DeLeT Longitudinal Survey

The DeLeT Survey explored key issues regarding teacher education, retention and quality. We now have a unique source of longitudinal quantitative data on the evolving careers and lives of Jewish day school teachers.

What does it take to recruit, prepare, support and retain excellent teachers for Jewish day schools?

Study Design and Goals

The DeLeT longitudinal survey project collected data to inform Jewish education researchers and practitioners, as well as policy makers, about issues concerning teacher preparation, careers, and teacher quality. The study used the following three surveys:

  • Incoming Survey — For each entering cohort

  • Graduation Survey — For each graduating cohort

  • Alumni Survey — For all alumni, biannually

This research supported the development of a more sophisticated understanding of the career choices that DeLeT fellows make and the factors that shape their choices to stay in teaching, become teacher leaders or administrators, or leave the classroom to pursue alternative careers. We now understand more about their views of day school teaching, and how their teaching practice and professional identities develop and are shaped by their interactions with school leadership and professional communities in their schools.