Updated May 24
When Gittel Goodman first learned that three Israeli families would be sending their children to her Gan Preschool in San Rafael after arriving in the Bay Area in the wake of Oct. 7, she knew she needed more money to support them. And quickly.
That’s when she remembered something from a Zoom introduction of EarlyJ, a philanthropic venture that supports Jewish preschools and early childhood education in the Bay Area.
“If you have a good idea, let us know,” Goodman recalled.
So she did. After submitting a letter of intent for financial assistance, she received an $11,000 grant from EarlyJ and used it to hire a teacher to provide extra support for the new students.
“It was so important to have a teacher that really knew that this was their job,” Goodman said. “Knowing that these children had a dedicated someone that was their advocate, not only their teacher, but was understanding their needs and meeting them.”
Following a successful pilot program in the East Bay, EarlyJ has been open to grant applications from throughout the Bay Area since March 2023, distributing more than $1.2 million to 21 preschools as of mid-May. Included in the total is $233,000 for added security following the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre, the global spike in antisemitism and parent concerns about safety.
The pilot program began in 2019 and ran for four years, during which an initial $1.7 million in grants were made to 12 East Bay preschools, ranging from $11,000 to $188,000 each. An additional $1.86 million of pilot funding went to the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund to oversee several early-education support grants including preschool scholarships, year-end teacher bonuses and PJ Library programming.
The EarlyJ initiative is funded by the Rodan Family Foundation and the Koum Family Foundation, which together committed to $12 million over five years, in collaboration with 26 funding partners.
The pilot and expansion were structured around data and findings produced from a comprehensive look at Bay Area Jewish preschools conducted by Rosov Consulting and commissioned by the Koret Foundation, as well as population survey data.
A Rosov report with fuller findings about the Bay Area was published in January.
One salient fact showed that as of 2021-2022, only 6% of East Bay Jewish families were sending their young children to Jewish preschools. The numbers were higher across the Bay Area, but still well below the national average of 20%, according to EarlyJ. Its goal is to increase enrollment to 25% of Bay Area Jewish families by 2027.
To Rodan Foundation CEO and President Elana Rodan Schult, the figures showed significant room for growth.
It’s an opportunity to create lifelong Jewish community. It’s a time when people are naturally seeking it.
“It was just this beautiful moment of the data and our personal experience saying early childhood education really matters,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to create lifelong Jewish community. It’s a time when people are naturally seeking it.”
Some 82% of preschool budgets are funded by tuition, according to the 2024 Rosov report. The average Bay Area Jewish preschool tuition is $19,300 per year, from $9,900 on the low end to $35,400 on the high end. However, tuition assistance is readily available, with 93% of families who applied for assistance receiving some aid, the study found.
Another critical factor identified in the early childhood education sector is low teacher pay. According to the 2024 Rosov report, the average full-time salary for Jewish preschool teachers in the Bay Area ranges from $40,040 to $54,600. And 38% of participating preschools reported being understaffed.
“We need more teachers,” said Elisa Magidoff, director of Parents Place at the Jewish Family and Children’s Services Center for Children and Youth. “I have plenty of friends who own preschools; staffing is a nightmare. Directors are in the classrooms because they don’t have enough people. And there are no substitutes to be found.”
EarlyJ’s philanthropic model is focused on four areas: increasing school capacity, investing in professional development for teachers, making schools more affordable and cultivating community among young Jewish families.
“Early childhood education is such a complex and interconnected sector,” Rodan Schult said. “We wanted to increase the enrollment reach, but we also know that that’s intricately tied to quality. You can’t open up more seats if the quality is not excellent. And excellent early childhood education depends on high-quality educators.”
Moreover, said Sharona Israeli-Roth, EarlyJ’s executive director, parents talk.
“Word of mouth is influential, akin to a friend introducing another friend,” she said. “When parents encounter exceptional educators at their child’s preschool and hear glowing reviews from peers, it naturally sparks their interest.”
“I think what EarlyJ is doing is great,” said Rachel Fenyves, director of Gan Avraham in Oakland. Her school recently received a $25,000, one-year grant.
“There’s so little acknowledgement out there in the world for what we do in early childhood [education], and so the fact that there’s research happening and money out there to help support us really means a lot,” she said.
To further support teachers, EarlyJ started a program that provides a 90% tuition subsidy toward a master’s degree program in Jewish early childhood education at American Jewish University in Los Angeles. The second Bay Area cohort of 11 teachers is currently enrolled in the program.
The same program also guarantees a $12,000 salary bump for graduates. Those funds will taper off over five years, giving schools time to attract new families and bring in more tuition dollars.
Another educator benefit starts June 10 with the launch of EarlyJ’s fully subsidized, 17-day ECE ambassador program in northern Israel. Bay Area preschool educators are “going to be connected to Israeli preschools and educators, so they will create a lot of partnerships for collaboration and cultural exchange,” said Israeli-Roth, former regional director of the Israeli American Council. “Teaching about and understanding Israel extends beyond textbooks, really. You have to immerse yourself in the land, experience its sights, sounds, and people firsthand. Then as an educator … you can bring it even more to life in your classroom.”