This exploratory study investigates how educators in US Jewish day schools understand issues related to race and racism in the context of their school communities. Using data collected in Spring 2021 from thirty-seven interviews with faculty and administrators in twelve schools across the country, we contextualize the reflections of educators in the larger body of literature about elite schools, conceptions of race in the United States, as well as ideas about Jewish values and the American Jewish experience, identity, and racialization. For these interviews, we deliberately tried to select schools and educators that were engaged in grappling with how to address race in the school community, although schools’ approaches take on different contours and practices. Among our key findings: When race was addressed explicitly in the classroom, it was usually at the initiative of a particular teacher, most often in the humanities; administrators who wanted to advance conversations about race and racism at their school perceived a mixed response from parents and staff; schools’ tendency to not collect racial and ethnic data directly from individuals or families made it difficult to draw firm conclusions about racial and ethnic diversity, so interview participants assigned racial and ethnic categories to their community members; additionally, the geographic location of the school and denominational affiliation of the school appeared relevant for how they addressed questions of racial diversity. We view this study as a first look at an important topic. Future research could include more schools, more kinds of data, and, critically, input from stakeholders who identify as Jewish persons of color. Future research will also have to be alert to the perceived sensitivity of this topic from the educators with whom we spoke.
CASJE is grateful for the contributions of Rabbi Heather Miller and Dr. Steven Lorch; their thoughtful responses to the study findings are available here:
- Racism and Antiracism in Jewish Day Schools by Steven Lorch
- Why Inclusive and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Still Matters by Rabbi Heather Miller