New Issue Brief: Tamim Academy – A New Educational Model?

New York, NY – Pandemic school closures, bitter debates about parental rights, and the recent Supreme Court decision in Carson v. Makin all signal that nationwide K-12 education is in turbulent flux. In a new Manhattan Institute issue brief, senior fellow and director of education policy Ray Domanico uncovers some unique opportunities stemming from this rethinking, especially for families looking for an education that is value-aligned and academically inclined.  

Domanico offers an insightful look into Tamim Academy, a national network offering streamlined curricular and administrative guidance to new local Jewish schools, focused on integrating Jewish values into all aspects of school life. The curricular standards are centrally set by Tamim HQ, but the schools are locally controlled by independent Jewish communities, meaning parents can trust that the academic standards are high, and that the values taught in the schools align with theirs.    

Tamim Academy’s particular values are unique, but this test case is universally relevant in the model it provides education leaders and policymakers looking to open new horizons in a changing landscape. Domanico draws out the following implications: 

• While stand-alone schools can and do succeed, there are efficiencies and performance enhancements associated with well-formed school networks. A network like Tamim Academy allows its schools to focus on attracting students and forming teachers, saving the time and costs associated with designing a curriculum from scratch.  

• Historically declining sectors, such as Catholic schools, ought to consider innovative approaches such as those of religious school networks. Partnership Schools, for instance, is a successful and growing network of inner-city Catholic schools in New York and Cleveland. The creation of a Jewish day school network like Tamim Academy is more evidence in favor of the network model.  

• Carson v. Makin opened the door to religious schools participating in state school choice programs – education leaders should take advantage of that. Rather than bifurcating education into secular subjects, on the one hand, and religious instruction, on the other, schools with religious missions can freely integrate these without giving up state assistance.  

• The creation of various school networks would offer more parents a school choice aligned with their beliefs. There is a crisis unfolding in the traditional public-school sector, with concerns about curricular content and parental rights undermining public trust in school boards and in public schools generally. Rather than aiming for a one-size-fits-all solution, the network model could be a way to promote more educational pluralism, greater school choice, and much-needed public benefit. 

Click here to view the full issue brief.