New data released by the New York State Department of Education shows that the number of students attending Kindergarten-12th grade Jewish day schools and yeshivas in New York City now exceeds 110,000 students. This marks an increase of more than 10,000 students in less than two years. Jewish day school and Yeshiva enrollment in New York City is now nearly as large as the entire New York City based charter school population which enrolls 114,000 students.

The total number of K-12 students enrolled in Jewish day schools and yeshivas is 110,485. Jewish day school and yeshiva students now account for 42-percent of the total nonpublic school population in New York City. Another 148,345 students are enrolled in other parochial or independent schools. Together, the number of non-public school students comprises 18-percent of New York City’s total school enrollment.

Neil Cohen, Chairman of Teach NYS, a project of the Orthodox Union and New York’s leading voice for Jewish day schools, welcomed the new data about the Jewish day school population in New York City and the five boroughs. It shows, he said, the importance of continuing to push for a more equitable distribution of local and state funds for non-public schools.

“This demonstrates our community’s need to stay focused on one of the top priorities for our families – making non-public school education more affordable,” said Cohen. “We will continue to work with our partners in New York City and Albany to ensure that the city and state invest in our children in a fair and meaningful manner. We will also continue to work within our community to increase voter participation and civic engagement.”

Teach NYS, a division of the Orthodox Union’s Teach Advocacy Network, was founded in 2013 to advocate for equitable government funding in New York nonpublic schools. It has secured an additional $450 million in funding for day schools, which is used to increase security, enhance education and defray higher tuition costs. In 2018, it championed a historic pilot program to begin providing Kosher and Halal meals to students enrolled in both public and nonpublic schools in New York City. Currently, more than 40 day-schools and yeshivas receive government funding through Teach NYS. For more information, visit https://teachadvocacy.org/newyork/.