue deserves
serious reflection and discussion.
Bivrakha,
Stuart Zweiter
Director, The Lookstein Center</HTML>
