Toronto among the top North American centres for Jewish education, says expert

By Howard English
UJA FEDERATION
When it comes to Jewish education enrolment, Toronto is a North American leader, according to a noted Jewish education specialist.

In the following comprehensive interview with Jewish Toronto, Rabbi Josh Elkin, executive director of the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (PEJE), reviewed a wide range of Jewish education issues. PEJE is a collaborative initiative of schools and major philanthropic partners, designed to strengthen Jewish day school education in North America.

Q. Even though the niche of PEJE is day school education, it’s a reality that many parents are opting for other forms of Jewish education – both formal and informal. How do you feel about that?

A. I’m a big believer that we have to have all the settings for Jewish education being the best that they can possibly be. In the global sense, I want them to be successful, We have to keep as many people as possible connected to their roots. The trend that I see is people coming forward to improve every part of the Jewish education equation. I applaud all these efforts even as I affirm PEJE’s niche, which is day schools. I am very happy with a marketplace that is increasingly competitive.

Q. How would describe the evolution of day schools across North America in the 10 years since PEJE was founded?

A. When we started 10 years ago, we were focused exclusively on seed funds for new schools. During our initial five years, we provided seed money and coaching to 60 schools, including Heschel in Toronto and the Paul Penna Day School. We’ve certainly seen the proliferation of schools and we’ve brought schools to many cities or regions that didn’t have them. Over the last decade, we’ve seen the subject of day school becoming more front and centre in communities across North America.

Q. How does Toronto’s Jewish school enrolment of roughly 11,000 day school students and 6,000 children in supplementary education compare with other North American cities?

A. The proportion of Toronto children enrolled in day school is at the top of North America. The United States was busy at the beginning of the 20th century, cultivating a melting pot philosophy. As a result of that ethos, the day school movement got off to a slow start. Canada never had that philosophy. It was more of a cultural mosaic. In Canada, sending children to Jewish schools was what parents did.

Q. Yet for many parents, Jewish schooling is not an option. Why do you think that’s the case?

A. Among the challenges that we have is to tackle perceptions that day schools are ghettoizing and they are of inferior quality. Based on everything we read, the issue of ghettoization and ambivalence about Judaism comes up more often than not. We have to focus on adult learning. We have to focus on pre-school programs. We have to help people fall in love with Judaism. The irony is that sometimes people of other faiths are more ready to make a strong case for faith based education.

Q. Let’s discuss the question of Jewish school quality. What is your assessment of the quality of Jewish education overall?

A. Based on all the data we have, the day schools are doing an outstanding job. The overall picture is a very positive one, but we have to be able to recognize that, in an increasingly competitive world, the only way schools can go is to sharpen their blades when it comes to education quality. If you were to ask me what is the most important characteristic that day schools need to cultivate, I would say it’s the ability to reflect on their own performance.

Q. Any final thoughts on the state of Jewish education in North America?

A. Epi [Dr. Seymour Epstein, UJA Federation Senior Vice President, Jewish Education & Identity] once said that Jewish education is the strategic plan of the Jewish people. If it hadn’t been for Jewish education, we wouldn’t be here today. The kind of community support for Jewish education demonstrated by Toronto shows that the Toronto Jewish community understands the future and the road to the future.