Stats Show There Might Be Something Close to a Magic Bullet
Posted on 06/13/2025 @ 06:00 AM
In January of this year, Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools released a report about Jewish day school alumni on campus.
It shows in numbers just what a difference attending Jewish day school makes in the lives of young Jewish college students.
This data provides us with more concrete evidence of what those of us in the field 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 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)
This report 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.
Here’s more of that anecdotal evidence from Dan Senor in his State of World Jewry Address on May 13, 2025, @ 92nd Street Y, NYC. The entire address is worth watching, but here is what he says around 25 minutes in that relates to this “magic bullet” idea:
“For the past year and a half, I have been on a college tour of sorts. Not just the one with my son, but I have been speaking at a number of campuses.
I visited Michigan, Brown, Tulane, UT, Duke, Vanderbilt, WashU, Florida, and others, usually to record a podcast and connect with Jewish students navigating a difficult time.
In my conversations with these remarkable young people, I noticed that almost without exception, the students who were leading Jewish and pro-Israel communities on these campuses shared one formative experience. They had attended Jewish day schools.
Now I'm not someone who typically deals in absolutes. Life is complicated. People are complicated.
And simple explanations rarely tell the whole story, especially when parents have to balance a range of considerations when choosing their child's school, something Campbell and I have had to deal with.
But the data here is not complicated. It is actually quite simple.
Day school alumni are more than twice as likely to feel deeply connected to their Jewish identity compared to their peers.
They are twice as likely to feel deeply connected to their Jewish identity compared to their peers.
They are four times as likely to feel a strong connection to Israel.
Rabbi Sacks once said “To defend a country you need an army, but to defend an identity you need a school.”
Day schools strive to be living, breathing communities where students learn not just Jewish ideas, but how to think, how to debate respectfully across difference, and how to build community.
They learn Hebrew and how to pray. They learn how to be a mensch.
At Jewish day schools, practicing Judaism is normative.
Studying Jewish texts, caring about Israel, it's all the norm. It's not weird.
There's no baggage. No connotations and no apologizing for it.
Day schools build Jewish confidence and pride. They develop what I could only describe as Jewish muscle memory.”’
Those reading this article should be particularly thankful to the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, which invests more than 2 million dollars in our Miami-Dade Jewish day schools, from Reform to Hareidi.
And a thank you to CAJE and its Center for Strengthening Jewish Day Schools department, which through investment by Federation and CAJE donors, delivers:
- Outstanding day school professional development,
- Convenes networks (around Israel education, admissions, mental health, heads of school, etc.),
- Advocates for state title money,
- Works on ideas to increase teacher recruitment and retention,
- Promotes robotics education, and so much more.
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