BRANDEIS 2023
PROCESS & CONTEXT
The Brandeis School of San Francisco has arrived at an inflection point in its institutional history. Building upon decades of success as one of the largest Jewish day schools in the country, with a deep commitment to pursuing justice, academic excellence, and the growth and promise of contemporary Jewish practice, Brandeis has in the past five years undertaken a series of reflective engagements as a community. These have included separating from the Marin campus, revising the mission statement and community values, hiring a new head of school and educational leadership, rebranding the school, and completing the self-study process connected to our accreditation. At the same time, we are acutely aware of the enrollment challenges faced by independent schools in general and Jewish day schools specifically, as well as changing attitudes and habits of the Bay Area Jewish community. These internal and external conditions have shaped this plan, and we are confident in our vision for the next chapter of The Brandeis School of San Francisco.
Through these processes we imagined future graduates who are grounded in their intersectional identities, creative and curious learners who engage purposefully and ethically with the world around them. We recognized the strength of our tradition of talented teachers, and made investments in our faculty: in their salaries, their growth, and their ideas. We broadened our connections in the San Francisco Jewish community, partnering with other organizations seeking to reimagine Jewish engagement. We set down our commitment to the connection between learning and purpose, by empowering individuals in pursuit of shared goals. We affirmed the centrality of kindness (chesed), integrity (ometz lev), and service (tikkun olam) in all that we do. We put forward the vision that at The Brandeis School of San Francisco, everyone sees themselves as a teacher of Jewish thought, values, and traditions—students and faculty, parents and trustees, alumni and staff, regardless of their background or position. We rallied around an ideal: that the entire community at Brandeis can make it matter, by being present to each moment today, and putting our lives in service of a better tomorrow.
