NEW YORK – The growth of Torah in America recently reached yet another milestone as the number of students in yeshivos and Jewish day schools across New York City passed the 100,000 mark for the first time.
The numbers, compiled by the Orthodox Union (OU), are based on recently released New York State Education Department data for the 2015-2016 school year.
According to the data provided by the OU, there are 101,120 children in yeshivos and Jewish day schools in grades K-12 in New York City, or 7.7 percent of the 1,312,393 K-12 population. The total number of students in all other parochial schools across the city — including Catholic, Muslim, Lutheran, Greek Orthodox and independent private schools — is 137,283, or a total of 10.4 percent of the student population; 106,600 students (8.1 percent) attend charter schools and 967,390 students (73.7 percent) attend public schools.
Maury Litwack, director of state political affairs for Teach NYS — a project of the OU that fights for equitable government funding for parents and yeshivos — told Hamodia in an interview that this milestone underscores the need for the continued battle for school choice and equitable funding for parents and yeshivos.