As an early childhood center, primary school or K-8 school that guides families about their students’ educational options after graduation, you play an important role in shaping the K-12 school landscape. We urge you to create opportunities to advocate for the safety and well-being of Jewish students when you connect with K-12 schools who are interested in applications from your rising graduates. Your efforts can spotlight the importance of ensuring all students – including Jewish students – feel welcomed and safe in all K-12 schools
Understanding the Urgency
Recent data from ADL's annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents reveals a deeply concerning trend: antisemitic incidents in K-12 schools have spiked more than 100% in the past 5 years, with nearly 900 incidents occurring in 2024 alone. Antisemitism is on the rise in both public and independent schools.
- 2024 research conducted by ADL indicates that more than a third of all parents surveyed (not solely Jewish parents) report their children have witnessed or experienced antisemitism in classrooms or through course materials, including a third of public school parents and over three quarters of independent school parents surveyed.
- Another 2025 ADL report on antisemitism and Jewish inclusion in U.S. independent/private K-12 schools underscores the critical need for this advocacy. This research surfaced that 78.7% of surveyed parents indicated they raised concerns about antisemitism with school faculty or school leadership. Yet only 38.4% of parents who raised concerns to their school leadership felt the leadership took the concerns seriously and followed up.
What You Can Do
1. Develop a collegial relationship with the admissions directors, principals or heads of school at the schools you may recommend to families of rising graduates.
Get to know the schools you may recommend to rising graduates' families by getting to know their administrators. Share your interest in learning more about their efforts to ensure Jewish students – and all students – feel safe and included. Share the elements that factor into your recommendations such as:
- Support for Jewish students as a priority.
- Clear protocols to address antisemitism and ensure student safety and inclusion.
- Efforts to advance best practices in addressing antisemitism such as those in ADL’s Six Asks for Independent K-12 Schools and Best Practices for Combating Antisemitism in K-12 Schools.
Here is some sample language to adapt:
- "We are recommending schools that provide a safe, inclusive environment for Jewish and all students."
- "Our partnership is based on trust that your school is committed to addressing antisemitism through policy and education."
Offer to partner with schools you plan to recommend to families of rising graduates by:
- Sharing additional materials for schools about preventing and addressing antisemitism in K-12 schools, as well as this resource about creating an inclusive, welcoming environment for Jewish students.
- Proposing connections to local resources (e.g., Jewish clergy or Jewish educators).
- Suggesting liaison relationships focused on supporting Jewish students.
2. Ask schools you may recommend questions anchored to best practices in supporting Jewish students.
Create a standardized list of questions for schools you may recommend to families of rising graduates so you can learn more about how they each address antisemitism and promote the inclusion of Jewish students. Ask for examples to support their responses so you can make more confident recommendations to your families as they consider where they might apply. Below are some sample questions to use as a guide.
Policies & Priorities:
- What policies govern the school’s response to antisemitic incidents?
- Do the policies include a clear definition of antisemitism?
- How have you addressed antisemitic incidents that violate your school’s policies?
- How does your school train staff and faculty to recognize and address antisemitism?
Curriculum:
- Does the curriculum include Holocaust education or history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Which departments are responsible for teaching this content? Which grades learn about it?
- How are curricular resources vetted to ensure they are factually accurate and free from bias?
- How do you incorporate diverse Jewish perspectives into curricular content?
- Does the curriculum include Jewish cultural education?
Culture:
- What is your approach to creating inclusive environments for Jewish students/families?
- How do you incorporate diverse Jewish perspectives into curricular content?
Your recommendations to families of soon-to-be graduates carry significant weight as the students determine where to apply and ultimately enroll. By making support for Jewish students a clear priority as part of your recommendation process to families of graduating students, you can drive meaningful change within the broader education system. This will enhance the educational environment for all students by promoting values of inclusion and respect at the schools where they matriculate. Your influence can help ensure that K-12 public and independent schools you are recommending are committed to creating safe, inclusive environments where Jewish students can thrive academically and personally without fear of antisemitism.