Who are the leaders ensuring the Jewish education of our children in day schools across the country? This series features selected school leaders – including those from Community, Orthodox and Schechter schools from across the US and Canada. We asked them about their personal day school leadership and their goals for their schools. The interviews were conducted while these leaders were participating in leadership training programs supported by AVI CHAI throughout last summer, including the Principals’ Center at Harvard programs and the Davidson School of JTS’s Day School Leadership Training Institute (DSLTI).
Rabbi Chaim Greenwald is the Director of Judaic Studies at Akiva Academy in Calgary, Alberta. When interviewed while participating in Harvard LEV, he spoke about a campaign his school is embarking on – “From Munchkins to Menschen.” The goals of the campaign are to reflect and reconnect with alumni in order to gain a better understanding of this population and, through that, whether the school has accomplished its mission. Watch the video here.
Many day schools are experimenting with strategies to identify their alumni, often as a first step toward engaging with them further. Such efforts might serve development purposes, as well as instigate community-building, marketing, and opportunities to enact and publicize the school’s mission. In the age of social media, online surveys, and youtube, digital tools make connecting, communicating with, and broadcasting alumni messages easier than ever before. You can read about some day schools’ work with alumni engagement and some ideas for engagement in this article by PEJE staff. Day schools join other Jewish institutions in exploring this realm, and can learn from resources in the community such as the Schusterman Foundation’s Alumni Playbook. This interactive guide to alumni engagement includes best practices, a program menu, case studies, and a toolkit of other resources.
While you can learn from existing models and resources, the first step is always to take the risk to try something new and see how it goes! Does your school have alumni engagement as a goal? Have you taken your first step?
AVI CHAI concluded its general grant making on December 31, 2019.