The darkness of our times feels particularly difficult for me.  Gratefully, Hanukkah this year reminded me that even one small light can brighten a relatively big space and more significantly, one small light (the shamash) can extend its power.  

In an era when there is much justified conversation about the fragility of day schools, it is easy to succumb to the dark conversations about our future.  I, however, prefer to see the rays of light, the schools whose trailblazing initiatives illuminate the larger field and serve as models from which we can learn.  In my visits to these schools and conversations with their professional and lay leaders, eight principles emerge that characterize stronger schools, often defying demographic odds: