Transformimg Jewish Lives
Recruitment and Retention
@jesna.org - Autumn 2001
The autumn 2001 issue of JESNA's former newsletter, both print and electronic.
@jesna.org, Fall 2001 (969.51 kB)
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A New Approach for Training Jewish Educators
In this podcast from the Partnership for Jewish Life & Learning, Jewish education professor Richard D. Solomon, Ph.D describes a new approach to recruit, develop, promote and retain exceptional Jewish educators and leaders for supplemental and day schools.
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- Audio
A Path to Transforming the Recruitment, Retention and Development of Jewish Educators
The Covenant Foundation and JESNA have been engaged for more than a decade in creating and supporting innovative educator recruitment, development, and recognition programs. But, in the last few years, the conviction grew that something more is needed: a systematic and systemic effort both to strengthen recruitment and to create the conditions that will enable Jewish educators to grow, thrive, and remain in the field.Many of the issues outlined here, as well as the proposed responses, are well known and have been articulated in other venues. However, we believe that by presenting these challenges and responses in one comprehensive, systematic plan, by targeting each issue on multiple levels(institutional, communal and Continental), and by proposing detailed programmatic solutions, we can at last galvanize a coordinated and effective response to ensure that Jewish education rests in the h ...
- Research Reports and Studies
A Review of the Research Literature on Teacher Recruitment and Retention
This literature review provides a summary and critical evaluation of the research on the topic of teacher recruitment and retention. It focuses on empirical studies that were published between 1980 and the end of 2003. As a means of organizing the large body of research relating to this broad topic, we grouped the studies into the following categories: (1) studies that examined the characteristics of individuals who enter teaching, (2) studies that focused on the characteristics of individuals who remain in teaching, (3) studies that investigated the external characteristics of districts and schools that affect recruitment and retention, (4) studies of compensation policies that affected recruitment and retention, (5) studies of pre-service policies that affected recruitment and retention, and (6) studies of in-service policies that affected recruitment and retention.
Agenda: Jewish Education: Educator Recruitment and Retention
The challenge of recruiting, nurturing and retaining enough knowledgeable, dynamic, talented and skillful educators for our day schools, congregations, youth and informal education programs, Jewish early childhood, and family and adult education programs has confounded the North American Jewish community for decades. The most recent edition of Agenda: Jewish Education features a number of articles on the topic of educator recruitment and retention. Articles range from Research Questions to Policy Questions, to Voices from the Field, to a Visionary Piece and much more. Read what Cheryl Finkel and Joe Reimer said during a conversation moderated by Arnee Winshall, co-chair of the Summit. Other noted contributors to this issue are Laura Lauder, Isa Aron, Carol Schechter, Ron Wolf ...
- Newsletters - Agenda: Jewish Education
Business world lures Jews from work at Jewish camps
An article discussing how camp directors are working creatively to compete with the business world to attract and keep staff.
Compensating Excellence and Rewarding Performance
A presentation by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). This PowerPoint presentation addresses the issue of "pay for performance" and the related issues of evaluation of staff. Schools have traditionally, in their fixed scale approach to faculty compensation, rewarded longevity and advanced degrees, when there is no evidence that either correlates necessarily with high performance as teachers. This presentation explores the concept of pay for performance and the three new compensation models some independent schools are experimenting with: bonus/pay for performance systems borrowed from the corporate model; broadband systems borrowed from the professional ranks of engineering or law; and faculty rank or tier systems borrowed from the university model. It also explores the distinction between evaluation (for professional development) and contracting (for employ ...
- Presentations
DeLeT - Day School Leadership through Teaching
DeLeT is a 15-month fellowship program designed to increase the number of professional teacher leaders who are prepared to teach and support Jewish families in the growing number of Jewish day schools in America. Partners include JESNA, Brandeis University and Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion.
- Programs and Initiatives
Did You Know? - NCTAF Video
The statistics are staggering. More than half of our nation's teaching workforce is quickly approaching retirement age. Will this be a crisis or an opportunity? This animated slideshow from NCTAF presents a compelling picture of the growing problem of teacher recruitment and retention and the importance of creating learning teams that use digital-age learning skills.
- Presentations
- Video
Experience Speaks: The Impact of Mentoring in the Classroom and Beyond
A report based on the effects of the Jewish New Teachers Project (JNTP) and the work of the Research Center for Leadership and Action (RCLA) at the Wagner School at NYU to capture the lessons learned by the mentors. This report makes clear that the mentors-whether veteran teachers in individual schools or visiting mentors itinerantly serving multiple schools-are becoming reservoirs of ideas and strategies, for use within and beyond the classroom that would benefit their schools overall.
Experience Speaks: The Impact of Mentoring in the Classroom and Beyond (Link)
- Research Reports and Studies
Grinspoon-Steinhardt Awards for Excellence in Jewish Education
The Harold Grinspoon Foundation and Jewish Life Network/Steinhardt Foundation in partnership with JESNA announce the fifth annual Grinspoon-Steinhardt Awards for Excellence in Jewish Education. Designed to recognize, honor, and support, outstanding classroom Jewish educators on the local level, these awards will be presented to professionals in communities across North America in conjunction with their central agencies for Jewish education or federations.
Hear & Now: Jewish Downloads to go
A project of The Partnership for Jewish Life & Learning, Hear & Now is a series of podcasts on a variety of Jewish topics, including Art, History, Education, College Life, Holidays, Jewish Peoplehood, and more.
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High-performing cultures increase teacher retention
An article from the NSDC blog "Results" that discusses how to decrease the high amount of teacher turnover and attrition by establishing a high-performance culture in schools.
- Articles
- Interactive Resources - Blogs
Hillel: Foundation For Jewish Campus Life
Website of Hillel: the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. Hillel provides networking and Jewish identity building opportunities for college students at over 500 colleges and universities. Hillel is guided by its pluralistic mission to encourage tzedek (social justice), tikkun olam (repairing the world), Jewish learning, and support of Israel and global Jewish peoplehood.
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Improving Teacher Retention With Supportive Workplace Conditions
Teacher retention is a persistent issue in school improvement. While it is true that some degree of teacher turnover in schools is both healthy and inevitable, the exodus of large numbers of teachers over time diminishes the overall capacity of a school to serve its students. In addition, it creates new problems related to recruiting and inducting new teachers. Statistics show that small schools, urban schools, and schools serving high-minority, high-poverty populations are particularly at risk of losing teachers. Improving Teacher Retention With Supportive Workplace Conditions (Link)
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In Appreciation of Early Childhood Jewish Education
A reflective article/blog post by Rabbi Gerald Skolnik, spiritual leader of the Forest Hills Jewish Center.
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Is There Really a Teacher Shortage?
Contemporary educational thought holds that one of the pivotal causes of inadequate school performance is the inability of schools to adequately staff classrooms with qualified teachers. It is widely believed that schools are plagued by shortages of teachers, primarily due to recent increases in teacher retirements and student enrollments. This report summarizes a series of analyses that have investigated the possibility that there are other factors—tied to the organizational characteristics and conditions of schools—that are behind school staffing problems. The data utilized in this investigation are from the Schools and Staffing Survey and its supplement, the Teacher Followup Survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. These data indicate that school staffing problems are not primarily due to teacher shortages, in the sense of an insufficient supply of qualified t ...
- Research Reports and Studies
Jewish Heroes Wanted: Inquire Within (Executive Summary)
The executive summary of "Jewish Heroes Wanted: Inquire Within," an advocacy campaign for Jewish educator recruitment and retention. The final project examines the results of a study to "test, assess, and disseminate findings from four strategies to increase educator recruitment, improve educator performance, and enhance the likelihood of talented educators remaining in the field."
Jewish Heroes Wanted: Inquire Within (Executive Summary) (31.45 kB)
- Research Reports and Studies
Keeping Quality Teachers Teaching
For many years schools in the United States have faced a teacher shortage, especially in areas such as special education, bilingual education, math, and science. This shortage has been exacerbated by an alarming failure on the part of school districts to retain teachers — up to 50 percent of new teachers leave after five years. Moreover, studies have shown an inequitable distribution of veteran and newer teachers across districts, often reinforcing other institutional inequities based on race and class.
The impacts of the above problems are profound and unequal.
Addressing this situation is complicated and requires us to confront fundamental problems that face our public schools: inadequate and unequal funding, lack of planning and collaboration time for teachers, large class size and difficult working conditions, faulty mentoring and evaluation systems, ...
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