Prizmah and The Jewish Theological Seminary Announce New Partnership

Day School Leadership Training Institute (DSLTI): Preeminent program for new and aspiring heads of school will now have broader reach across North American Jewish day schools.

June 2, 2023 – NEW YORK, NY- To strengthen the capacity of leaders to serve their schools and communities, Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools and The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) today announced that the Day School Leadership Training Institute (DSLTI) is now a partnership between the two organizations—enhancing learning and networking opportunities for program participants. The new partnership puts the landmark leadership development program on a path of continued growth and sustainability, positioned to effectively cultivate talent and invest in the next generation of day school leadership.

“DSLTI has long fostered many of the top leaders in the Jewish day school world,” says Paul Bernstein, Chief Executive Officer of Prizmah. “Bringing DSLTI into Prizmah’s portfolio of leadership development programs and working closely with JTS allows us to further strengthen and support Jewish day school leadership and ensure the future success of our schools.”

“JTS’s DSLTI program has been preparing new and aspiring heads of school for over 25 years,” said Chancellor Shuly Rubin Schwartz. “The program has provided experiential learning, leadership development, mentoring, and cohort-building opportunities to school leaders in day schools around North America and Israel. We are thrilled to be partnering with Prizmah and are looking forward to continuing to make an impact in the field of Jewish day school education.”

DSLTI will operate as an integral part of Prizmah’s leadership development portfolio of programs, which includes YOU Lead, an annual cohort program for Jewish day school leaders, and expert coaching and consulting services. Participants will be able to leverage the established strength of the DSLTI program, along with the resources, expertise, and relationships of the Prizmah Network, and the guidance and experience of DSTLI and Prizmah leadership.

DSLTI was founded in 1998 as a project of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at JTS, in partnership with The AVI CHAI Foundation, to address the need to help train and support aspiring and new heads of Jewish schools. DSLTI brings together cohorts of leaders with diverse approaches to Jewish practice and educational philosophy from across North America.

“For the past 25 years, DSLTI has proven its model, successfully training over 200 day school leaders. Through the new partnership of JTS and Prizmah, who both share a commitment and passion for nourishing new and aspiring day school heads, DSLTI will have an elevated ability to serve the field,” says Cheryl Maayan, incoming director of DSLTI at Prizmah and successor to Dr. Ray Levi, who led the program for many years.

Both organizations point to the overwhelming need to train and support new heads of school as the leaders of the future. The new partnership structure and consolidated fundraising efforts will ensure the growth and strength of the DSLTI program going forward and will allow day school leaders to draw on the expertise and resources of both organizations, aligned in their commitment to supporting educational leadership.