COVID and Jewish Education

Some Arie Crown Hebrew Day School students

Is it a blessing in disguise? Or is it a curse? Maybe it’s neither. And the facts lie elsewhere.

I don’t know the answers to these questions. But they are certainly worth asking. I am talking about how the pandemic has impacted Jewish day school enrollment.  As Ben Sales  JTA article notes, it’s complicated.

To say the least!

Focusing first on non Orthodox days schools, Sales make that very clear. Some schools are experiencing an increase in enrollment. Some a decrease.

What about that increase? What’s causing it? Let us take one example mentioned by Sales, the Conservative movement’s Solomon Schechter Day School in Chicago. They are experiencing an “insane” level of interest from new families: 

Now (the) school is planning on full-time in-person instruction this fall, and families are flocking to it. The school is holding an event for 35 prospective families next week, and (Solomon  Schechter principal, Lena) Kushnir anticipates as many as five to 10 could wind up enrolling their children. 

This might make some of us wonder - if non Orthodox movements are really in danger of extinction – with polls showing an over 70% intermarriage rate, does that mean the polls are wrong after all? Are things turning around? I wish I could believe that. But that is exactly what it is. A wish. Not the reality.

I certainly understand why a family with 2 working parents would want their children to attend a full time in person school. Chicago schools have yet to determine what their structure and schedule will look like due to the pandemic. This unexpected boost in enrollment might be seen by their leaders an unexpected existential boost for the Conservative Movement. Their desire to reverse their trend towards oblivion is now being helped by a deadly virus

However, my guess is that at the end of the day, it won’t work. If the motivation is strictly a matter of convenience to working parents, the Jewish education their children will get in these schools will hardly last.

If they don’t see at home what they are taught in school, it is unlikely that it will making a lasting impression. So, I’m afraid the attrition out of Judaism will unfortunately continue – even as it might be somewhat delayed at the moment by increased enrollment due to the pandemic.

This also raises the question about how wise a full time in-person class schedule in the fall is. Is it a good idea? Even if all the precautions are implemented?

There is no question that no matter how careful the precautions are adhered to, daily attendance by hundreds of kids under one roof will increase the chances of community spread. The CDC has determined that COVID infected children over 10 years of age can spread the virus exactly the same way as adults can. And at the same rate. Only children are less likely to show symptoms. Which means that some children that were not infected before, may unknowingly become infected in school and unwittingly bring it home to their parents.

What about Orthodox day schools? What affect is the pandemic having there?  I guess it depends somewhat on where one lives. California for example is not allowing any in person classes. Not sure about New York or even my home town of Chicago. My guess is that there will be some sort of modified in person instruction combined with remote online line learning. 

The difference between day schools like Solomon Schechter and Orthodox day schools is the fact that despite the near unbearable tuition costs (even with the partial scholarships most parents get) the vast majority of Orthodox Jews know how invaluable a Jewish education is to perpetuating a Jewish future. In one Chicago day school that I am aware of, enrollment was up and hitting record numbers long before anyone ever heard of COVID. I’m sure that is true for just about every other day school in Chicago.

With rare exception, the education children get in these schools – sticks! That’s because what they are taught in the schools is practiced at home. COVID or no COVID, it doesn’t matter.

This doesn’t mean there is no debate among Orthodox parents about how schools should proceed based on the pandemic? Of course there is debate. Some think the schools should stay closed. Others think they should open up full time. Still others think there ought to be something in-beween. 

However, I believe the vast majority would agree that the main reason for sending their children to a day school is to perpetuate Judaism – convenience based on COVID being a distant second. Something Orthodox parents have always backed up with a willingness to pay for with backbreaking fees.