The Islamic Schools League of America (ISLA) Database Project is a two-part study that consists of a comprehensive Islamic School Directory that accounts for every full-time Islamic school operating in the United States, along with a data-based profile of Islamic schools nationwide. The last cycle of data collection took place in 2022-2023 and now ISLA is back with a renewed effort!
Islamic School Directory
ISLA has launched a campaign to make sure every full-time Islamic school operating in the United States is on its Interactive Map and School Directory which already contains more than 400 schools. Doing so shows the vibrant presence of Islamic schools across the country and also empowers families to make data-informed decisions about school choices for their children.
In order to accomplish this ambitious goal and share this free resource accurately with the American Muslim community, we need your help!
We are asking individuals as well as educators to access the map, filter it by state, and click on “Map Every School” button to inform us of any new schools in your state that are not in our directory or alert us to any schools that may have unfortunately closed down.
If you are a new school that wants to be added to our Directory, you can do so via the “Update/Add School” button. This is also a great opportunity for existing schools to update their profiles through the same button so that people have the most updated data about them. The more information you share in your profile, the easier it will be for families to make decisions regarding their children’s schooling.
The Significance of Data
The Islamic school landscape in the U.S. remains an area about whose development and performance there is very little data and many of them continue to operate in isolation. Islamic school boards and administrators are frequently making strategic decisions in a vacuum due to lack of resources and awareness.
The ISLA Database Project is a comprehensive national initiative designed to build the foundational data infrastructure for Islamic education providers in the K-12 sector in the United States. It was envisioned to address the problem of Islamic schools operating in isolation, lacking unified metrics and national benchmarks, resulting in individual school leaders and administrators working on analogous challenges without producing any overlapping tools or data.
Without reliable data, the potential for sector-wide collaboration and shared learning is severely limited, hindering the growth and impact of these institutions. The ISLA Database Project advances our understanding of Islamic schools in the U.S. and makes them visible in the larger American society as a permanent fixture to be recognized in the overall faith-based private educational sector. And adding your school to the Directory literally puts you on the map!
Survey of School Leaders: Stakeholder Input Needed!
Along with ensuring that our Directory contains the most accurate data on Islamic schools across the U.S., ISLA will also be sending out a survey in the near future to Islamic school leaders to study the landscape nationwide. The survey will seek to identify key characteristics of the schools, identify challenges and opportunities, report on growth trends, and fill important knowledge gaps concerning full-time Islamic schools.
To ensure that the survey asks the right questions, we are also inviting various stakeholders such as school leaders, board members, teachers, parents, service providers, and researchers to give us their input. If you’re interested in being part of the survey-building process or have any queries, please reach out to Saulat Pervez, the Director of the Database Project, at spervez@theisla.org. Your feedback will help us refine the survey that will be going to all the full-time Islamic schools to help us understand the state of Islamic schools in the U.S.
The directory and survey results will give vital insights into the vast field of Islamic schooling in order to both respond to its needs and work towards its betterment in an efficient manner. The data results will be relevant not only for those serving the Islamic school community, such as board members, administrators, teachers, parents, educational researchers, and educational service providers but also the broader Muslim American community.
The survey results will further serve a secondary, yet equally important, function: Giving us the ability to tell the story of Islamic schools with accurate data that works to dispel myths about Muslims while shining a light on the contributions Muslims have and continue to make in this country.
So, what are you waiting for? Click here and access the Directory. Let’s build this vital resource together!
