Benchmarking for Good Launches New AI-Enabled Research Grants for Day Schools

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

Benchmarking for Good is proud to announce a new cycle of innovative AI-enabled, no cost research grants for qualifying faith based day schools. Several of our grant opportunities will involve the application of innovative AI-informed analytical techniques that will help participating schools design customized school improvement processes. The benefits will include the ability to design more focused and impactful initiatives to enhance employee, parent, and student satisfaction and advocacy. 

Grant Opportunities for Fall/Winter 2025/6

Qualified and approved grantees can potentially qualify for one or more of the following opportunities:

1. Pathway to Become a Faculty Employer of Choice: Grant services include a faculty compensation benchmarking study relative to peer day schools plus a staff climate survey.

2. Pathway to Become a Parent Destination of Choice: Grantees will secure research data about (1) parents' school choice priorities, (2) parents’ perceptions of their school's performance, (3) peer school comparative performance data, plus (4) access to advanced statistical analysis of the data that helps identify their school's critical pathway to performance improvement.

3. Pathway to Become a Student Destination of Choice: Grantees with high school students will secure research data about (1) students' perceptions about their school's performance on key programmatic and environmental factors, (2) peer school comparative performance data, plus (3) access to advanced statistical analysis of the data that identifies their school's critical pathway to performance improvement.

4. Becoming a Board Destination of Choice: Grantees will learn how their school’s Board performs relative to proven governance best practice and the Boards of peer schools, enabling them to engage in focused performance improvement.  

Next Steps

School leaders with an interest in being considered for any or all of the above grant opportunities are asked to complete this grant interest form. The form does not obligate either the school or Benchmarking for Good but will ensure their school is eligible to apply for the limited grant opportunities.

If you have any questions about this exciting opportunity please contact Dr. Harry Bloom at harrybloom@benchmarkingforgood.org

#School performance #school improvement #Board governance #AIenabled research

Benchmarking for Good Is Offering No Cost Research Grants for Jewish Day Schools

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

If you are a school leader who wants a research partner to take your school from Good to Great or from Great to Greater, Benchmarking for Good is here for you. We invite you to open a dialog about how to qualify for one or more of its Fall/Winter 2025/6 no cost research grants.

Grant opportunities are limited and priority consideration will be given to early applicants. To be in queue for grant consideration please complete this brief Grant Inquiry form.

We are offering 4 Grant Opportunities:

Previous Grantee Testimonials

What Drives Teacher Satisfaction: A Fresh Research-Informed Look

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

Based on Benchmarking for Good’s 2024/2025 staff climate survey research with 23 diverse day schools, we are able to gain insights into the key factors that most strongly correlate with teachers’ job satisfaction. This is vitally important because teachers' willingness to recommend their school as an employer is strongly correlated with their own job satisfaction.

Top Factors Correlating with Teachers’ Job Satisfaction:

Top Factors Correlating with Teachers’ Job Satisfaction:

1. Satisfaction with the overall work environment including collegiality, supervision quality, support systems, and physical workspace has the highest correlation with overall job satisfaction.

2. Satisfaction with career Growth Opportunities has the second highest correlation value with job satisfaction.

3. School flexibility in enabling work/life balance is the third most important correlating factor. 

4. Teachers’ perception they can openly communicate and express ideas, concerns, and suggestions freely is the fourth key factor correlating with job satisfaction. 

5. Supervisor Appreciation - Feeling appreciated by one's supervisor rounds out the top 5 factors.

Teacher Satisfaction by Experience Level:

A notable finding is how job satisfaction relates to years of experience:

• Most experienced teachers (15+ years) report significantly higher satisfaction (4.55/5.00)

• There appears to be a notable "satisfaction dip" around the 4-5 year mark (4.15/5.00) and continuing through the 6-10 year mark

• First-year teachers show relatively high satisfaction (4.30/5.00)

Other Interesting Findings:

• Employment Status: Part-time teachers report slightly higher satisfaction (4.33) than full-time teachers (4.27)

• Division/Department: Upper School teachers have the highest satisfaction (4.33), while Early Childhood teachers have the lowest (4.12)

• Overall Average: Teachers as a role have an average satisfaction of 4.28/5.00

Practical Implications:

1. The strong correlation between willingness to recommend the school and personal satisfaction suggests that teacher advocacy is both an indicator and driver of satisfaction

2. Investing in work environment quality (collegiality, supervision, support systems) would likely yield significant improvements in teacher satisfaction

3. Career growth opportunities appear more important for teachers than for some other roles, suggesting that clear advancement pathways could boost satisfaction

4. Programs targeting mid-career teachers (4-10 years experience) might help address the apparent satisfaction dip at this career stage and help avoid attrition

5. Work/life balance initiatives could have a substantial impact on improving teacher satisfaction

ACTION STEPS: Explore Becoming a Benchmarking for Good Research Partner and Grant Recipient

1. To discuss how your school can benefit from Benchmarking for Good staff climate research and gain access to the information it needs to become an employer of choice please contact Dr. Harry Bloom at harrybloom@benchmarkingforgood.org

2. Interested school leaders are also encouraged to complete a 2025-6 Benchmarking for Good Research Grant Interest Survey by    clicking on this link

#Teachers #Schools #TeacherRetention #DaySchool