Rona Milch Novick, PhD
I receive panicked calls from day school administrators seeking great teachers almost daily. Even as dean of the largest Jewish teacher preparation degree program in North America, I cannot meet their need with our 40 or so graduates annually, many of whom are already employed. Fewer people are choosing education careers, with the number of undergraduates majoring in education decreasing from 19% of students in 1970 to only 4% in 2021 (Pew Research Center, 2022). Many who enter the teaching profession leave the field because of burnout or to seek more lucrative opportunities.
This crisis of demand with inadequate supply requires consideration of how we recruit, create, nurture, and retain high caliber Jewish educators. There is much to explore in the recruitment of educators and how we attract people to join the profession, but that is not the focus of this article. Instead, I will discuss a sometimes ignored, but important vehicle for nurturing the growth and promoting the retention of all Jewish educators: professional graduate education and partnerships between schools, funders, and higher education providers.
In the past, teacher preparation was bifurcated into pre-service and in-service options. Graduate programs were developed as and assumed to be pre-service: intensive preparation for a career, with coursework delivered before the teacher entered the classroom, culminating with an applied internship in a classroom, such as a year of student teaching. Post-service or continued education, once teachers are placed in classrooms, was conceptualized as being offered through professional development either via their employer or pursued on their own.
This division was already fading when I began on the faculty of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration almost two decades ago. At that time approximately half of those enrolled in a master’s program for teacher preparation were pre-service, not yet employed. In today’s cohort, over 90% are employed, if not at time of admission to graduate studies, certainly by their second year in the program, and most frequently before they graduate. The economic reality and the marketplace have changed, and teaching candidates no longer need, nor can they afford to wait until they complete robust graduate preparation to begin their careers. The argument that the ideal way to prepare educators is sequential, beginning with pre-service graduate work, followed by entry-level positions, is moot and obsolete, forcing reconsidering the role, timing, and content of graduate preparation.
Graduate training is by far more intensive, demanding, and costly, in both time and dollars, than other in-service models. There are, however, significant benefits that warrant we not only continue to provide it but look to expand the models and mediums through which educators can access it. Research on teacher development by the Center for Applied Studies in Jewish Education (CASJE) found that graduate degrees provide alumni with a powerful sense of mission which promotes resilience in confronting challenges in the workplace. CASJE categorizes graduate degree programs among “enabling opportunities” which promote educator success. Among those who burn out or opt to leave the field, only one quarter have benefitted from such enabling opportunities, including graduate study.
An additional advantage of graduate training is the professionalization of the field. While many careers require apprenticeships or have typical pathways to entry, all professional careers include graduate degree programs as part of the ramp to joining their ranks. Physicians, lawyers, nurses, social workers, engineers, architects, and many other professionals develop or expand their professional self-concept as well as build their professional network as a cohort in a graduate program. Similarly, a graduate degree in education develops professionals who complement their classroom acumen with a sophisticated understanding of theory, concepts, and child development, as well as who see themselves as competent professionals and part of a network of others who share their career aspirations, challenges, and successes.
I surveyed and spoke with alumni of the Azrieli Master of Science in Jewish Education, asking them why they chose to complete a graduate degree, what benefits they sought and achieved, and what advice they might share with others. This was not an exhaustive sample, but it included both those who completed the degree while relatively new to the field and those with significant experience. Several themes emerged and supported the notion that graduate education can and should be a critical part of the solution to nurture teachers’ growth.
Several alumni shared their initial hesitance, as one seasoned educator explained:
“I pursued graduate work to open the door for an administrative position. I honestly did not know if I would learn anything. I was quite skeptical. I thought it would be all faddish and theoretical.”
Many discussed some surprise at the breadth and practicality of professional graduate school. A teacher and administrator with over 20 years of classroom teaching reflected on what she expected:
“I knew the classroom well and I knew what worked or didn’t work by “feeling’ it. I knew that if I could learn the underpinnings of good teaching in a more formal way, I would only be a better, more mindful, intentional teacher.”
Many of the alumni I spoke with contrasted typical professional development and graduate work, highlighting the downsides of the former and the benefits of the latter. A graduate who had completed the program early in his career described the benefit of learning amongst “a whole community of people who want to make education better.” Other comments included:
“I had attended many conferences even with brilliant lecturers, but the structured, intentional approach of a graduate degree appealed to me.”
“PD is generally a “one off” experience, something that catches your attention . . . but often doesn’t have follow-up and sustainability. Graduate work allowed me to have a consistent focus . . . I was part of a cohort, experiencing the classes with the same group of educators . . . it made our graduate work even more meaningful.”
Perhaps most importantly, all described increased confidence and comfort, critical ingredients for continued professional success and resilience. One well-respected, successful educator remarked:
“I now feel confident not only as a teacher but as an intentional educator.”
Another veteran teacher/administrator added:
“I didn’t realize how much there was to learn. . . (graduate work was) packed with information both specific and broad. It was extremely comprehensive, including all facets of teaching and there are many: quality of instruction, teaching climate, classroom management, teacher beliefs, professional behavior, true mastery and understanding in all topics. Coupled with years of teaching experience it polished and upgraded my teaching. It also added tremendous confidence to my pedagogical philosophy as I was able to back it up with evidence and the proper nomenclature to intelligently articulate my viewpoint.”
When I asked alumni what advice they would give to others they responded that earning a degree was “a game-changing experience”, and that “a good educator is always learning, and graduate work is a great way to keep growing as an educator.”
Another impassioned message was:
“If you are a Jewish educator, give yourself the biggest gift… learn from professors … find a space to learn more in a practical way that will not only mold your life but shape the future.”
To fully leverage graduate education as a component in our approach to nurturing Jewish educators and improving their practice and resilience, we need to be creative and go beyond current practices. The distinction between pre-and post- service teacher preparation is outdated, and we need to adopt a career-long learning approach. Graduate education and graduate schools can and should play a role at all phases of educators’ careers. To do so, however, graduate education needs to be flexible and accessible. Including fully online, asynchronous options has allowed the Azrieli Graduate School to morph from a New York centric program to a global one, not only allowing educators from all over the world to participate but building international professional networks that enrich all educators.
Graduate education can also easily move from a focus on degree programs to other more flexible options. Opening single courses to non-matriculated students allows any educator to benefit from a deep, meaningful focus on a topic with a cohort over a period of time. Crafting specialty concentrations of several such courses allows non-matriculated students to develop specializations and perhaps earn certificates of completion.
The success of efforts of graduate schools are, to some extent, dependent on partnership with funders and employers. Employers make a powerful statement when they offer financial incentive for graduate study, either in supporting tuition costs or salary increases for those who successfully complete coursework and degrees. Funders similarly endorse professionalism and learning when they fund scholarships. More is certainly possible if graduate schools, funders and day schools collaborate and together design initiatives. Recently, Azrieli introduced the Community Partnership Fellowship (CPF). In this innovative program, day school employers nominate a candidate for admission to a graduate program or select an existing Azrieli student. CPF participants receive a substantial scholarship from the graduate school, coupled with an additional scholarship from the employer in exchange for an agreement of several years of employment at the sponsoring day school.
Funding collaborations can also spawn novel approaches to developing educators. A partnership between a foundation and our graduate program allowed offering a master’s level course focusing on innovative, student-centered day school practices. Tuition for the online course, which included largely non-matriculated students, was funded through a foundation grant and rostered multiple cohorts of educators committed to expanding their teaching toolbox. Participating educators received graduate credit, which could be used towards any graduate degree.
Nurturing our field, growing the Jewish educators already in it, and attracting those who could bring their energy, dedication and skill to it, will take time, effort, energy, and finances. The Talmud (Ta’anit 23b) relates the story of Choni HaM’agel, a righteous sage. In his journeys, Choni came upon a man planting a carob tree and asked how long it would be before the planted tree would bear fruit. The man replied that it would be seventy years. When Choni further inquired whether the man believed he would live to see that fruit, he answered, “I found carob trees in the world; as my forefathers planted these for me, so I too plant these for my children.” Many of the investments we make in Jewish education and Jewish educators today will take time to bear fruit, hopefully, less time than Choni’s carob tree. But just as others invested before us, we need to seed the field now, to benefit Jewish educators and students now and in the near and distant future.
Rona Novick, PhD, is the Dean Emeritus of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration at Yeshiva University and held the Raine and Stanley Silverstein Chair in Professional Ethics and Values. She serves as the Co-Educational Director of the Hidden Sparks program which provides consultation and professional development to day schools and Yeshivas. Her children’s books, Mommy, Can You Stop the Rain, and Daddy, Can You Make Me Tall are published by Behrmann House, Apples and Honey Press. Planning aliyah in the fall of 2024, Dr. Novick will continue to provide consultation and professional development on frequent visits to the US. Contact Dr. Novick at rnovick1@yu.edu.
