Research

Compared to other sectors of Jewish education, relatively little research has been conducted on part-time Jewish education—even though this setting (namely, supplemental congregational-based education) is where most North American Jewish youth primarily receive Jewish education. 

The last comprehensive quantitative analysis of this sector was conducted in 2008 with the release of an AVI CHAI Foundation commissioned report by Dr. Jack Wertheimer, A Census of Supplementary Schools in the United States: 2006-2007. 

In 2021, The Jewish Education Project fielded a new census of supplementary schools, measuring enrollment data and number of schools in the 2019-2020 school year. The findings validate the perception, held by many, that there has been a dramatic decline in supplementary school enrollment during the intervening fifteen years. The data, indicates that about half of the non-Orthodox population is engaged in Jewish learning in supplementary schools, suggesting that we have an opportunity to both continue to improve the experience of those in existing programs, and create new pathways for children who are not yet participating in Jewish learning.  

This section includes the comprehensive response to the data, offering context and possible pathways for the future in addition to opportunities to learn more about how others have attempted to meet the needs of today’s Jewish families, as well as the detailed findings report, which provides the full scope of the data.  

Check back here regularly for recordings of webinars related to the report and responses from the field.