Prizmah

05/19/2026

🌟Prizmah Associate Spotlight🌟

Check out Mishnafari for your school

05/19/2026

Jewish day schools in Greater Washington granted $25 million in tuition assistance last year to over half of their 2,700 students — and that figure is poised to rise dramatically thanks to a new federal tax-credit initiative taking effect in January.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington has rallied local schools to organize early, setting up Scholarship Granting Organizations so communities can access up to $1,700 in tax breaks for donors — before schools could even begin to navigate what one head of school called "a legal and financial behemoth in terms of the bureaucracy."

🗣️ "The vast majority of the students who are going to Jewish day schools are receiving tuition assistance because the cost of a day school education is incredibly high,” Joel Frankel, senior director of community capacity at the Washington federation, told eJewishPhilanthropy. “Our goal for this program is to make day school education more accessible to more people.”

Read more: ejewishphilanthropy.com/d-c-jewish-federation-rallies-local-schools-to-tap-into-federal-tax-break-scholarship-program

05/12/2026

Mazel tov, Dr Michael A. Kay!

Michael is a passionate advocate for Jewish day schools, where he has served as head of school at The Leffell School for the past 13 years, helping to shape it into one of the nation’s leading multi-denominational K–12 Jewish day schools.

A graduate of Prizmah and JTS's prestigious Day School Leadership Training Institute (DSLTI, Cohort 5), Michael now joins fellow DSLTI alumnus Marc Baker at CJP - Combined Jewish Philanthropies, bringing deep day school leadership experience into the Federation system.

We are excited to see what is next for UJA-Federation of New York, while also welcoming DSLTI alumnus ( cohort 8 ) Harry Pell into his role as Interim head of school at Leffell.

We’re thrilled to announce that Dr. Michael A. Kay has been appointed as UJA’s new Chief Executive Officer, effective October 5. He succeeds Eric S. Goldstein, who will step down after 12 years as CEO.

Michael has served for 13 years as Head of School at The Leffell School (formerly the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester), transforming it into one of the nation’s leading multi-denominational K–12 Jewish day schools. He has brought people together across differences through respectful dialogue—building a nonpartisan community rooted in academic excellence, expanding enrollment, and strengthening philanthropic support, including through partnership with UJA’s Day School Challenge Fund.

Michael brings the strategic vision, intellectual rigor, and personal warmth to lead UJA into its next chapter—and we’re excited to welcome him to the UJA family. Read our statement here: https://www.ujafedny.org/news/dr-michael-a-kay-to-serve-as-ceo-of-ujafederation-of-new-york

05/05/2026

📊 New Research: 2025-2026 Facts at a Glance and Salary Reports for Jewish day school leaders.

This concise snapshot provides landscape data on Jewish day schools across the US and Canada, with key benchmarks on enrollment, tuition, financial aid, fundraising, and salaries. Thank you to all the schools that participated in DASL, this resource is possible because of your efforts.

Check out facts at a glance here https://prizmah.org/knowledge/resource/prizmah-facts-glance-2025-2026

Our salary data bank has also been updated with new salary data for
🌟 Heads of School
🌟 Development professionals
🌟 Admission professionals
🌟 Lead Judaic administrators

https://prizmah.org/salary-data-bank

04/27/2026

"Jewish day school is not merely an educational institution. It is a fully immersive environment. It is a world unto its own, a form of society unto itself.”

Odelia Epstein, Prizmah’s Senior Director of Knowledge, Research, and Data, shares an incredible op-ed about why Jewish day schools are so important, and why her kids are third generation day school students.

"Day school offers children the rare gift of shlemut, of “wholeness.” It tells them, implicitly and explicitly, that their tradition, their spiritual practice, and their daily life are not separate domains. They are facets of a single inheritance. It surrounds them with adults who model that integration. It creates a rhythm in which Torah study, ethical development, ritual practice and communal responsibility reinforce one another.”

It is a world unto its own, a form of society unto itself.

04/22/2026

Jewish day schools and the State of Israel are bound together by a deep enduring connection—one that shapes identity, enriches learning, and fosters a lifelong sense of belonging to Jewish peoplehood. Today, day schools proudly join millions around the world celebrating Israel 🇮🇱

04/20/2026

📣 Registration is open for Prizmah’s 10th annual Senior Development Professionals Retreat, July 6-8 in New York City.

https://prizmah.org/gatherings/senior-development-professionals-retreat-2026

This in-person gathering, designed specifically for senior day school development professionals, offers you the opportunity to connect, collaborate, and tackle the complexities of Jewish day school fundraising with colleagues across North America.

🧠 Exchange strategies
🌱 Explore approaches to donor engagement, campaigns, and advancement leadership
🤝 Build meaningful relationships with colleagues
🎯 Leave with practical insights to apply to your own school

Reach out to Traci Reisberg if you have any questions

03/23/2026

Jewish day schools function as “anchor institutions” for Jewish communities. Their impact on families, students, and Jewish communities are far beyond educational.

As Paul Bernstein, Prizmah CEO shared, "The macro and micro impact of Jewish day schools continues to grow. Estimates put the number of living day school graduates in North America at close to a million. And with the impact of the ripple effect, we can be grateful to see the fingerprints of our schools across thousands of communities and a multitude of generations.”

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-890091

Read more about the impact of day schools on Families in our latest issue of HaYidion, the Prizmah Journal here.

https://prizmah.org/hayidion

Day schools function as an anchor institution, attracting parents and communal professionals who seek robust educational options for their own children.

03/18/2026

Prizmah CEO, Paul Bernstein, Board Chair, Laurie Hasten, and Senior Vice President of Development Hannah Strasser Olson, just returned from The Jewish Funders Network International Conference.

Prizmah was excited to participate in the launch of JFN’s Day School Affinity group, a group of 13 funders including Family Foundation, Arnee R. and Walter A Winshall, Crown Family Philanthropies, The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati, Jim Joseph Foundation, The Kopelman Foundation, Lisa and Arieh Coll, Mayberg Foundation, Suzanne Priebatsch, Foundation, The Naomi Prawer Kadar Foundation, The Zalik Foundation, and UnitEd

The Affinity group will continue focusing on topics such as “enrollment, affordability, the teacher pipeline, and taking advantage of the new tax cuts”.

As Paul shared in EJewish Philanthropy,

”Only a decade ago, “people were questioning whether day schools would have a future, and it really was not a priority in any national organizations... Our broader community is increasingly recognizing this extraordinary and life-shaping role and power of Jewish day school education, not only as a path to academic excellence or Jewish literacy, but it’s one of the strongest ways that we can invest in Jewish peoplehood itself.”

https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/funders-look-to-rewrite-a-positive-jewish-narrative-at-final-day-of-jfn-conference/?utm_source=cio

03/17/2026

Over the past few days, Prizmah YOU Leaders have been together in person for their spring gathering.

This time has been an opportunity to build meaningful connections, engage closely with mentors and coaches, and dive deeply into the YOU Lead curriculum—exploring dilemmas of practice, participating in role exploration protocols, engaging in open space conversations, and leading peer-driven sessions.