Data from new research on Jewish day school alumni on campus, published by Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools shows, in numbers, just what a difference attending Jewish day school makes in the lives of young Jewish college students.
It provides us with more concrete evidence of what those of us invested in day schools already know: Compared to peers who did not attend Jewish day school, Jewish day school alumni consistently report stronger ties to their Jewish identity, a deeper connection to Israel, and greater participation in Jewish life during their college years.
Simply put, these are the building blocks of our Jewish future, and Jewish day school is where these students learn to build. Here’s the data:
Day school alumni are more than twice as likely (81%) to say that Jewish identity is very important to them compared to those who did not attend day school (35%).
Fifty-six percent of Jewish day school alumni feel “very close” to the Jewish community right now, compared to 19% of Jewish college students who did not attend Jewish day school.
Jewish college students who attended Jewish day school (61%) are four times more likely to feel a strong connection to Israel, compared to those who didn’t attend Jewish day school (16%).
Twice as many Jewish day school alumni engage in Jewish life on campus regularly (53% compared to 23% who didn’t attend day school).
Reanalysis of Jewish students
The report, a reanalysis of a large-scale research survey reaching over 2,500 Jewish and non-Jewish students, serves as a companion to the anecdotal evidence we have witnessed in the past 18 months as so many campuses have become “ground zero” for virulent antisemitic and anti-Israel campaigns. On diverse campuses, time and again, the positive voices speaking about antisemitism and Israel from a place of wisdom and nuance come from day school alumni.
One of these brave voices is Hannah Nash, a graduate of the K-8 Jewish Day School in Bellevue, Washington. Nash experienced antisemitism on campus after October 7, 2023, and testified at the University of Washington Board of Regents meeting even when protestors took over the room and shut down the meeting. “I don’t consider myself super political or a big activist,” she told an eJewishPhilanthropy reporter, “but this is an issue I have a lot of education on. I have the knowledge, and I was living the experience. This wasn’t something I could watch from the sidelines.”
At the University of Texas in Austin, Zander Feinstein, and Tyler Winton, graduates of Akiba Yavneh Academy in Dallas, and Jared Levy, a graduate of The Abraham Joshua Heschel School in New York, founded Yalla For Israel which has raised over $180,000 to support Friends of the IDF and raise awareness and stand in solidarity with their same-age peers serving in the IDF.
On a national stage, we can point to Shabbos Kestenbaum, a graduate of SAR Academy in Riverdale, New York, who testified before Congress about antisemitism at Harvard and spoke at the Republican National Convention last summer.
Micah Gritz, a graduate of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Maryland, was shocked when he discovered antisemitism at Tufts University and was inspired to connect with – and then become the COO of – the Jewish on Campus nonprofit (founded in July 2020), which uses its social media platform to advocate against antisemitism and publicize what Jewish students are experiencing on campuses.
The schools where these young leaders received their day school education vary greatly – by denomination, demographics, geography, and even educational philosophy. Yet, at their core, these schools, and the hundreds like them across North America, fulfill their promise to nurture and educate those who will care about, continue, and create Jewish life for the next generation.
Data like this, which clearly establishes the connection between Jewish day school attendance and Jewish identity and connection, enables families, investors, and community leaders to understand the importance of Jewish day schools in strengthening the Jewish future.
The writer is CEO of Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools.