Penina Braffman-Greenfield is the co-director of enrollment at Perelman Jewish Day School in Elkins Park and Wynnewood, but she is also a parent. There are plenty of fulfilling moments in each of these roles. She recalled one recent conversation with one of her children in which he asked about the purpose of his education.
“My son asked me in the car this morning, “Is what I’m learning at school preparing me for a job when I get older?’” she said. “And I said, ‘Well, yes, that’s a part of what they’re preparing you to do — but they’re really preparing you for everything. They’re preparing you how to be a good community member and how our Jewish values impact everything we do. The academics are so strong, but really the focus is the whole child.”
Braffman-Greenfield feels confident in sending her two children to Perelman because she knows intimately how serious preparation and learning is taken at the school. For example, the kindergarten class just started a unit on coding.
“There’s so much project-based learning going on that feels like it’s very real-world and applicable,” she said.
Braffman-Greenfield started at Perelman as associate director of enrollment in 2022 before being promoted to her current role in August. She came to the school from a different industry, but has been ecstatic with her choice thus far.
“For many years, I worked at McGraw Hill Education, then I worked at a market research company and a company that my colleague from McGraw Hill started — so I had more of a corporate background,” she said. “Even though I was happy with what I was doing, I had never worked in a nonprofit space or in the Jewish world. It’s been incredible.”
Braffman-Greenfield has excelled, applying her background in the corporate world to running the enrollment work at Perelman. She said that the school uses a lot of the market research skills she honed in her previous jobs.
In her current role, there are four main prongs of work: recruitment, admission, enrollment and retention. She said that recruiting is done throughout the year by working with preschools and synagogues to find families who might be interested in Perelman.
Admissions are a complex process that she helps head, as is enrollment. The retention aspect is mostly done through word of mouth.
“One of the most effective ways of attracting new families is relying on current families,” Braffman-Greenfield said.
She added that there are clear goals and metrics that they bring to the board to evaluate how each of these four processes are performing.
Braffman-Greenfield said that the vision of the school is completely bound by Jewish values. These values impact everything they do, but that’s just part of the package.
“Jewish values could come from anywhere. The academics could come from anywhere too. Community is offered at a lot of schools. Other schools might have [similar] diversity of Jewish practice and Jewish life,” she said. “What makes Perelaman unique is that it has all of those things in one place.”
An oft-repeated mantra at the school is “Powered by Perelman.” Braffman-Greenfield said that this is a way of reminding the kids that everything they do can be understood through the Jewish values that are taught at the school.
The Braffman-Greenfield family moved from New York for Penina’s job and a fresh start, hoping to find something new in the Philadelphia Jewish community.
“When we lived in New York, my son started kindergarten at a Jewish day school, and it was great, but it was missing a piece that pulled it all together cohesively to provide that whole package,” she said.
At Perelman — as an employee and a parent — Braffman-Greenfield has found that piece.
“In New York, there was a ton of choice in terms of Jewish life, but it could be overwhelming. Here, there is still incredible choice, but you can find a more close knit community,” she said. “In Philadelphia, there are more spaces with a mix of denominations — Perelman includes students from all types of communities and synagogues.”
Braffman-Greenfield said this is a point of pride for the school.
“One thing the head of school always talks about is the kaleidoscope of Jewish life that exists at Perelman.”
