I have been notified that Rabbi Steinberg, one of the founders of Yeshivas Ohev Shalom, a low cost Yeshiva alternative in Los Angeles, has now founded a new Yeshiva Trade-School under the name Yeshivas Ohr Chadash. Like the first low cost Yeshiva, this Yeshiva Trade School will include public funded portions of the education. The announcement follows:
Another New Yeshiva in L.A.? Who needs it? Won't it add to the economic crisis?
Not this one! Yeshivas Ohr Chadash is a Yeshiva Trade-School. Get used to the phrase I have a feeling we will be hearing it more often. The previous idea of Yeshiva life and direction is changing to meet reality. According to HaRav Chaim Avrohom Horowitz, HaLevi, Shlita, (a.k.a. the Bostoner Rebbe) the Yeshiva system in the U.S. was established to a large extent by Rav Aharon Kotler to re-establish and insure an authentic Jewish life. However, according to the Rebbe (a Talmid and a Musmach of Rav Aharon), Rav Ahaon Kotler never intended that over 100,000 Talmidim would be sitting in Batei Medrashim and Kollelim throughout the U.S. and world-wide.
Now that we have rebuilt our Yeshiva after the decimation of the holocaust its time to get back to the educating and teaching trades. This is the way we, as Jews, have survived throughout the millennium. Ohr Chadash is a Yeshiva that will attempt to normalize and mainstream solid Yeshiva learning and vocational training. This is not a Yeshiva for troubled students. It is a Yeshiva for young men with a realistic plan.
It has the endorsement of the Bostoner Rebbe, Shlita, and the Jewish Educational Leadership in the Los Angeles community. The Founder and Dean is Rabbi Rachmiel Steinberg, formerly Mashgiach of Yavneh Hebrew Academy, Headmaster of JETS (Jewish Educational Trade School), and Educational Director of Yeshivas Ohev Shalom. For more information call: 323-228-9915
Showing posts with label School Alternatives. Show all posts
Showing posts with label School Alternatives. Show all posts
Monday, August 09, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
To the Exclusion of All Else
Hat Tip: Honestly Frum
There is an article up on ephilanthropy which probably will not be given much of a look in Orthodox circles titled "Day School or Nothing?" The Conservative Jewish author challenges the notion that "there is day school and there's not day school" writing "'no alternative to day school' is problematic because there must be an alternative." He goes on to state "unfortunately, binary decision-making by Jewish leaders and educators in the past two decades meant the 'smart money' and intellectual capital in Jewish education and philanthropy went to Jewish day schools, at the expense of supplementary schools and other alternatives."
This is a thought provoking and important statement and certainly one which the Orthodox community might need to grapple with in the future. I personally don't think we can continue down the road of supporting only one model to the exclusion of others.
But such will probably be. Please see this article at BeyondBT promoting homeschooling. As a supporter of homeschooling, but not an actual homeschooling parent (although I've been accused of such since as I keep my children home far later than is currently trendy!), I personally don't care for the way in which this particular article promoted homeschooling (just an issue of style). But please try to look past such and focus on the comments of Mr. Marvin Schick, who was asked about homeschooling in an interview, as it is in direct relationship to the subject for which I began this article. Mr. Schick is quoted as saying:
I get the feeling that NCSY, Bnei Akiva, Pirkei/Bnot groups are far less supported and popular today. I already know a handful of children from religious families who are enrolled in public school, and while I try to avoid predicting the future, I do believe that number will grow, financing being the primary reason. While many believe that Shomer Shabbat parents will do anything to keep their children in a yeshiva/day school, I do believe we will see more families leaving the confines of the day school. I already know a handful and I know others that talk about it and I'm not certain that it is just talk. I'd personally like to see support for alternatives developed at the leadership level, but I'm not counting on it. I do admire those who have taken a step outside of the box and formed alternative schools such as the Jewish co-op school in Flordia and the Yeshiva Alternative in Los Angeles, as well as homeschoolers, and it would be nice to see leaders leave the black and white world of "day school or not day school" and consider the possibility of supporting (or at least not completely dismissing) some viable alternatives.
Now is probably a good time to give a Yashar Koach to the Lookstein Center on their newest journal looking at the Financial Crisis and the Jewish Day School. It was such a pleasant surprise to see a "Tuition Crisis" edition that contained some debate regarding charter schools, as well as articles on the alternatives mentioned in the paragraph above. Also, as Public Service Announcement: Second Annual Torah Home Education is coming on Sunday, June 13 in Baltimore. The speaker lineup looks impressive and I welcome guest posters as I always do).
As the Conservative Jewish author writes: "We need a more holistic approach to Jewish education, one that doesn’t pit one model against the other, but instead regards Jewish education as a continuum that contains a variety of viable alternatives." I think that sums it up well. I think it is a mistake to dismiss alternatives as "not day school."
There is an article up on ephilanthropy which probably will not be given much of a look in Orthodox circles titled "Day School or Nothing?" The Conservative Jewish author challenges the notion that "there is day school and there's not day school" writing "'no alternative to day school' is problematic because there must be an alternative." He goes on to state "unfortunately, binary decision-making by Jewish leaders and educators in the past two decades meant the 'smart money' and intellectual capital in Jewish education and philanthropy went to Jewish day schools, at the expense of supplementary schools and other alternatives."
This is a thought provoking and important statement and certainly one which the Orthodox community might need to grapple with in the future. I personally don't think we can continue down the road of supporting only one model to the exclusion of others.
But such will probably be. Please see this article at BeyondBT promoting homeschooling. As a supporter of homeschooling, but not an actual homeschooling parent (although I've been accused of such since as I keep my children home far later than is currently trendy!), I personally don't care for the way in which this particular article promoted homeschooling (just an issue of style). But please try to look past such and focus on the comments of Mr. Marvin Schick, who was asked about homeschooling in an interview, as it is in direct relationship to the subject for which I began this article. Mr. Schick is quoted as saying:
I have enjoyed Mr. Marvin Schick’s articles on day schools and financial issues for many years now, often finding myself nodding in agreement . I find it sad that he is on record essentially dismissing the possibility of supporting homeschoolers, or other opportunities that might open up such as group schooling or hybrid schooling. Day schools and yeshivot are most certainly a very important component of the fabric of our community, but I worry that they are eating more and more of the communal and family budget to the exclusion of other programming, developed or undeveloped.
“I can understand why parents with limited income who face high tuition bills might pursue that route, but even with the tuition crisis, I doubt that many parents will opt for homeschooling. For one thing, Orthodox families partake of the general societal trend in which both parents work. This alone makes homeschooling difficult.” Asked whether he felt that Avi Chai may take a position on home schooling or even provide support for home schooling families, he replied that Avi Chai is not presently involved in home schooling and that he is certain it will not provide support for home schooling. Nevertheless he does also acknowledge, “ . . . the inability of our schools to accommodate boys who are not good learners or students who are just a bit off the beaten track.”
I get the feeling that NCSY, Bnei Akiva, Pirkei/Bnot groups are far less supported and popular today. I already know a handful of children from religious families who are enrolled in public school, and while I try to avoid predicting the future, I do believe that number will grow, financing being the primary reason. While many believe that Shomer Shabbat parents will do anything to keep their children in a yeshiva/day school, I do believe we will see more families leaving the confines of the day school. I already know a handful and I know others that talk about it and I'm not certain that it is just talk. I'd personally like to see support for alternatives developed at the leadership level, but I'm not counting on it. I do admire those who have taken a step outside of the box and formed alternative schools such as the Jewish co-op school in Flordia and the Yeshiva Alternative in Los Angeles, as well as homeschoolers, and it would be nice to see leaders leave the black and white world of "day school or not day school" and consider the possibility of supporting (or at least not completely dismissing) some viable alternatives.
Now is probably a good time to give a Yashar Koach to the Lookstein Center on their newest journal looking at the Financial Crisis and the Jewish Day School. It was such a pleasant surprise to see a "Tuition Crisis" edition that contained some debate regarding charter schools, as well as articles on the alternatives mentioned in the paragraph above. Also, as Public Service Announcement: Second Annual Torah Home Education is coming on Sunday, June 13 in Baltimore. The speaker lineup looks impressive and I welcome guest posters as I always do).
As the Conservative Jewish author writes: "We need a more holistic approach to Jewish education, one that doesn’t pit one model against the other, but instead regards Jewish education as a continuum that contains a variety of viable alternatives." I think that sums it up well. I think it is a mistake to dismiss alternatives as "not day school."
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Education Alternatives: Online School within the Yeshiva
We have talked a lot about education alternatives here. Honestly Frum has a post up on what alternative is being explored at the leadership level. The OU will be hosting a conference in Virginia on April 25-26 "Online Education and Online Charter Schools Within Your Day School:Approaches Toward Excellence in Education and Reduced Costs". This project is being spearheaded by R. Zucker of the OU Day School Services division.
The specific education provider that has been consulted is K12 which provides online education to students in 26 states. The idea appears to be that K12 could provide education inside Yeshiva/Day Schools, funded by the respective states. I have consulted the K12 map and unfortunately some of the states with the biggest Orthodox communities do not have a K12 public option including basically every state on the Atlantic Coast with large Orthodox communities. New York, New Jersey, Maryland/DC, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Pennsylvania and Florida do have public school virtual options. West Coast, Southern, and Mid-West communities with sizable Orthodox populations do have public options, so that is good news.
The idea on the table is to have students attend their yeshiva, with limudei kodesh in the morning, followed by virtual education with facilitators.
Please check out Honestly Frum's post and leave comments here and there. I'm hesitant, but please do see that someone is investigating something. I don't know a lot about virtual education and I'm not sure if I had that choice vs. just homeschooling and either hiring a Rebbe/attending only limuedi kodesh in school, if I would be interested in jumping on a virtual model. I will say that if you really want cost savings, the better idea would be to have learning labs and Judaic courses throughout the day in which schools combine and close actual physical facilities, i.e. downsize, downsize, downsize. Obviously there are cost savings in the proposed idea of dismissing some limudei chol staff and having morning Judaic studies followed by afternoon virtual academy. But real cost savings will have to come from consolidation, around the clock use of the facilities that aren't consolidated, and (yes) layoffs.
Let the comments fly.
The specific education provider that has been consulted is K12 which provides online education to students in 26 states. The idea appears to be that K12 could provide education inside Yeshiva/Day Schools, funded by the respective states. I have consulted the K12 map and unfortunately some of the states with the biggest Orthodox communities do not have a K12 public option including basically every state on the Atlantic Coast with large Orthodox communities. New York, New Jersey, Maryland/DC, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Pennsylvania and Florida do have public school virtual options. West Coast, Southern, and Mid-West communities with sizable Orthodox populations do have public options, so that is good news.
The idea on the table is to have students attend their yeshiva, with limudei kodesh in the morning, followed by virtual education with facilitators.
Please check out Honestly Frum's post and leave comments here and there. I'm hesitant, but please do see that someone is investigating something. I don't know a lot about virtual education and I'm not sure if I had that choice vs. just homeschooling and either hiring a Rebbe/attending only limuedi kodesh in school, if I would be interested in jumping on a virtual model. I will say that if you really want cost savings, the better idea would be to have learning labs and Judaic courses throughout the day in which schools combine and close actual physical facilities, i.e. downsize, downsize, downsize. Obviously there are cost savings in the proposed idea of dismissing some limudei chol staff and having morning Judaic studies followed by afternoon virtual academy. But real cost savings will have to come from consolidation, around the clock use of the facilities that aren't consolidated, and (yes) layoffs.
Let the comments fly.
Monday, March 08, 2010
Public Service Announcement: Florida Jewish Cooperative School New Location
Public Service Announcement from the Jewish Cooperative School (Florida) follows. Also, check out their new website with information on just how this cooperative operates!
To Orthonomics,
I wanted to update you on our progress of securing a location for Kindergarten and First Grade for next year. Below is our email we sent out to our coop families. Also, I have attached a chart that compares 2010/2011 tuition rates at 2 local day schools. These 2 schools are actually the lowest priced of the 5 local Orthodox day schools in the South Florida area.
Dear All,
Adar truly proved to be a joyous month for the Jewish Cooperative School. We are thrilled to report that we have secured a phenomenal location that has amenities galore - all conveniently located within NMB. Our location provides a state of the art computer lab with over 15 computers, a soccer field, basketball court, huge playground with amazing climbing equipment, auditorium with stage, enclosed outdoor atrium with picnic tables and room for our children to grow a vegetable garden, full access to a splash and play playground with certified lifeguards for those unbearably hot Florida school days, as well as the opportunity for co-op families to arrange discounted swimming lessons with certified swim instructors after school. To further safeguard our children, the classrooms have surveillance cameras and the City of NMB police department overlooks the playground. Easy drop-off and pick-up as well! We will be located in the North Miami Beach Ronald A. Silver Youth Enrichment Services Center: 17051 NE 19th Avenue. And the icing on the cake is that tuition is substantially less than the recently announced 2010-2011 tuition prices at the local day schools.
Please help spread the word to interested Kindergarten and First Grade families. Space is limited to only 10 children per class.
For more information, please visit our website http://www.jewishcooperativeschool.org/, send us an email at jewishcoop@gmail.com or feel free to call us at 786-541-8527.
[My apologies for my inability to easily put the following information back into the chart it came on] HOW DOES JEWISH COOPERATIVE SCHOOL COMPARE TO THE LOCAL
JEWISH DAY SCHOOL OPTIONS?
2010/2011 Published Rates
SCHOOL A
SCHOOL B
JEWISH COOPERATIVE SCHOOL
Tuition Kindergarten
$ 9,700.00
$ 8,800.00
$7,500.00
Tuition First Grade
$11,950.00
$11,550.00
$7,500.00
Registration Fee
$ 500.00
$ 650.00
$750.00 applied towards the last month of tuition.
Give/Get/Scholarship Fund
$ 1,000.00
$ 1,200.00
N/A
Building Fee
$ 650.00
N/A
N/A
Insurance/Security Fee
$ 350.00
$ 250.00
N/A
Book Fee
$ 175.00
N/A
N/A
TOTAL KINDERGARTEN
$12,375.00
$10,900.00
$7,500.00
TOTAL FIRST GRADE
$14,625.00
$13,650.00
$7,500.00
To Orthonomics,
I wanted to update you on our progress of securing a location for Kindergarten and First Grade for next year. Below is our email we sent out to our coop families. Also, I have attached a chart that compares 2010/2011 tuition rates at 2 local day schools. These 2 schools are actually the lowest priced of the 5 local Orthodox day schools in the South Florida area.
Dear All,
Adar truly proved to be a joyous month for the Jewish Cooperative School. We are thrilled to report that we have secured a phenomenal location that has amenities galore - all conveniently located within NMB. Our location provides a state of the art computer lab with over 15 computers, a soccer field, basketball court, huge playground with amazing climbing equipment, auditorium with stage, enclosed outdoor atrium with picnic tables and room for our children to grow a vegetable garden, full access to a splash and play playground with certified lifeguards for those unbearably hot Florida school days, as well as the opportunity for co-op families to arrange discounted swimming lessons with certified swim instructors after school. To further safeguard our children, the classrooms have surveillance cameras and the City of NMB police department overlooks the playground. Easy drop-off and pick-up as well! We will be located in the North Miami Beach Ronald A. Silver Youth Enrichment Services Center: 17051 NE 19th Avenue. And the icing on the cake is that tuition is substantially less than the recently announced 2010-2011 tuition prices at the local day schools.
Please help spread the word to interested Kindergarten and First Grade families. Space is limited to only 10 children per class.
For more information, please visit our website http://www.jewishcooperativeschool.org/, send us an email at jewishcoop@gmail.com or feel free to call us at 786-541-8527.
[My apologies for my inability to easily put the following information back into the chart it came on] HOW DOES JEWISH COOPERATIVE SCHOOL COMPARE TO THE LOCAL
JEWISH DAY SCHOOL OPTIONS?
2010/2011 Published Rates
SCHOOL A
SCHOOL B
JEWISH COOPERATIVE SCHOOL
Tuition Kindergarten
$ 9,700.00
$ 8,800.00
$7,500.00
Tuition First Grade
$11,950.00
$11,550.00
$7,500.00
Registration Fee
$ 500.00
$ 650.00
$750.00 applied towards the last month of tuition.
Give/Get/Scholarship Fund
$ 1,000.00
$ 1,200.00
N/A
Building Fee
$ 650.00
N/A
N/A
Insurance/Security Fee
$ 350.00
$ 250.00
N/A
Book Fee
$ 175.00
N/A
N/A
TOTAL KINDERGARTEN
$12,375.00
$10,900.00
$7,500.00
TOTAL FIRST GRADE
$14,625.00
$13,650.00
$7,500.00
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Guest Post: Private School or Bust, The Gerim Edition
After writing the post mostly highly commented on post "Private School or Bust", I received a letter from the wife of a sincere convert who wanted to share with the readership the challenges and concerns that families with converts share when it comes to educating their children. Converts have essentially promised to send their children to yeshiva, but perhaps the choice won't be the best one for their children (I know of such a case myself where there were special needs involved that the school couldn't meet), or perhaps it will be completely out of the ballpark financially. I have slightly edited the post, mostly to keep personal details out of the hands of those who might be able to identify the couple in question. Please use your commonsense when commenting. Post follows:
I'm a regular reader the blog and some of the recent activity in the last few posts has prompted an honest evaluation of what Jewish education options we might pursue in the future for our family and how this may affect other choices. We are in our early 30s, have been married for a short time, and do not have children yet. I think our situation raises some other concerns about how much our Orthodox communal leaders refuse to see anything other than yeshivah or day school as a means of delivering Jewish education, and I would love to see this addressed on your blog.
My husband is a ger and I am from an Orthodox home. I went to an Modern Orthodox schools and spent a year in Israel post high school. My husband went to a Catholic school for the earliest grades, but my mother-in-law switched him to the local public school because she was unhappy with the quality of education at the Catholic school. With the help of some sweat equity, my in-laws were able to live in a more expensive neighborhood with well-regarded public schools.
In our most recent discussion about Jewish education prompted by the discussion on this blog, my husband informed me that during his geirut process, the beit din "asked" him if he would send him children to yeshivah/Jewish day school, with the clear indication that there was only one right answer to the question: of course he would! The beit din gave him a very hard time throughout the process for reasons completely unrelated to his kabbalat ol malchut shamayim, and so, my husband did what he did in every case where he felt that the beit din was imposing on him an "illegitimate" condition for geirut: he went along with it, while knowing in his heart that he planned to be an observant Jew, committed to the Torah, but not necessarily promising to engage in every single expectation that this beit din imposed. [And no, my husband did not realistically have other batei din options for overseeing an Orthodox geirut. The current mess of how geirim are treated is a whole other post. I still experience some disbelief that my husband even had the fortitude and love of Torah to make it through, despite facing rude and outright cruel behavior.]
The "Will you send your children to yeshivah?" question is standard operating practice in geirut. This is true for single men and women planning to convert. This true for married people planning to convert. This is true for parents who wish to convert a child that they have adopted. It is the norm in the frum world, and the beit din establishment expects nothing less. They do not want to hear about public schools or charter schools and supplemental Torah education. They do not care if a potential ger or giyoret (or adoptive parents) can not afford yeshivah tuition. Perhaps they would accept homeschooling or co-ops, if an FFB parent or local Rav is involved, but maybe not. I'm sure they haven't even considered more broadly what might happen if a ger has a child - or an adopted child him or herself - has special needs that can't be handled in the frum community.
Right now, if someone wants to convert, they are not merely expected to keep mitzvot and continue learning. Universal yeshivah or day school for children is mandatory. While we explore alternatives for our own individual families and our community at large, I think we need to make ourselves clearer to the establishment: There should be no pricetag on becoming Jewish! Private school is a luxury, and nowhere do the criteria for accepting gerim - either as adults or as children - mandate the need for wealth to afford luxuries. While frum Jews who explore other options worry about their children being shunned from having playdates or shidduchim, other, legitimate gerim are being *forced* to accept this as a pre-condition to being Jewish! This is disturbing, and most people are not even aware that it exists.
My husband assures me that he had the frum equivalent of "crossing his fingers" in his heart if he ever "promised" or appeared to promise to send his future children to yeshivah. He knows that it is extremely expensive, though I was surprised to learn this past week that he really doesn't know just *how* expensive. I think my mother-in-law fell off her chair when I told her! More important, my husband recognizes that there can be more than one way to deliver a quality Jewish education, and that even if we will have the money to afford yeshivah/day school tuition when the time comes (who knows), it might *not* be the best return on the money in teaching our future children true Torah values, knowledge and skills. Furthermore, both my husband and I are unwilling to send children to any school that would teach them blanket negative things about "goyim;" you know, people like my absolutely wonderful and accommodating in-laws. Until we are in a position to decide, we do not know what we will do. But we plan to be creative for our own family, we support communal options that do not demand significant wealth, and we want to speak out for the small community of geirim (adults and children) who are being asked to take on the yoke of yeshivah tuition as the price of entry to our people.
If we have children that we do not send to yeshivah, there may be people who question my husband's geirut. We don't believe in retroactivity in geirut; obviously, there are those who disagree. Our current community is an accepting one, where most people send children to yeshivah, but not everyone does. I'm sure my parents, who do not live near me and did everything they could to send their children to yeshivah, would initially be skeptical. Yet they know that we don't make decisions without doing our homework, so I am optimistic that they would be open to hearing about how we plan to provide our children a Jewish education, and I'm pretty sure they'd even be happy to participate in a process that asks them to devote some of their time learning with their grandchildren, rather than money.
I suppose the "good" news is that no one can question *my* Jewishness, so no one can doubt whether any children we have are actually Jewish. I worry what may happen to a giyoret who shuns yeshivah or day school for her children, even if it comes from financial necessity. I worry what happens to a family that adopts a child, converts him or her, and then can't afford a tuition bill. The Torah is clear on what our obligation to gerim is and this requiring this type of tuition is a form of "oppression."
I'm a regular reader the blog and some of the recent activity in the last few posts has prompted an honest evaluation of what Jewish education options we might pursue in the future for our family and how this may affect other choices. We are in our early 30s, have been married for a short time, and do not have children yet. I think our situation raises some other concerns about how much our Orthodox communal leaders refuse to see anything other than yeshivah or day school as a means of delivering Jewish education, and I would love to see this addressed on your blog.
My husband is a ger and I am from an Orthodox home. I went to an Modern Orthodox schools and spent a year in Israel post high school. My husband went to a Catholic school for the earliest grades, but my mother-in-law switched him to the local public school because she was unhappy with the quality of education at the Catholic school. With the help of some sweat equity, my in-laws were able to live in a more expensive neighborhood with well-regarded public schools.
In our most recent discussion about Jewish education prompted by the discussion on this blog, my husband informed me that during his geirut process, the beit din "asked" him if he would send him children to yeshivah/Jewish day school, with the clear indication that there was only one right answer to the question: of course he would! The beit din gave him a very hard time throughout the process for reasons completely unrelated to his kabbalat ol malchut shamayim, and so, my husband did what he did in every case where he felt that the beit din was imposing on him an "illegitimate" condition for geirut: he went along with it, while knowing in his heart that he planned to be an observant Jew, committed to the Torah, but not necessarily promising to engage in every single expectation that this beit din imposed. [And no, my husband did not realistically have other batei din options for overseeing an Orthodox geirut. The current mess of how geirim are treated is a whole other post. I still experience some disbelief that my husband even had the fortitude and love of Torah to make it through, despite facing rude and outright cruel behavior.]
The "Will you send your children to yeshivah?" question is standard operating practice in geirut. This is true for single men and women planning to convert. This true for married people planning to convert. This is true for parents who wish to convert a child that they have adopted. It is the norm in the frum world, and the beit din establishment expects nothing less. They do not want to hear about public schools or charter schools and supplemental Torah education. They do not care if a potential ger or giyoret (or adoptive parents) can not afford yeshivah tuition. Perhaps they would accept homeschooling or co-ops, if an FFB parent or local Rav is involved, but maybe not. I'm sure they haven't even considered more broadly what might happen if a ger has a child - or an adopted child him or herself - has special needs that can't be handled in the frum community.
Right now, if someone wants to convert, they are not merely expected to keep mitzvot and continue learning. Universal yeshivah or day school for children is mandatory. While we explore alternatives for our own individual families and our community at large, I think we need to make ourselves clearer to the establishment: There should be no pricetag on becoming Jewish! Private school is a luxury, and nowhere do the criteria for accepting gerim - either as adults or as children - mandate the need for wealth to afford luxuries. While frum Jews who explore other options worry about their children being shunned from having playdates or shidduchim, other, legitimate gerim are being *forced* to accept this as a pre-condition to being Jewish! This is disturbing, and most people are not even aware that it exists.
My husband assures me that he had the frum equivalent of "crossing his fingers" in his heart if he ever "promised" or appeared to promise to send his future children to yeshivah. He knows that it is extremely expensive, though I was surprised to learn this past week that he really doesn't know just *how* expensive. I think my mother-in-law fell off her chair when I told her! More important, my husband recognizes that there can be more than one way to deliver a quality Jewish education, and that even if we will have the money to afford yeshivah/day school tuition when the time comes (who knows), it might *not* be the best return on the money in teaching our future children true Torah values, knowledge and skills. Furthermore, both my husband and I are unwilling to send children to any school that would teach them blanket negative things about "goyim;" you know, people like my absolutely wonderful and accommodating in-laws. Until we are in a position to decide, we do not know what we will do. But we plan to be creative for our own family, we support communal options that do not demand significant wealth, and we want to speak out for the small community of geirim (adults and children) who are being asked to take on the yoke of yeshivah tuition as the price of entry to our people.
If we have children that we do not send to yeshivah, there may be people who question my husband's geirut. We don't believe in retroactivity in geirut; obviously, there are those who disagree. Our current community is an accepting one, where most people send children to yeshivah, but not everyone does. I'm sure my parents, who do not live near me and did everything they could to send their children to yeshivah, would initially be skeptical. Yet they know that we don't make decisions without doing our homework, so I am optimistic that they would be open to hearing about how we plan to provide our children a Jewish education, and I'm pretty sure they'd even be happy to participate in a process that asks them to devote some of their time learning with their grandchildren, rather than money.
I suppose the "good" news is that no one can question *my* Jewishness, so no one can doubt whether any children we have are actually Jewish. I worry what may happen to a giyoret who shuns yeshivah or day school for her children, even if it comes from financial necessity. I worry what happens to a family that adopts a child, converts him or her, and then can't afford a tuition bill. The Torah is clear on what our obligation to gerim is and this requiring this type of tuition is a form of "oppression."
Friday, March 05, 2010
Public Service Annoucement: Second Annual Torah Home Education Conference
The Second Annual Torah Home Education Conference will take place on June 13, 2010 from 8 am – 5 pm in Baltimore, MD. There are childcare options for infants – age 3, a day camp for children ages 4 – 10, and a teen girls get together for ages 11 – 17. This is the only event of its kind taking place anywhere in the country, and will be just one day, so don’t miss your chance!
The schedule and brief bios of speakers are below, and if you want more info you can visit http://jewishhomeschooling.wordpress.com/ or be in touch with one of the contact people listed at the bottom. Please share this with anyone you know who may be interested!
Second Annual Torah Home Education Conference Schedule
8:15 registration
9 – 9:15 – Introduction – Mrs. Avivah Werner- “The Road Less Traveled”
9:15 – 10:15 -keynote speaker – Rabbi Daniel Lapin- “And You Shall Teach Them to Your Children – Does it really mean what it says?”
10:25 – 11:15 -
a) Mrs. Susan Lapin – “Life After Homeschooling – What does it look like?”
b) Mrs. Yehudis Eagle – “Teaching Tefilla (Prayer): More than Technicalities”
11:25 – 12:15 – general session - Rabbi Bamberger- “The Challenges In Our Yeshivos”
12:20 – 1:50 Lunch (enjoy fellowship over lunch in the Eating Together Room, browse curriculums in Center for Jewish Education)
1:55 – 2:45 pm -
a) Mrs. Avivah Werner – Home Education on a Shoestring
b) Mrs. Chana Lazaroff – Home Education for the Special Needs Child
2:55 -3:45 -
a) Dr. Ezra Hendel – Teaching Chumash and Rashi
b) Mrs. Malky Adler – Minimizing Outsider Syndrome (women only)
3:55 – 4:45 – general session -
Rabbi Simcha Feuerman – Home Education: The Way of the Future
4:45 – closing
In alphabetical order is a brief bio of our speakers:
Mrs. Malky Adler is the mother of nine children living in Detroit, MI and has been home educating for six years. Her children range in age from infant through high schoolers. She will talk about the challenges of homeschooling when living in a community that views you as an outsider because of your unusual education choices and how to effectively deal with that.
Rabbi Bamberger is an experienced educator with over 25 years of experience. He has served for five years as a high school principal, teaches ninth grade limudei kodesh, and is the rabbi of a shul in Monsey, NY. He has spoken nationally about various aspects of chinuch. He is now homeschooling his youngest child, and will speak from his experience inside the yeshiva system for two and a half decades about the challenges our schools are facing.
Mrs. Yehudis Eagle is the mother of 11 children, several of whom are grown, and has been homeschooling for over 15 years. She has an integrated and holistic approach to home education, and will speak about how to approach tefilla as a home educator.
Dr. Ezra (Russell) Hendel, A.S.A., has taught chumash to homeschooled children from the ages of 5 – 11 and produced over 400 worksheets. He has developed a unique and effective approach to teaching Rashi, is creator of www.rashiyomi.com website, and will give an interactive presentation to help parents teach chumash and Rashi.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin, known world-wide as America’s Rabbi, is a noted rabbinic scholar, best-selling author and host of the Rabbi Daniel Lapin Show on San Francisco’s KSFO. He is one of America’s most eloquent speakers and his ability to extract life principles from the Bible and transmit them in an entertaining manner has brought countless numbers of Jews and Christians closer to their respective faiths. In 2007 Newsweek magazine included him in its list of America’s fifty most influential rabbis. Rabbi Lapin will be our keynote speaker for the conference and will talk about the Torah view of home education.
Mrs. Susan Lapin now is involved full-time in the her husband in his business and writing endeavors, after years of homeschooling their seven children. She is a wealth of practical knowledge regarding home education and family life, and is now the grandmother of children who are being home educated. She will be traveling from Seattle, WA, to share with us her experience and long term perspective on transitioning from home education to schools, yeshivos, seminaries, and college.
Mrs. Chana Lazaroff is the mother of two married daughters and two sons with Down’s Syndrome. She has been home educating them from birth, drawing on her background as an occupational therapist but even more from her ongoing learning about how to help her children reach their potential. She will speak to us about home education for the special needs child.
Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R maintains a private practice specializing in high conflict couples and families. In addition, he serves as Director of Community Mental Health Services at Ohel, and as President of Nefesh International. He is the author of 2 books, numerous professional articles, and along with his wife, a weekly column in the Jewish Press on matters of family relationships, religion, education and psychology. He has also home educated two of his children and will share about creating a dynamic limudei kodesh curriculum and his belief that home education is the way of the future.
Mrs. Avivah Werner is the founder of the Torah Home Education Conference, founder of J-LIFT, a Baltimore area homeschool group, moderator of Torch-d, international listserve for Orthodox homeschoolers, and frequently blogs about home education at www.oceansofjoy.wordpress.com. She has written about home education for national and local publication, and has been home educating for ten years. The oldest of her nine children will be graduating from homeschooling this June. She will share about how to make homeschooling effective without breaking the bank.
For registration – Alisa - apmandel@yahoo (dot) com, or 410-963-2977; or Sara – srayvy@yahoo (dot) com. The advance registration fee is $25 per person, $40 per couple until May 1, 2010. After that, the regular pricing of $50 per person, $90 per couple will apply. So don’t get so busy with Pesach preparations that you miss your chance to save big by registering in advance! You can go to http://jewishhomeschooling.wordpress.com/ for more details.
**We are incredibly fortunate to have the speakers of the caliber we do, and realize that there will be interest in attending from those who aren’t Jewish or interested in homeschooling. As much as I hate to disappoint anyone, this conference is open only for Jewish homeschooling families, or Jewish families interested in homeschooling.**
The schedule and brief bios of speakers are below, and if you want more info you can visit http://jewishhomeschooling.wordpress.com/ or be in touch with one of the contact people listed at the bottom. Please share this with anyone you know who may be interested!
Second Annual Torah Home Education Conference Schedule
8:15 registration
9 – 9:15 – Introduction – Mrs. Avivah Werner- “The Road Less Traveled”
9:15 – 10:15 -keynote speaker – Rabbi Daniel Lapin- “And You Shall Teach Them to Your Children – Does it really mean what it says?”
10:25 – 11:15 -
a) Mrs. Susan Lapin – “Life After Homeschooling – What does it look like?”
b) Mrs. Yehudis Eagle – “Teaching Tefilla (Prayer): More than Technicalities”
11:25 – 12:15 – general session - Rabbi Bamberger- “The Challenges In Our Yeshivos”
12:20 – 1:50 Lunch (enjoy fellowship over lunch in the Eating Together Room, browse curriculums in Center for Jewish Education)
1:55 – 2:45 pm -
a) Mrs. Avivah Werner – Home Education on a Shoestring
b) Mrs. Chana Lazaroff – Home Education for the Special Needs Child
2:55 -3:45 -
a) Dr. Ezra Hendel – Teaching Chumash and Rashi
b) Mrs. Malky Adler – Minimizing Outsider Syndrome (women only)
3:55 – 4:45 – general session -
Rabbi Simcha Feuerman – Home Education: The Way of the Future
4:45 – closing
In alphabetical order is a brief bio of our speakers:
Mrs. Malky Adler is the mother of nine children living in Detroit, MI and has been home educating for six years. Her children range in age from infant through high schoolers. She will talk about the challenges of homeschooling when living in a community that views you as an outsider because of your unusual education choices and how to effectively deal with that.
Rabbi Bamberger is an experienced educator with over 25 years of experience. He has served for five years as a high school principal, teaches ninth grade limudei kodesh, and is the rabbi of a shul in Monsey, NY. He has spoken nationally about various aspects of chinuch. He is now homeschooling his youngest child, and will speak from his experience inside the yeshiva system for two and a half decades about the challenges our schools are facing.
Mrs. Yehudis Eagle is the mother of 11 children, several of whom are grown, and has been homeschooling for over 15 years. She has an integrated and holistic approach to home education, and will speak about how to approach tefilla as a home educator.
Dr. Ezra (Russell) Hendel, A.S.A., has taught chumash to homeschooled children from the ages of 5 – 11 and produced over 400 worksheets. He has developed a unique and effective approach to teaching Rashi, is creator of www.rashiyomi.com website, and will give an interactive presentation to help parents teach chumash and Rashi.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin, known world-wide as America’s Rabbi, is a noted rabbinic scholar, best-selling author and host of the Rabbi Daniel Lapin Show on San Francisco’s KSFO. He is one of America’s most eloquent speakers and his ability to extract life principles from the Bible and transmit them in an entertaining manner has brought countless numbers of Jews and Christians closer to their respective faiths. In 2007 Newsweek magazine included him in its list of America’s fifty most influential rabbis. Rabbi Lapin will be our keynote speaker for the conference and will talk about the Torah view of home education.
Mrs. Susan Lapin now is involved full-time in the her husband in his business and writing endeavors, after years of homeschooling their seven children. She is a wealth of practical knowledge regarding home education and family life, and is now the grandmother of children who are being home educated. She will be traveling from Seattle, WA, to share with us her experience and long term perspective on transitioning from home education to schools, yeshivos, seminaries, and college.
Mrs. Chana Lazaroff is the mother of two married daughters and two sons with Down’s Syndrome. She has been home educating them from birth, drawing on her background as an occupational therapist but even more from her ongoing learning about how to help her children reach their potential. She will speak to us about home education for the special needs child.
Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R maintains a private practice specializing in high conflict couples and families. In addition, he serves as Director of Community Mental Health Services at Ohel, and as President of Nefesh International. He is the author of 2 books, numerous professional articles, and along with his wife, a weekly column in the Jewish Press on matters of family relationships, religion, education and psychology. He has also home educated two of his children and will share about creating a dynamic limudei kodesh curriculum and his belief that home education is the way of the future.
Mrs. Avivah Werner is the founder of the Torah Home Education Conference, founder of J-LIFT, a Baltimore area homeschool group, moderator of Torch-d, international listserve for Orthodox homeschoolers, and frequently blogs about home education at www.oceansofjoy.wordpress.com. She has written about home education for national and local publication, and has been home educating for ten years. The oldest of her nine children will be graduating from homeschooling this June. She will share about how to make homeschooling effective without breaking the bank.
For registration – Alisa - apmandel@yahoo (dot) com, or 410-963-2977; or Sara – srayvy@yahoo (dot) com. The advance registration fee is $25 per person, $40 per couple until May 1, 2010. After that, the regular pricing of $50 per person, $90 per couple will apply. So don’t get so busy with Pesach preparations that you miss your chance to save big by registering in advance! You can go to http://jewishhomeschooling.wordpress.com/ for more details.
**We are incredibly fortunate to have the speakers of the caliber we do, and realize that there will be interest in attending from those who aren’t Jewish or interested in homeschooling. As much as I hate to disappoint anyone, this conference is open only for Jewish homeschooling families, or Jewish families interested in homeschooling.**
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
What Would This Model Look Like in Jewish Day Schools?
There is an article in the NY Post about a Spanish Speaking Chabad principal who is looking to set up a network of tri-lingual (public) schools where 4 teachers facilitate learning in a class of 60 students spanning the grades K-5th. This appears to be a larger and more staffed version than the one-room schoolhouses of old. The teachers will stay with the students from K-5th grade and the hope is that teachers will be able to build more individualized curriculum and build deeper relationships. Additionally, there will be student led learning based on the model used by prep schools like Phillips Exeter Academy. The principal of this school is collaberating on this project.
I find the idea of a one-room school house intriguing, and I have to wonder that even with a low teacher: student ratio of 1:15 (corrected, sorry about that) if the model has hidden efficiencies. Perhaps a classroom where teachers are able to work with the same students for many years to come would help cut down on administration and resource room expenses? Perhaps it would cut back on behavior issues, which often require more staffing and expense to deal with? Perhaps a school that is already small, but has extremely low teacher: student ratios would really be able to benefit from such a model because the the current model of single-grade classrooms requires excess staffing?
Of course, where a particular teacher and student/parent do not gel, the model could be a nightmare, but I find the idea of a large classroom where teachers can work with students for many years on end to have a certain appeal. I also think that frum schools could benefit from teachers who specialize in different subjects (kodesh v'chol) working together under one roof, supporting each other, and ensuring common goals are met. I think the benefit of older students helping younger students is obvious. Perhaps behavior would improve where older students are expected to take a role of responsibility.
Add your thoughts and please indicate your interest as a "consumer" of education.
I find the idea of a one-room school house intriguing, and I have to wonder that even with a low teacher: student ratio of 1:15 (corrected, sorry about that) if the model has hidden efficiencies. Perhaps a classroom where teachers are able to work with the same students for many years to come would help cut down on administration and resource room expenses? Perhaps it would cut back on behavior issues, which often require more staffing and expense to deal with? Perhaps a school that is already small, but has extremely low teacher: student ratios would really be able to benefit from such a model because the the current model of single-grade classrooms requires excess staffing?
Of course, where a particular teacher and student/parent do not gel, the model could be a nightmare, but I find the idea of a large classroom where teachers can work with students for many years on end to have a certain appeal. I also think that frum schools could benefit from teachers who specialize in different subjects (kodesh v'chol) working together under one roof, supporting each other, and ensuring common goals are met. I think the benefit of older students helping younger students is obvious. Perhaps behavior would improve where older students are expected to take a role of responsibility.
Add your thoughts and please indicate your interest as a "consumer" of education.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Co-operatives and Hybrids
On Wednesday, I received two letters from parents asking me to do a post on co-operative arrangements A-SAP. Registrations have arrived in the mailbox and some parents are experiencing price-shock and some are wondering what options might be out there.
From the information I have gathered, cooperative schooling arrangements range in formality as well as price. There are many developed cooperative pre-schools throughout the nation. A quick google search for cooperative preschools will likely lead you to an already existing model in your area. Pricing structures may be based on level of parent participation. E.g., a parent who participates in the school on a bi-weekly basis will pay less than a conventional school. A parent who participates in the school on a weekly basis will pay significantly less than a conventional school. Cooperatives normally provide training to parents who assist in the classroom. The cooperative will hire an administrator, teachers, and some contracted specialists for music or dance.
The same model can be carried into the grade school and secondary school years. On occasion I heard of frum parents arranging a school with paid staff/tutors for their own children. Due to spare enrollments, there is little economy of scale and participation in such a school does not come free. However, in the cases I'm aware of, the price of such schooling has been competitive and the education is tailored to the individual students. Without greater participation it is difficult to sustain an arrangement like this. And such an arrangement may only be available for girls or boys.
Homeschooling Christian families have developed a number of cooperative arrangements for homeschoolers that are worth researching. I have found a number of these programs on line and I am only presenting two just to get the brains churning. The Heritage Homeschool Cooperative in Washington State has over 100 participating families. It meets every Wednesday from 9-2pm where four classes are offered. There is a tuition and materials fee. There are a variety of parent taught classes offered (here is a sample and interested readers can look at all the offerings on the website). Some classes are academic and homework is assigned. Other classes are more extracurricular. The school is K-12, but preschool classes are also offered which is nice for larger homeschooling families looking for a bit of a school experience.
A more formal and intense school experience can be had at a school such as Granite Classical. This school comes with a larger price tag, still a bargain. This particular schools meets twice a week where students are given a classical education (grammar, logic, rhetoric in all subject matter). The schooling days begins at 8:15am with chapel and core subjects end at 2PM and elective courses conclude at 4PM. Unlike cooperatives, where classes are parent lead, this school has a staff drawn (mostly) from outside its parent body. Staff members might be professional lawyers or engineers who look to share their knowledge. This particular school starts at the 3rd grade when children can read. Like other cooperatives, parents must participate in their children's education. I find this hybrid schooling model to be very attractive personally.
There are numerous sources online on parent participatory schooling models. It appears that many churches have been at the forefront of supporting the development of homeschooling and cooperative schooling models. I would recommend that any parents interested in such a model contact churches that host these groups and speak with founders and parents who are interested in sharing their knowledge first hand (perhaps in a neutral location such as a Starbucks). The internet has numerous articles and resources, but there is nothing like a face to face meeting to explore an option. On occasion I run into homeschooling families and have found them to be very willing and interested in sharing. Many of them belong to umbrella organizations which provide some extracurricular opportunities. You would be surprised to find out that many rec centers, gyms, and even businesses have extracurriculars geared towards homeschoolers in the early hours. I imagine that cooperative schooling parents would also be willing to share their experiences and thoughts on cooperative arrangements. I have discovered there is just about every type of cooperative and support model out there. There are homeschooling associations for African Americans, unschoolers, secular homeschoolers, Catholic homeschoolers (my good friend from growing up is a Catholic homeschooler and mom to many). Speaking of development, there are even buyers co-ops for materials.
For those ready to jump in with two feet who want to look at a Jewish model, there is a Los Angeles Yeshiva for boys which has Rebbes and offers a formal sedarim and supervised homeschooling through a charter school program. There is a group of Florida parents who formed a Jewish co-operative preschool and will be expanding their programming to the early elementary grades. The contact email and phone number for more information is in the linked post. The parents have been so kind as to share information with the readers of this blog and I'm sure they would be thrilled to be contacted. Both the Los Angeles Yeshiva and the Florida Cooperative are full time schools, rather than part time cooperatives. In the Florida cooperative the parents take care of the behind the scenes administration as well as some classroom support. Parents involved with the Florida cooperative are dual income in many cases.
Readers, the readers who wrote me regarding cooperatives would like the advice of all who have participated in cooperative agreements. They would like you to share your experiences, pros and cons. Additionally, they would be interested in some of the nitty gritty. Please participate if you have been a part of any cooperative arrangement from a cooperative camp to a cooperative preschool to a cooperative schooling arrangement. This is your chance to share your experiences.
In a future post I will hopefully present from pros and cons I've gleaned from different articles online, etc.
From the information I have gathered, cooperative schooling arrangements range in formality as well as price. There are many developed cooperative pre-schools throughout the nation. A quick google search for cooperative preschools will likely lead you to an already existing model in your area. Pricing structures may be based on level of parent participation. E.g., a parent who participates in the school on a bi-weekly basis will pay less than a conventional school. A parent who participates in the school on a weekly basis will pay significantly less than a conventional school. Cooperatives normally provide training to parents who assist in the classroom. The cooperative will hire an administrator, teachers, and some contracted specialists for music or dance.
The same model can be carried into the grade school and secondary school years. On occasion I heard of frum parents arranging a school with paid staff/tutors for their own children. Due to spare enrollments, there is little economy of scale and participation in such a school does not come free. However, in the cases I'm aware of, the price of such schooling has been competitive and the education is tailored to the individual students. Without greater participation it is difficult to sustain an arrangement like this. And such an arrangement may only be available for girls or boys.
Homeschooling Christian families have developed a number of cooperative arrangements for homeschoolers that are worth researching. I have found a number of these programs on line and I am only presenting two just to get the brains churning. The Heritage Homeschool Cooperative in Washington State has over 100 participating families. It meets every Wednesday from 9-2pm where four classes are offered. There is a tuition and materials fee. There are a variety of parent taught classes offered (here is a sample and interested readers can look at all the offerings on the website). Some classes are academic and homework is assigned. Other classes are more extracurricular. The school is K-12, but preschool classes are also offered which is nice for larger homeschooling families looking for a bit of a school experience.
A more formal and intense school experience can be had at a school such as Granite Classical. This school comes with a larger price tag, still a bargain. This particular schools meets twice a week where students are given a classical education (grammar, logic, rhetoric in all subject matter). The schooling days begins at 8:15am with chapel and core subjects end at 2PM and elective courses conclude at 4PM. Unlike cooperatives, where classes are parent lead, this school has a staff drawn (mostly) from outside its parent body. Staff members might be professional lawyers or engineers who look to share their knowledge. This particular school starts at the 3rd grade when children can read. Like other cooperatives, parents must participate in their children's education. I find this hybrid schooling model to be very attractive personally.
There are numerous sources online on parent participatory schooling models. It appears that many churches have been at the forefront of supporting the development of homeschooling and cooperative schooling models. I would recommend that any parents interested in such a model contact churches that host these groups and speak with founders and parents who are interested in sharing their knowledge first hand (perhaps in a neutral location such as a Starbucks). The internet has numerous articles and resources, but there is nothing like a face to face meeting to explore an option. On occasion I run into homeschooling families and have found them to be very willing and interested in sharing. Many of them belong to umbrella organizations which provide some extracurricular opportunities. You would be surprised to find out that many rec centers, gyms, and even businesses have extracurriculars geared towards homeschoolers in the early hours. I imagine that cooperative schooling parents would also be willing to share their experiences and thoughts on cooperative arrangements. I have discovered there is just about every type of cooperative and support model out there. There are homeschooling associations for African Americans, unschoolers, secular homeschoolers, Catholic homeschoolers (my good friend from growing up is a Catholic homeschooler and mom to many). Speaking of development, there are even buyers co-ops for materials.
For those ready to jump in with two feet who want to look at a Jewish model, there is a Los Angeles Yeshiva for boys which has Rebbes and offers a formal sedarim and supervised homeschooling through a charter school program. There is a group of Florida parents who formed a Jewish co-operative preschool and will be expanding their programming to the early elementary grades. The contact email and phone number for more information is in the linked post. The parents have been so kind as to share information with the readers of this blog and I'm sure they would be thrilled to be contacted. Both the Los Angeles Yeshiva and the Florida Cooperative are full time schools, rather than part time cooperatives. In the Florida cooperative the parents take care of the behind the scenes administration as well as some classroom support. Parents involved with the Florida cooperative are dual income in many cases.
Readers, the readers who wrote me regarding cooperatives would like the advice of all who have participated in cooperative agreements. They would like you to share your experiences, pros and cons. Additionally, they would be interested in some of the nitty gritty. Please participate if you have been a part of any cooperative arrangement from a cooperative camp to a cooperative preschool to a cooperative schooling arrangement. This is your chance to share your experiences.
In a future post I will hopefully present from pros and cons I've gleaned from different articles online, etc.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
A Reply To a Honestly Frum
From Honestly Frum [orange]:
SL, from what I am gathering from reading you and Al and others is you believe that there is no solution to the day school tuition issue and we should simply adapt and send our kids to public school where necessary. I cannot buy nor stomach this answer. I think that there are solutions out there and we must do everything we can to insure our kids have a frum education.
I will once again clarify something: I have NOT recommended sending our kids en masse to public school. My posts on alternative schooling, with the exception of a guest post on virtual public schooling, the posts I have featured on alternatives have not touched on public schooling.
I have featured posts on homeschooling, supervised general ed through a charter school within the confines of a Yeshiva, cooperative schooling, and hybrid schooling in the Christian world.
When I started writing, I focused tuition posts primarily on ways that schools could become more efficient. For each year I've been writing, I've seen (high school) tuition increase over $1000 for each year I've been writing. I've tracked articles from all over the country and the trend here is the trend there. I have yet to see schools announce major restructuring or policy change (forming "school districts" to negotiate with vendors and ensure greater efficiency, offering joint classes between neighboring schools, shrinking administration, implementing minimum tuitions, capping lifetime aid, establishing year round/4 day/morning and afternoon schooling, mixed grade schoolhouses, or other efficiencies that have been tried in other schools).
At a certain point, I have come to more clearly recognize many of the market and social forces at work (someone could write a great PhD behavioral economics dissertation on the subject) and don't believe that the schools are going to lead the charge. I've come to realize changes are going to have to come from the grassroots. Parents who are sending a super-sized family to school for the same price that others are paying for one child, aren't going to lead the charge. Board members under the thumb of donors/directors/Rosh have their hands tied. Parents who are getting a better deal than they would receive in a single priced school aren't going to take up this battle. If anyone is going to take up the battle in the present, it will have to be me and you.
I too believe there are solutions, but I don't believe that those with a thousand reasons why suggested proposals will never work are going to be the movers and shakers. Additionally, the average educator (don't take this as a slam at all educators, I'm just stating an observation based on conversations I've had with those in the field) is generally biased against anything unconventional, be it a mixed grade/one room classroom environment to homeschooling. Heck, just keeping your kid out of pre-school at 2 and 3 years old and skipping camp generates plenty of criticism . . . . . . . .. Meanwhile, my biological clock is ticking. I can't hold off having another child while I wait to see solutions develop.
To me my kids education is far more important than putting an extra 15K away for retirement.
Perhaps you don't have parents or in-laws that are simply unable to keep plugging away at the job, but old age happens and watching parents deteriorate physically and mentally is a reminder to me of the importance of saving for the future.
If you can prove to me that my child will have the same level of observance if I send him to a charter school as if I send him to a Yeshiva day school I'll get behind it but until such a time I cannot bring myself to give my children anything less than a Jewish education in a Jewish environment.
Each of the alternatives I've explored would keep the children in a Jewish environment, although I could see supplemental experiences exposing them to a more diverse crowd.
Perhaps Co-Op and low cost school models work but public school should never be a substitution for yeshiva. At the same time that we have an organization like nechomas yisrael taking kids out of public school and putting them into yeshiva we have people in our communities complaining that yeshiva is too much for them so they are sending their kids to public school.
Kiruv is popular but quite pricey. Perhaps a topic for a future post. Of course we want children desiring a Yeshiva education to have that choice, but so many of our own, already committed families, are curtailing their own family size because of the mess we are in.
Are we not all willing to make any sacrifice, financial or otherwise, to insure our kids get a proper yeshiva education?
For years people have prioritized a Yeshiva education. We sent mom into the workplace. Grandparents helped out. Many people (grandparents too) borrowed against the equity in their home. Others went into credit card debt. Many skipped saving and passed the cost of teaching their children a vocation to the next generation. Now we have people in their mid-20's and 30's who are strapped by their own day care and yeshiva bills + their student loans. We have grandparents with larger mortgages on their home than I do. I think things are just coming to a head.
Your kids might turn out just fine from public school, but there is a much higher chance or assimilation in public school.
Absolutely true. This is why we need a grassroots movement to help create viable alternatives. The right-wing Christian community has established homeschooling networks, fully prepared curriculums, and homeschooling conventions taking place in convention centers. There are hybrid schools and low cost schools. If I were a business-minded educator, I'd open a one room school (I need to find the policy paper I found on re-establishing one room schools in large metro areas for educational and cost benefits. Where is that paper?)
Is this a risk you are willing to take? I sure am not and will spend every last penny I have to do what I can to make sure my kids are raised in a proper Jewish environment.
I think this is the difference between the camps. While I don't know if I have what it takes to homeschool and I have some concerns regarding the viability of this for our family, hence my interest in a more cooperative agreement, I believe that our home is a great environment for our children and that the closer that I keep them, the better off they will be. We might not be the biggest talmudei chachamim, but I'm not afraid to take charge of a greater portion of the chinuch our children receive, be that education for a 3 year old or a 3rd grader. Between the two of us, I do believe that we have what it takes to raise Jewish children. Perhaps this is because my parents both took charge of my Jewish education, weak as it may be, and much of my general education because they thought that too many of the (public school) teachers were too lenient when it came to editing papers. My parents decided that if the teachers weren't going to mark up my papers with enough red ink, that they would take over where the teachers left off. My father supplemented my education by assigning me reading. So, I guess I have a mesorah for taking charge.
And I don't think I need to spend every last penny to raise our kids in a proper Jewish environment. I'm very confident that there will be other parents who are going to be looking for alternatives and that we won't have to go down the path alone.
From Honestly Frum [orange]:
SL, from what I am gathering from reading you and Al and others is you believe that there is no solution to the day school tuition issue and we should simply adapt and send our kids to public school where necessary. I cannot buy nor stomach this answer. I think that there are solutions out there and we must do everything we can to insure our kids have a frum education.
I will once again clarify something: I have NOT recommended sending our kids en masse to public school. My posts on alternative schooling, with the exception of a guest post on virtual public schooling, the posts I have featured on alternatives have not touched on public schooling.
I have featured posts on homeschooling, supervised general ed through a charter school within the confines of a Yeshiva, cooperative schooling, and hybrid schooling in the Christian world.
When I started writing, I focused tuition posts primarily on ways that schools could become more efficient. For each year I've been writing, I've seen (high school) tuition increase over $1000 for each year I've been writing. I've tracked articles from all over the country and the trend here is the trend there. I have yet to see schools announce major restructuring or policy change (forming "school districts" to negotiate with vendors and ensure greater efficiency, offering joint classes between neighboring schools, shrinking administration, implementing minimum tuitions, capping lifetime aid, establishing year round/4 day/morning and afternoon schooling, mixed grade schoolhouses, or other efficiencies that have been tried in other schools).
At a certain point, I have come to more clearly recognize many of the market and social forces at work (someone could write a great PhD behavioral economics dissertation on the subject) and don't believe that the schools are going to lead the charge. I've come to realize changes are going to have to come from the grassroots. Parents who are sending a super-sized family to school for the same price that others are paying for one child, aren't going to lead the charge. Board members under the thumb of donors/directors/Rosh have their hands tied. Parents who are getting a better deal than they would receive in a single priced school aren't going to take up this battle. If anyone is going to take up the battle in the present, it will have to be me and you.
I too believe there are solutions, but I don't believe that those with a thousand reasons why suggested proposals will never work are going to be the movers and shakers. Additionally, the average educator (don't take this as a slam at all educators, I'm just stating an observation based on conversations I've had with those in the field) is generally biased against anything unconventional, be it a mixed grade/one room classroom environment to homeschooling. Heck, just keeping your kid out of pre-school at 2 and 3 years old and skipping camp generates plenty of criticism . . . . . . . .. Meanwhile, my biological clock is ticking. I can't hold off having another child while I wait to see solutions develop.
To me my kids education is far more important than putting an extra 15K away for retirement.
Perhaps you don't have parents or in-laws that are simply unable to keep plugging away at the job, but old age happens and watching parents deteriorate physically and mentally is a reminder to me of the importance of saving for the future.
If you can prove to me that my child will have the same level of observance if I send him to a charter school as if I send him to a Yeshiva day school I'll get behind it but until such a time I cannot bring myself to give my children anything less than a Jewish education in a Jewish environment.
Each of the alternatives I've explored would keep the children in a Jewish environment, although I could see supplemental experiences exposing them to a more diverse crowd.
Perhaps Co-Op and low cost school models work but public school should never be a substitution for yeshiva. At the same time that we have an organization like nechomas yisrael taking kids out of public school and putting them into yeshiva we have people in our communities complaining that yeshiva is too much for them so they are sending their kids to public school.
Kiruv is popular but quite pricey. Perhaps a topic for a future post. Of course we want children desiring a Yeshiva education to have that choice, but so many of our own, already committed families, are curtailing their own family size because of the mess we are in.
Are we not all willing to make any sacrifice, financial or otherwise, to insure our kids get a proper yeshiva education?
For years people have prioritized a Yeshiva education. We sent mom into the workplace. Grandparents helped out. Many people (grandparents too) borrowed against the equity in their home. Others went into credit card debt. Many skipped saving and passed the cost of teaching their children a vocation to the next generation. Now we have people in their mid-20's and 30's who are strapped by their own day care and yeshiva bills + their student loans. We have grandparents with larger mortgages on their home than I do. I think things are just coming to a head.
Your kids might turn out just fine from public school, but there is a much higher chance or assimilation in public school.
Absolutely true. This is why we need a grassroots movement to help create viable alternatives. The right-wing Christian community has established homeschooling networks, fully prepared curriculums, and homeschooling conventions taking place in convention centers. There are hybrid schools and low cost schools. If I were a business-minded educator, I'd open a one room school (I need to find the policy paper I found on re-establishing one room schools in large metro areas for educational and cost benefits. Where is that paper?)
Is this a risk you are willing to take? I sure am not and will spend every last penny I have to do what I can to make sure my kids are raised in a proper Jewish environment.
I think this is the difference between the camps. While I don't know if I have what it takes to homeschool and I have some concerns regarding the viability of this for our family, hence my interest in a more cooperative agreement, I believe that our home is a great environment for our children and that the closer that I keep them, the better off they will be. We might not be the biggest talmudei chachamim, but I'm not afraid to take charge of a greater portion of the chinuch our children receive, be that education for a 3 year old or a 3rd grader. Between the two of us, I do believe that we have what it takes to raise Jewish children. Perhaps this is because my parents both took charge of my Jewish education, weak as it may be, and much of my general education because they thought that too many of the (public school) teachers were too lenient when it came to editing papers. My parents decided that if the teachers weren't going to mark up my papers with enough red ink, that they would take over where the teachers left off. My father supplemented my education by assigning me reading. So, I guess I have a mesorah for taking charge.
And I don't think I need to spend every last penny to raise our kids in a proper Jewish environment. I'm very confident that there will be other parents who are going to be looking for alternatives and that we won't have to go down the path alone.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
A Report from a Hebrew Charter School Parent
It is always interesting to hear from parents who are testing an alternative, so it was nice to see a comment from Mark. I'm just reprinting the comment since the thread has a massive amount of comments already and I'd hate for helpful commentary to be lost in cyberspace.
This year, my wife and I decided to try something different. We took our 3 eldest out of Yeshiva day school (the 2 youngest are still at a Jewish preschool) and enrolled them in the local Hebrew Charter School instead. We also enrolled them in the separate Judaic Studies school in the afternoons in a different building nearby. So far, the results are as follows (in no particular order).
Positives:
1. Even though I hate to mention money first, and even though I admit that if I had a much higher income I would not have taken this step, it is the primary issue. Not having to pay the approximately $45,000 tuition payments (yes, about $4,500 a month, scary!) is a great relief. Especially this year after our income has fallen dramatically (and sadly doesn't appear to be rising anytime soon).
2. Their secular education seems to be quite good. Interestingly enough, our 10 year old, who usually does very well in every subject other than math, is suddenly also doing very well in math (On her first quarter report card she received a 98%/A in math, never having exceeded 90% in math before!). I attribute that sudden improvement in math skills almost completely to an online program that the school district (along with many other school districts) is using. It is shocking to see her rush to the computer in the evening to go through the skill sets in math, the very subject that she always described as "hating". The funny thing is that she still says that math is her worst subject even though he grades in math are comparable to the rest of her grades this year.
3. It is a small school (though slowly growing), so there is a good level of individual attention. For example, our 3'rd grader started with 8 students in her class, and it is now probably up to 9 or 10 students.
4. My kids are exposed to more diversity than they were at their MO day school. There are some African-American kids, and some Jamaican-American kids, and some Hispanic-American kids in their school. And, yes, all students study Hebrew (at various and appropriate levels, of course)!
5. The Judaic Studies program has a "Mitzvah fair" every month or two in which they focus on a particular "midah" and each class creates a display stand and an activity. It's really quite nice and I am very pleased that they are also making time to teach, and focus on, the concept of midot rather than spending all their time only on the typical straight Judaics as is done in many/most day schools.
Negatives:
1. The school is a bit of a drive from our home and we have to leave the house at about 7:15 each morning to arrive a few minutes before 8 for lineup before all the kids go to their classrooms.
2. The Judaic Studies program is run by a much more frum crowd than their previous MO day school was run by. The teachers are relatively young and sometimes teach the kids what I call "nonsense". For example a month or so ago, they taught about ESHE"L, or Achila, Shtiya, Leviya, and how important it is to perform all 3 parts of the mitzvah. Then they go ahead and tell the kids a story that "once a man did the mitzvah of Achila and Shtiya, but neglected the Leviya", and when you take away the Lamed from ESHE"L, you are left with ESH (fire), and because the man didn't complete the third part, his house burned down. This is utter nonsense, and shouldn't be taught at all, and certainly not to young children who often take things literally.
3. The Judaic Studies program isn't quite long enough, not so much because there isn't enough time allocated to it, but because it takes the young, and mostly inexperienced, teachers longer to get the kids to settle down, and because they tend to spend a little too much time on "fun things" like games, shabbat parties, etc.
All in all, we are mostly satisfied with our choice and will continue to reevaluate as the year progresses.
One re-evaluation just took place this month and we have decided to move our kids to a different Judaics program. This one was just too disorganized and the teachers just too young and/or untrained to handle a classroom full of kids.
It is always interesting to hear from parents who are testing an alternative, so it was nice to see a comment from Mark. I'm just reprinting the comment since the thread has a massive amount of comments already and I'd hate for helpful commentary to be lost in cyberspace.
This year, my wife and I decided to try something different. We took our 3 eldest out of Yeshiva day school (the 2 youngest are still at a Jewish preschool) and enrolled them in the local Hebrew Charter School instead. We also enrolled them in the separate Judaic Studies school in the afternoons in a different building nearby. So far, the results are as follows (in no particular order).
Positives:
1. Even though I hate to mention money first, and even though I admit that if I had a much higher income I would not have taken this step, it is the primary issue. Not having to pay the approximately $45,000 tuition payments (yes, about $4,500 a month, scary!) is a great relief. Especially this year after our income has fallen dramatically (and sadly doesn't appear to be rising anytime soon).
2. Their secular education seems to be quite good. Interestingly enough, our 10 year old, who usually does very well in every subject other than math, is suddenly also doing very well in math (On her first quarter report card she received a 98%/A in math, never having exceeded 90% in math before!). I attribute that sudden improvement in math skills almost completely to an online program that the school district (along with many other school districts) is using. It is shocking to see her rush to the computer in the evening to go through the skill sets in math, the very subject that she always described as "hating". The funny thing is that she still says that math is her worst subject even though he grades in math are comparable to the rest of her grades this year.
3. It is a small school (though slowly growing), so there is a good level of individual attention. For example, our 3'rd grader started with 8 students in her class, and it is now probably up to 9 or 10 students.
4. My kids are exposed to more diversity than they were at their MO day school. There are some African-American kids, and some Jamaican-American kids, and some Hispanic-American kids in their school. And, yes, all students study Hebrew (at various and appropriate levels, of course)!
5. The Judaic Studies program has a "Mitzvah fair" every month or two in which they focus on a particular "midah" and each class creates a display stand and an activity. It's really quite nice and I am very pleased that they are also making time to teach, and focus on, the concept of midot rather than spending all their time only on the typical straight Judaics as is done in many/most day schools.
Negatives:
1. The school is a bit of a drive from our home and we have to leave the house at about 7:15 each morning to arrive a few minutes before 8 for lineup before all the kids go to their classrooms.
2. The Judaic Studies program is run by a much more frum crowd than their previous MO day school was run by. The teachers are relatively young and sometimes teach the kids what I call "nonsense". For example a month or so ago, they taught about ESHE"L, or Achila, Shtiya, Leviya, and how important it is to perform all 3 parts of the mitzvah. Then they go ahead and tell the kids a story that "once a man did the mitzvah of Achila and Shtiya, but neglected the Leviya", and when you take away the Lamed from ESHE"L, you are left with ESH (fire), and because the man didn't complete the third part, his house burned down. This is utter nonsense, and shouldn't be taught at all, and certainly not to young children who often take things literally.
3. The Judaic Studies program isn't quite long enough, not so much because there isn't enough time allocated to it, but because it takes the young, and mostly inexperienced, teachers longer to get the kids to settle down, and because they tend to spend a little too much time on "fun things" like games, shabbat parties, etc.
All in all, we are mostly satisfied with our choice and will continue to reevaluate as the year progresses.
One re-evaluation just took place this month and we have decided to move our kids to a different Judaics program. This one was just too disorganized and the teachers just too young and/or untrained to handle a classroom full of kids.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Public Service Annoucement: Jewish Cooperative School (Flordia)
I received this annoucement and am publishing it as a public service. This is the second (formal) cooperative school that I know of. A few months ago I ran an annoucement for a Los Angeles Yeshiva alternative. I am pleased to be able to provide a forum regarding alternatives in education.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
I received this annoucement and am publishing it as a public service. This is the second (formal) cooperative school that I know of. A few months ago I ran an annoucement for a Los Angeles Yeshiva alternative. I am pleased to be able to provide a forum regarding alternatives in education.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JEWISH COOPERATIVE SCHOOL
A Proactive Solution to the Overwhelming Tuition Crisis
Looking to provide a Torah-centered education in an intimate setting for significantly less tuition than a typical yeshiva or day school, a group of parents in North Miami Beach is offering a vastly different model of Jewish education. They have formed the Jewish Cooperative School (JCS). In this model, the school is administrated directly by the parents. The immediate benefits are readily apparent: tuition is reduced and classes are smaller (no class will have more than 10 children). This enables a child-centered curriculum, where the educator can truly focus on each student as an individual. The Cooperative model has existed for decades in the United States. It encourages parents to be more involved in their child’s education by donating time, skills and resources. For example, one parent who is a skilled gardener built a Havdalah Garden with fragrant spices. Each Friday, the students harvest a small bunch of fragrant plants from the garden and bring home scented herbs for the Havdalah ceremony.
“We wanted a high quality, progressive education with smaller classes. And we wanted it to cost less than a typical private Jewish yeshiva or day school,” said one of the founding parents. On almost every level, the Cooperative model makes a lot of sense. After all, a few hundred years ago, in the plethora of small towns throughout Europe, it was common for Jewish families to cooperatively hire a melamed who would be shared by the families.
“We have hand-picked our very own experienced teachers, and ensured that our children are receiving a warm, loving, Torah-based education with high secular subject standards. No one makes a profit - except our children. This is truly streamlining at its best,” said another enthusiastic parent.
One of the most refreshing aspects of this model is that all of the school’s finances are transparent. Tuition goes directly to (1) hiring the most fitting educator, (2) rent, (3) insurance, and (4) supplies. Parents share the cost of each expense. Therefore, with each additional child enrolled, the cost is proportionately reduced for each family.
Now that the model has proven itself to work this year, they have begun plans for beginning a kindergarten and first grade class for the 2010/2011 school year.
“We hope to contribute a proactive solution to the impending tuition crisis while vastly improving the quality of education,” said Daniel Wasserman.
For more information contact them at: JEWISHCOOP@GMAIL.COM
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