Miami’s Yehudis Smith is Elevating Jewish Early Childhood Education

By Ryan Torok

For Dr. Yehudis Smith, advancing Jewish early childhood education begins with a simple belief: if educators expect excellence from the profession, they must first invest in themselves.

“I realized that if I believed in the professionalization of the field, I should start with myself,” Smith said in a phone interview.

That conviction led Smith, who is based in Broward County, to enroll in the inaugural Doctor of Education (EdD) in Early Childhood Education Leadership program at American Jewish University’s Masor School for Jewish Education and Leadership. Three years later, she graduated from the online program as part of the program’s first doctoral cohort, bringing new expertise to a career already dedicated to strengthening Jewish early childhood education across South Florida.

As director of early childhood and congregational education at the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE), the education department of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, Smith works with a network of Jewish preschools throughout the region. Residing in Coral Springs and working in Miami, she supports approximately 25 Jewish early childhood centers, providing professional development, leadership training and consulting designed to elevate the field.

“The goal is to elevate the field of early childhood education across the board,” Smith said. “Development training, consulting work, travel from city to city—the same idea is to help elevate the field in terms of giving teachers the skills they need, helping leaders in those spaces.”

Rather than leading a single school community, Smith’s work allows her to impact an entire ecosystem of Jewish education by supporting directors, mentoring educators and helping schools strengthen the experiences they provide to young children and families.

When Smith decided to pursue a doctorate, her motivation was deeply connected to the work she was already doing. The Masor School program offered her an opportunity not only to deepen her knowledge, but also to model the type of lifelong learning she encourages among the educators she supports

As a student of the Masor School’s doctoral program in early childhood education leadership, Smith experienced the unique opportunity and challenge of helping shape a new program.

“We’re the first cohort to complete the doctorate program, so there’s a guinea pig aspect to our experience,” she said. “With that came a cohesive small group of us. Everyone was awesome.”

Among those relationships was a close friendship with fellow cohort member Dr. Chana Fox, director of the early childhood center at Adat Ari El in Los Angeles.

“We’re lifelong friends now, not just colleagues,” Smith said.

The cohort first met in person during an intensive gathering early in the program, and those experiences helped transform classmates into a professional network that continues beyond graduation.

“It was definitely a positive experience,” Smith said. “And I met a lot of amazing people.”

The students began the doctoral program in August 2023. Just weeks later, the Oct. 7 attack in Israel happened, shaking Jewish communities around the world. During the program, Smith gave birth to her fourth child.

“It was challenging—personally and professionally,” she said. “Life was happening.”

Through those challenges, the cohort’s shared commitment to Jewish education helped sustain them.

Smith says the Masor School’s learning model was particularly meaningful because it reflected the collaborative approach she believes is essential to strengthening Jewish education.

That philosophy mirrors the work Smith does every day at CAJE, where her goal is not simply to improve individual classrooms, but to strengthen the field as a whole.

In addition to her work with Jewish early childhood educators, Smith is the author of “Rethinking Discipline: Conscious Parenting Strategies for Growth and Connection,” a book focused on building stronger relationships between parents and children through thoughtful approaches to discipline.

As a member of AJU’s first doctoral cohort in Early Childhood Education Leadership, she represents the kind of leader the program was created to support: an educator who continues learning not only for personal growth, but for the benefit of an entire community.