Publications > Books & Articles

Lessons Learned from PEJE Grantmaking

Between 1997 and 2010, PEJE made 297 grants to over 193 Jewish day schools. The nine key learnings from our years of experience are featured in Lessons Learned from PEJE Grantmaking. This publication offers valuable insights to help deepen the strategic thinking of anyone involved in educational funding--Jewish or otherwise. Order Lessons Learned from PEJE Grantmaking on the Online Shop; bulk prices available.

PEJE Guide to Coaching

Based on PEJE's years of experience with coaching, the PEJE Guide to Coaching provides Jewish day school leaders with clear and concise information about coaching. Increase your awareness of coaching so that you can become a smarter consumer. A culture of coaching is an important component of the overall school improvement process, and coaching is a powerful tool that can yield personal and school-wide benefits for administrators, boards, families, and ultimately the children you seek to educate. Order your copy of the PEJE Guide to Coaching for $15 (includes shipping). 90 pages, wire-bound. To pay by credit card or a PayPal account, visit the Online Shop.

The Leader's Compass

The Leader's Compass: Journeying with Vision, Wisdom & Focus, contains the responses of a broad group of influential thinkers and practitioners—from both within and beyond the day school field—to 12 provocative quotations. Copies are available for purchase (for sharing with your school's staff, board, donors, etc.) with discounted rates for bulk quantities. For pricing information, and to pay by credit card or a PayPal account, visit the Online Shop.

Online and Hardcopy Publications

From 1997-2007, PEJE periodically produced publications on critical aspects of Jewish day school education. Most are available for online reading; some are available as printed booklets for a nominal fee from the PEJE office. See below for a description of each title.

If the publication is available for online reading, click on its title below. PDF files will open in a separate window.

To order a publication in hard copy, fill out an order form and mail it with a check to the PEJE office.

10 Years of Believing in Jewish Day School Education
A collection of essays commemorating PEJE's 10th Anniversary

Creating a Case Statement for a Jewish Day School
This handy booklet guides you along the process of creating marketing materials that attract support for your school.

Education for Freedom: The Mission of Lay Leadership in This Generation by Rabbi Irving Greenberg
Delivered at the February 2003 Donor Assembly, this powerful speech places the function of Jewish education's volunteer leadership in the context of Jewish history with insight and inspiration.

Financial Resource Development & Management in Tough Times
This hands-on guide uses the structure of a typical day school budget to offer fundraising and cost-saving strategies geared specifically for a changing economic reality.

From Dream to Reality: A Guide to Planning a New Jewish Day School
This booklet is designed for groups starting a new elementary school. It provides an overview of topics such as vision, board development, professional leadership, strategic and financial planning, fundraising, and marketing, along with annotated lists of additional resources. A suggested timeline is included.

Guide to Resources for Educational Excellence in Jewish Day Schools
This publication outlines domains of educational excellence for Jewish day schools and provides an array of resources that may be helpful to both day school professionals and lay leaders.

The Impact of Day School: A Comparative Analysis of Jewish College Students, by Fern Chertok and Len Saxe at Brandeis University's Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies.
Employing both quantitative and qualitative methods, this study contextualizes the experiences of students from day schools through comparison with Jewish undergraduates from private and public school backgrounds.
Executive Summary

An Introduction to Marketing for Jewish Day Schools
This practical guide provides marketing wisdom and tips from an experienced marketing consultant. Chapters include: how and when to use marketing research, how to build a marketing plan, communication channels available to day schools, and a sample marketing calendar for the year.

The Jewish Day School Head Search Process: Strategies and Resources
This publication is a collection of resources and lessons learned from schools who have been through the head search process. The publication includes sample job descriptions, interview questions, consultants who can help with the process, suggested places to post a job, and strategies for managing the process and using it as an opportunity for reflection and growth.

Lech L'cha/Going Forth: A Guide to High School Graduations
Based on research from eleven Jewish high schools, this guide offers planning suggestions, sample calendars and budgets. Also includes a CD-ROM compilation of actual ceremonies and a seminal article by Walter Ackerman z"l, "Graduation: Motifs and Meanings."

Making the Case for Jewish Day Schools: A Compilation of Advocacy Writings, Volume I - Order Form
This work consists of a sampling of twenty compelling articles, selected research, and advertisements that promote the importance and benefits of Jewish day schools.

Making the Case for Jewish Day Schools: A Compilation of Advocacy Writings, Volume II - Order Form
This advocacy compendium can to be used as a tool for day school leaders to interact with potential funders, parents, and communal funding agencies to better advocate and "make the case" for Jewish day school education. It can also be used as a recruitment tool, as it contains articles that address concerns which are shared by many prospective parents. Like Volume I, this collection includes theoretical and news articles, high school-related articles, research, testimonials, and advertisements, all promoting the need for and value of Jewish day schools. Volume II includes new sections on affordability and federations as partners.

Noteworthy Practices in Jewish Day School Education Volume I: Tzedakah, Tikkun Olam, and Hesed - Order Form
The Noteworthy Practices series was created to celebrate the work of day school educators and to serve as an idea exchange. Each volume features curricular and extracurricular practices in a particular content area, ranging from discrete projects to pervasive components of the school environment. Elementary, middle, and high school practices are included, representing a diversity of denominational affiliations and geographic regions in North America. Noteworthy resources, such as curricula, books, and web sites, also appear in each volume. This first volume of the Noteworthy Practices series focuses on what is called "service learning" in the general school world-the study and practice of social action, community service, and charitable giving.

Noteworthy Practices in Jewish Day School Education Volume II: Tefilah - Order Form
This second volume focuses on the study and practice of prayer.

Noteworthy Practices in Jewish Day School Education Volume III: Trends in Growing Enrollment
This third volume presents synopses of dozens of initiatives that have increased enrollment at various Jewish day schools.

Noteworthy Practices in Jewish Day School Education Volume IV: Serving Diverse Learners in Jewish Day Schools
This fourth volume includes information from 22 schools and programs that serve diverse learners in day schools.

PEJE Series on Affordability
These booklets feature expertise and learning from the field about practical ways schools can improve the way they can become and appear more affordable and accessible to more families.

• Jewish Day School Affordability in Perspective
• Creating & Using Endowment Funds - Order Form
• Setting Tuition & Delivering Financial Assistance - Order Form

Portrait of Educational Excellence
This document highlights domains of excellence for Jewish day schools, details key components of each domain, and suggests indicators of excellence in each of the domains.

Selected Summaries of the 2002 PEJE Grantee Conference - Order Form
Briefly reported descriptions of some key sessions at the November 2002 Grantee Conference, including references and resources.

Self-Assessment Tool Kit for Jewish Day Schools - Order Form
This publication is a compilation of survey instruments for use with schools' various constituencies: board, parents, faculty, students. It is designed to simplify the complex process of conducting a school-wide, comprehensive, self-assessment. Our belief is that decision-making is improved when buttressed with data drawn directly from those who know the school first-hand. Instruments have been adapted for use by Jewish day schools and include surveys to measure school climate, parent-school communication, board, head and teacher evaluations. This document comes with supplementary files on a CD so that you can quickly customize the surveys for your own use.

Suggested Guiding Principles for Jewish Day Schools
This document summarizes PEJE's learnings over the past three years, touching on topics relating to both institutional strength and best classroom practices.

Toward a Proactive, Comprehensive Admission Program: What Every Head of School Should Know About Supervising the Admission Director by Rheua S. Stakely
From one of the leading experts on day school admission, this step-by-step handbook guides the Head of School in hiring and supervising the Admission Director in order to strengthen the school's capacity to build enrollment.