#TeacherProudMiami: Elevating, Supporting, and Sustaining Our Educators
Posted on 03/20/2026 @ 11:23 AM
By Audrey Maman Bensoussan, Director of Day School Programs and Services
Across the country, schools are grappling with a growing challenge: recruiting and retaining talented educators. Jewish day schools are no exception.
At a time when the demand for strong, dedicated teachers is higher than ever, the question is not only how to bring educators into our schools — but how to ensure they feel valued, supported, and inspired to stay.
In Miami, we believe we have a unique opportunity to lead.
Building on insights from the 2022 Nachshon survey conducted in partnership with peer communities, Miami has been selected by the Jewish Education Innovation Challenge/ Mayberg Foundation to serve as a pilot community for North America — modeling innovative approaches to teacher recruitment and retention that other communities will look to as they begin their own work in this area.
Out of this vision, TeacherProudMiami was born.
#TeacherProudMiami is more than an initiative — it is a community-wide commitment to our educators.
It reflects a fundamental belief: that teachers are not only employees of schools, but essential builders of our Jewish future — deserving of both recognition and meaningful support.
The initiative focuses on 3 core goals.
#1- Showing appreciation and kavod (honor).
Through creative partnerships with local businesses, we are finding tangible ways to express gratitude to our teachers.
From a realtor offering reduced commissions for teachers buying or renting homes, to collaborations with community voices like @miamifoodyenta to secure discounts at kosher restaurants and establishments, we are working to ensure that teachers feel valued not only within their schools, but across the broader community.
#2- Easing financial pressures.
We know that one of the biggest challenges facing educators is financial sustainability.
TeacherProudMiami seeks to address this by providing meaningful benefits that help teachers save money in real, practical ways.
These efforts send a powerful message: that the community recognizes these challenges and is invested in supporting those who have chosen this profession.
#3- Elevating the profession.
Perhaps most importantly, this initiative aims to raise the visibility and esteem of teaching in our community.
Our educators are shaping the next generation of Jewish life. They deserve to be recognized, celebrated, and honored for the critical role they play.
By elevating the perception of the profession, we also strengthen our ability to attract new talent into the field.
At the same time, we recognize that retention begins with recruitment — and that no single school can solve this challenge alone.
As part of the TeacherProudMiami Recruitment and Retention Initiative, and in partnership with Prizmah, CAJE has engaged a dedicated, shared recruiter to support our day schools in filling both current and future teaching vacancies.
This common recruiter model has already been used with great success in Boston, and now both Miami and Chicago are implementing this based on the same approach.
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By working with a single recruiter, schools benefit from a coordinated and more efficient strategy for identifying, vetting, and attracting qualified candidates.
Rather than competing for limited talent, schools are part of a broader, collaborative effort that strengthens the entire ecosystem.
Participating schools in this initiative include The Gordon School, Hebrew Academy (RASG), the Innovative School of Temple Beth Sholom, Lehrman Community Day School, Yeshiva Elementary School, and Yeshiva Toras Chaim Toras Emes — each demonstrating a shared commitment to strengthening the future of Jewish education in Miami.
This approach reflects something distinctive about Miami’s Jewish day school community: a willingness to collaborate, innovate, and take collective responsibility for our shared future.
Teacher recruitment and retention may be a national challenge — but Miami is not waiting for solutions to come from elsewhere.
We are building them here.
And in doing so, we are not only supporting our educators — we are elevating the profession and strengthening the foundation of Jewish education for generations to come.
For more information about TeacherProudMiami and all other Day School Programs and Initiatives, please contact Audrey Maman Bensoussan at audreymaman@caje-miami.org.
