The phenomenon of the "Jewish day school" is of relatively common origin. Until the 19th and 20th century, boys attended the Cheder (literally "room") or Talmud Torah where they were taught by a Melamed tinokot (children's teacher).

The first Jewish day schools developed in Germany, largely in response to the higher emphasis in general on secular studies. In the past, an apprenticeship was sufficient to learn a profession, or alternatively several years in a gymnasium could prepare one adequately for university. Rabbis who pioneered Jewish day schools included rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, whose Realschule in Frankfurt am Main served as a model for numerous similar institutions.

Today, there are over 750 day schools in the United States and 205,000 students in those schools and hundreds of thousands of Jewish children attend religious, Hebrew and congregational schools.