Yaffed is a nonprofit organization founded by individuals raised within Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox communities, and is committed to improving secular education in Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox schools.

Yaffed believes that all students should receive a quality education in the schools they currently attend.

Some states, such as New York, require all non-public schools to provide classes in basic subjects such as English, mathematics, reading, writing, music, arts, history, geography, and science. This is called “substantial equivalency,” meaning that private schools should at least be teaching the bare minimum that public schools are required to.

Currently, many Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox elementary schools do not provide this basic education. This has been documented in news reports, government investigations, and in personal testimonies from students and parents.

Our mission is to ensure that students receive the academic skills they need in order to pursue lives of economic self-sufficiency with a broad range of opportunities for personal choice and individual fulfillment.