Donna Klein’s Blueprint for Supervisory Excellence: Four Pillars for Faculty Growth

By Dr. Harry Bloom, Founder and President, Benchmarking for Good, Inc.

What is the purpose of Supervision in a day school? While this may seem like a simplistic, unnecessary question, it turns out to be a vital one relative to strengthening Jewish day school instruction. Benchmarking for Good research among 25 diverse Jewish day schools indicate that only 45% of faculty members are very satisfied that the supervision they receive is helping them grow professionally. At Donna Klein, the percentage is 65%!

In this installment of Benchmarking for Good's Video Lessons for Leaders, Donna Klein's Head of School Helena Levine and former Associate Head of School Joanie Silverman, identify four clear supervision pillars as foundational for supervision success.

Four Pillars of Effective Supervision

1. Cultivate a Growth-Oriented Culture

Supervision should empower, not intimidate. At Donna Klein, feedback is viewed as a tool for development, not punishment. Leaders build trust by clarifying that feedback is meant to promote excellence, and they maintain transparency through open, two-way communication.

2. Implement Structured Leadership Training

Growth doesn’t happen by accident. All faculty are systematically trained in core leadership habits, such as those from the “Leader in Me” program. Supervisors receive targeted training to lead with positivity and consistency, and checks and balances ensure the culture remains supportive and constructive.

3. Embrace Distributive Leadership and Faculty Voice

Donna Klein values every teacher’s perspective. Leadership is distributed, not top-down, and faculty feedback is actively sought and used to shape professional development. Anonymous surveys help leaders continually refine their support and address areas for improvement.

4. Prioritize Social-Emotional Well-Being

Effective supervision goes beyond professional growth—it cares for the whole person. Donna Klein creates a safe environment where teachers feel comfortable seeking help. Leaders are ready to provide immediate support, whether it’s a break, downtime, or classroom coverage, recognizing that external events can impact teachers’ well-being.

By focusing on these four pillars, Donna Klein Jewish Academy demonstrates how thoughtful supervision can drive faculty growth, satisfaction, and excellence. Their blueprint offers valuable lessons for any school aiming to empower its educators.

How Benchmarking for Good Can Help Your School

Benchmarking for Good faculty climate research can empower your school's faculty supervision program by giving you the hard, comparative data to know where your school stands on this vital issue. Contact Dr. Harry Bloom at harrybloom@benchmarkingforgood.org to explore a research partnership.

Video Lessons for Leaders: Mastering Parent/School Proactive Communication

Featuring Rabbi Eliezer Rubin, Head of School JKHA/RKYHS Kushner Academy

One of the most challenging aspects of running a day school is getting proactive school to parent communication right. Benchmarking for Good research data indicates JKHA/RKYHS Kushner Academy has done so as an industry-leading 60% of Kushner parents are Very Satisfied with its Proactive Communication, In this 20 minute video Rabbi Rubin shares the key ingredients of a proven process that works for him and will work for your school. I strongly encourage you to watch it and learn from a master. 

Click https://youtu.be/OtGqjY8wegk to see the video

Israel Studies Have Never Been More Important; Are Schools Rising to the Challenge?

By Dr. Harry Bloom, Founder and President, Benchmarking for Good, Inc.

At a time when educating young Jews about Israel’s history and importance has never been more critical, Benchmarking for Good's recent Parent research results identify challenges as well as good news.

How Satisfied are Parents with Israel Studies?

Research involving 11 diverse Jewish day schools and nearly 1,400 parents indicates a very wide range of satisfaction. The median school had a lackluster Net Promoter Score* of just under 20%; three schools had negative NPS. On the good news front, the top scoring schools, Westchester Day School and JKHA/RKYHS Kushner Academy, had very strong Net Promoter Scores of nearly 50%.

*Net Promoter Score=% Very Satisfied minus % neutral plus % dissatisfied

Written comments by parents cited concerns about curricular quality, teacher continuity and quality, the lack of experiential education, and student deficiencies in Hebrew spoken language fluency as drivers of their concerns.

Student Satisfaction Lags That of Parents

Fourteen hundred High School students attending 8 Jewish day schools indicated a high degree of dissatisfaction with schools' Israel Studies programs. Yet, 2 schools, Denver Jewish Day School and Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls managed positive NPS scores, once again suggesting there is a pathway to progress.

Israel Studies Satisfaction and Hebrew Language Satisfaction are Nearly Perfectly Correlated

It is important to note that there is nearly a perfect correlation (83% where 100% represents absolute perfect correlation) between these two attributes, which raises the bar for school improvement.

Unfortunately, Parents’ Hebrew Language satisfaction trails that of Israel Studies satisfaction, with the median school Net Promoter Score in modestly negative territory.

Benchmarking for Good’s Planned Next Steps: Identifying What Best Practice Schools are Doing Differently

Benchmarking for Good will follow up this initial report with in depth video interviews with successful school leaders to probe what exactly they are doing to achieve high levels of parent satisfaction, so stay tuned for our future communications on this topic.

Benchmarking for Good Research Grants Can Help

In the meantime, we welcome hearing from you relative to your own experience and perspectives on this very important, topical issue. Furthermore,if you would like Benchmarking for Good’s support conducting research into your own school’s performance in this arena please contact harrybloom@benchmarkingforgood.org to see if your school might qualify for one of our no cost research grants.