In a time of crisis, day school leaders both lay and professional are thrust into the public spotlight. What we say matters. What we don’t say also speaks volumes and will be interpreted. The timing of our communications and the order in which we disseminate them hold meaning and purpose, impacting the sense of worth of our various constituents. In a crisis, leaders barely have a moment to catch our breath before others are looking to us to help frame, contextualize and understand an event. The October 7 attack, the war with Gaza, and the world’s reaction to the war are no exception.
What you, our day school leaders, have experienced over the past few months is far from normal—and we have seen you exhibit a depth of strength in leading your communities. You have called upon the wisdom of great leadership and drawn strength from your passion for Israel, Jewish identity and learning. You have become educators not only to your own constituents, but also to your non-Jewish colleagues leading independent schools and universities. You have become role models in many ways and should feel proud.
The importance of a strong network, a kehillah for day school leaders, has become more clear than ever. Prizmah schools have looked to one another for guidance on ways to message about the war to our communities, to artfully address the war with students of various ages, and to support our Israeli families and faculty. School leaders have turned to colleagues for thought partnership on handling the hundreds of new Israeli student enrollments and the challenges that come from this unexpected development: providing English language support, bolstering mental health guidance, and navigating our own faculty’s academic expectations. Our kehillah of leaders has been a gift as we find ways to both secure our schools and address the rise in antisemitism for our students and alumni.
The pressure on you, our day school leaders, is tremendous as you juggle the expectations of parents, faculty, boards. School leaders have coordinated with a large range of internal stakeholders and outside agencies and supporters. You’ve demonstrated an extraordinary ability to pivot, adjust and lead through crisis, just as you did during the Covid-19 pandemic.
As a new member of the Prizmah team, I have a new understanding and respect for the way Prizmah staff jumped into action, curated resources, and carved out space for thought partnership, collaboration and debriefing. Prizmah has been the compass, turning us toward one another, and bringing in expertise from the outside to help us navigate in the dark. Prizmah school leaders have leaned on our Prizmah community for support as each of us is leading through a time of trauma.
In this issue of Kaleidoscope, you will peek inside the window at a few day school leadership challenges and the approaches that some day schools have taken to lead through this crisis. It is our hope that by highlighting some of the challenges, the progress and successes, that you will hop up onto the balcony and see the leadership of our extraordinary day school field from above. May you go from strength to strength.