Covering the period from the start of the war in October, 2023 to December 8th, 2023, this report presents a snapshot of the responses from enrollment professionals and heads of school from 110 schools in the United States and Canada. The report highlights a significant increase in inquiries and temporary enrollments from Israeli students and transfer students from public and independent schools into Jewish day schools and yeshivas in North America during the Israel-Hamas war.
Important Trends:
- Thirty-nine percent of schools reported inquiries and or enrollment from public school students interested in transferring mid-year. Top reasons schools reported that public school transfer families provided for transferring are:
- Wanting their child(ren) to be in a Jewish environment (73%)
- Fear of antisemitism in school or community (68%)
- Response from their current school around the war in Israel (32%)
Twenty percent of schools reported receiving inquiries and or enrollment from independent school students interested in transferring mid-year. Top reasons schools reported that independent school transfer families provided for transferring are:
- Wanting their child(ren) to be in a Jewish environment (80%)
- Response from their current school around the war in Israel (50%)
- Fear of antisemitism in school or community (40%)
Since the last enrollment trend report, the number of inquiries from temporary Israeli students nearly doubled (944 total inquiries reported in October to 2,020 total inquiries from October through December).
- Ninety-five percent of schools reported receiving inquiries and/or enrollment from temporary Israeli students interested in transferring on a short term basis to a Jewish day school.
- Over 1,000 temporary Israeli students enrolled in the schools that responded to the survey.
Schools indicated additional support is needed in this area, including:Most schools reported that their temporary Israeli students need English Language Learning (ELL) or English as a Second Language (ESL) support. - Mental health support is often needed for students fleeing their country due to war.
