With only about two weeks left to the new school year, there are between 10 and 15 high school girls who still have nowhere to go. (Contrary to popular belief that there are over 30 without a place). Many readers have asked us what the status is with these girls and what has been done this far by community activists. On Friday, TLS spoke with several Askonim involved who said that they are working around the clock with the school principals and Menahelim to resolve the matter as quickly as possible-and "Baruch Hashem, there is progress". Last year, the Roshei Hayeshiva Shlita prevented all girl's schools from opening until all students were settled. We will keep you updated with any further developments.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Up To Fifteen High School Girls Remain Without A School
With only about two weeks left to the new school year, there are between 10 and 15 high school girls who still have nowhere to go. (Contrary to popular belief that there are over 30 without a place). Many readers have asked us what the status is with these girls and what has been done this far by community activists. On Friday, TLS spoke with several Askonim involved who said that they are working around the clock with the school principals and Menahelim to resolve the matter as quickly as possible-and "Baruch Hashem, there is progress". Last year, the Roshei Hayeshiva Shlita prevented all girl's schools from opening until all students were settled. We will keep you updated with any further developments.
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223 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 223 of 223I think many people would agree that ones right to be enrolled in any school is predicated on their abiding by the accepted norms of that school . If they move into a town like Lakewood where the norms ( at least in most schools ) are a certain mode of dress and a certain hashkofah regerding tznius ,kollel ,etc .,then if they dont conform to those norms ,they have forfeitede their rights to be accepted to those schools . Maybe somebody will open new schools that conform to different norms ,where they will be welcome .
There should be at least one school that is both excellent internally and inclusive externally, but there is not. The shame is that the exclusivity is not only to tznius issues, but to grades issues as well.
As Avraham Avinu said, rak ein yiras Elokim bamakom hazah.
anon 6:51 pm
Something doesnt jive .
If there are 450 kids there must be hundreds of b students and dozens of Cs and Ds If there is so much emphasis on grades ,how come only 10 have no school .and probably some of those 10 I might assume are issues other than grades .
So it looks like hundreds of kids with weak grades got into schools this year and every year .
First of all, there were much more than 10-15 excluded. There were very many girls (I heard 70) that did not get acceptance letters. The 10-15 mentioned seem to be girls that were not yet placed. (See previous posts on this point.)
Secondly, some girls were accepted as siblings or with pull.
There definately is an exclusionary measure towards weaker grade girls. In the end, these girls and the others will all most likely be included, but the schools are, more than anything else, trying to put up an elite image, at the expense of innocent children and their families.
Their cheshbonos will fail because they are not leshem shomayim. Already, some have lost their kovod...
Well I heard that originally there were 50 and that most of them were people that could have gotten into some school but only wanted to go somewhere else . So they dont count as non acceptance to me .
Just shows that neither you nor I really know the truth . Everybody here ,including myself just feeds on rumors started by some bored people .Only the Vaad and the schools really know whats going on
Bottom line the only true fact that we do know is that there are definitely hundreds of Bs Cs and Ds and Fs and with minor exception they all got into school . You want to put a negative spin on tyhat by conjecturing that all the weak kids had pull and I put a positive spin on it by saying that look ,they were all accepted somewhere .
So your thesis is definitely a little shakey
The fact is that there were quite a few girls that did not get acceptance letters because of grades and nothing else.
Puting grades above yiras shomayim is an avlah.
I also heard that most of the problems this year were because of people wanting to go where they were not wanted rather than going where they were wanted .
anon 8:39 pm
and where exactly do you get your facts . I guess the bloggers comments are real sources for the unadulterated truth . I heard that most of the non acceptances were caused not by grades ,but by parents not applying to the schools that had room . Your comments based on hearsay just serves to get girls upset. They may not have been taken because there was no room in the school their parents appliud to and now you make them feel that its their grades thats the reason ,when its probably not true .
Im reading some of these comments . It seems like nobody really knows what the truth is and everything is based on rumors .
There is one group that will use those rumors to put the most negative spin and bash the schools ,no matter what .
There is another group that puts a positive spin and is dan lekaf zchus .
Let us try to understand the rules of the game of getting your child into a school in Lakewood. I say "a school" because many people can tell you horror stories about their elementary school experience as well.
1)The administrators of all the schools dislike each other & refuse to cooperate with each other; some of the high school administrators also do not get along with assorted elementary school principals. Therefore, a girl whose older sister went to another school will automatically be rejected. A girl whose older sisters went to DIFFERENT schools will find herself rejected by all schools, because they don't "owe her anything". Girls from certain elementary schools are less likely to be accepted by certain high schools because of the animosity between them.
2)They all fear the loud-mouth threatening parents, whether or not these are tuition-paying parents. They will reject girls from certain families because existing families in their school dislike them. As we have seen this can go on in PLAY GROUP, with parents threatening to pull their children out if a certain child is not KICKED OUT OF PLAY GROUP (before it starts).
3)Related to #2 above are the parents who beg, plead & annoy the administrators until their child is accepted. Because this method works so well, the quieter more aidel parents are often the last ones in.
4)Contrary to the misinformation given at the Asifa, all of the high schools are not the same. Only 2 schools have a class which teaches Chumash & Navi in English. THe other schools pride themselves in being difficult & exclusively for "Aleph plus" students. The number of less-than-aleph-plus students does not fit in with the number of classes for them.
5) Because there is more demand than supply, the schools can discriminate at will. Divorce in the family is taboo, an older sibling with problems "passuls" a girls, tznius is thrown around as an excuse for rejection. I say "thrown around" because girls who are not necessarily up to tznius standards are accepted if they are related to the principal, have older siblings in the school, or someone owes their grandfather a favor. The "tznius defense" is often just an excuse.
6) The vaad may or may not be well-meaning, but they have no power. The administrators will not listen to them. Again, they must resort to threats & pressure to resolve the issues. While they are negotiating with the schools, there is no one giving encouragement or chizuk to the families who have not been accepted to any school.
7) All of these schools are privately owned, & not one of the administrators is a volunteer. Tuitions cannot be raised because of the aforementioned loud-mouth complainers (see #2 above). However, if tuitions are too low, schools cannot run properly & certainly cannot expand to meet the needs of a growing community.
Dear 8:39 pm: "I heard that most of the non acceptances were caused not by grades ,but by parents not applying to the schools that had room"
My daughter was not accepted because of grades, & every single school says they do not have room. There are only 6 high schools, you can call each one & ask them.
to anon @ 9:10 pm
I know many nice quiet people in Lakewood and they have all gotten in to schools nicely wqithout any problems . I think that is true for about 95 to 98 % of the population . I would imagine that because of the shortage of school space , in many cases ,its the loudmouths and trouble maker parents you refer to that the schools give a hard time to when they are short on space . The average parent does not get treated like your description .
to anon 9:10 pm
You are so wrong on most counts . Arelative of mine went to open houses at quite a few of the high schools ,including the older more established ones . In response to her questions ,they ALL said that their ratio of aleph to average to weak students is the same as the ratio in any of the elementary schools . They ALL said that they have a number of very weak students that they work with and that they have many average students . We also heard these rumors about schools claiming to have only Aleph Plus ,but it was clearly disproven ,directly from quite a few of the principals . There was not one school that claimed to be superior ,or have more Aleph students than any other . So this is a typical Lakewood myth ,that is propogated by those who didnt get into one school or another .
My relatives also found that every school has students from EVERY elementary school ,so you are also wrong on that point . The only exception is that there are certain elementary schools that have High Schools under the same ownership ,so most of that elementary school goes on to their high school .
It is true that siblings are generally accepted prior to non siblings ,but that is a credit to the schools . I am sure that it would be better for the schools to be free to choose the best students rather than take their siblings , but out of Hakoras hatov to their siblings ,they give them preference in most situations .
I also know There are cases where older sisters have gone to different schools ,so you are wrong on that one also .
Nobody at the Asifa said all the schools are exactly the same . What was said was that all generally teach the same type of subjects ,and many of the schools even share teachers and that they are all good schools for fine Bnos Yisroel to attend . Only somebody very stupid can think that every school is exactly the same . It is important that schools be a little different ,as my daughter might need a little different type of school than my neighbor and the more schools we have ,the more choice there is .
It sounds like you are one of those "complainer parents " that you describe ,who had problems getting into schools ,so you decided to concoct some off the wall theories to bashmutz our choshive town .
Wow.
It is amazing how people are allowed to make up "bobo maises " and bashmutz dozens of schools ,just because they had a personal problem with their kids ,which in all likelihood was caused by themselves being tough and picky .
to 9:10pm
You claim that tutions can not be raised because of a few problem parents .
I would guess that in order to have enough money to properly pay staff and constantly build and expand ,the high school tuition would need to be close to 8,000 to $ 9,000 dollars . There is no way you are going to get even half of that in Lakewood , By the time people in Lakewood have kids in high school ,they generally have large families and can barely make ends meet . Forget about expansion . I doubt the schools collect enough to pay their teachers .
My sense is that all the complainers commenting here are the few parents who are a loud minority of those few that couldnt get their kids into school because of the parents behavior
it is so nice to see that there are many school officials on here obviously.you can write all the propoganda you want, but in the end everyone that has ever been rejected from a school(and there are many, and there are some very nice families with very nice, good children)knows the truth.the emporor has no clothes.i myself am not angry anymore .i just feel bad for all of those that are lying to themselves that they are doing what is best for everyone.and for those of us that are left to suffer through no fault of our own
I dont know any school official so I have no reason to defend them . But if what I hear is true that there are not enough schools in your town of Lakewood ,then how can you blame them for that ? Isnt there some kind of organization that is responsible for making sure there are enough schools for all the Shomer Shabbos families? Why are the school administrators being blamed for this organizations failings to do their job ?
To Harry
You are obviously not from Lakewood .
There is no such organization . Most parents just sit back and assume that by the time their children need a school ,some individual altruistic person will open up a school ,and undertake all the financial responsibilities for running the school ,building a new building ,paying teachers etc . Then when it comes to paying tuition ,these same parents pay a reduced rate which is not ebough to cover the budget .
By some miracle the system works for the most part as there are enough schools for ALMOST everybody .
Because the bith rate is so high there needs to be new schools opened almost every year . Therefore there is always a small shortage of classroom space and some parents find themselves racing around trying to find a school with space for their child .
These parents are the ones that you will find complaining . Although you are right that the school administrators are not at fault for not having built more schools ,they are the only target for complaint . There really is no other body for the unfortunate parent to complain to so he takes out his frustrations on the guy that sent him a letter telling him there is no space for his precious child .
Any sane person will agree that the system is broken .It doesnt really make sense for thousands of people with children to sit around and assume that some anonymous person will decide to make a school and that there will be enough of those people and schools to accomodate the rapid growth . It doesnt make sense that these parents dont get together and form committees and organizations to create the infrastructure and schools needed for THEIR children .
But thats how it is .
Pretty amazing . It sounds like the system isn't broken . It sounds like there is no system . I guess you guys rely on miracles and it somehow seems to work .
I guess a parent should not assume that after living here for twenty years and having no tznius issues that there should be a school with space for his child. I guess that's just to much to ask.
The truth is that the girls will be placed and room will be found, so why all the gehenom and elitism.
It's a zechus and a responsability to have a school. If all the girls that need to be placed can't be, then you need to look for solutions, not to close (or half close) your doors, after taking your crop.
Many parents that are rejected each year are typically the ones that pay full tuition and then some. Many I know pay it in advance. I for one am not rich do not drive a fancy car have not gone on a vacation in 12 years and have never asked for a discount nor paid late. I support all my schools over and above my abilities. I believe that hashem will give me schar for all I can do. But to expect me to start a school because there is just no room for my daughter after I have lived here over 20 years and after all I have done?. I never refused a request from any school. I have many friends with a lot more money than me that now refuse to give to the schools that rejected us. I told them to give anyway but now they have a great excuse not to. you shot yourselves in the foot with the way you treated us. I can take rejection but the attitude ,the rudeness the lies ,the putting the blame on others. I was in chinnuch. I know it is a thankless. Job. But there are parents that appreciate having a dedicated teacher to help raise their child. unfortunately many good parents get treated badly as much as many good teachers do. Our child will probably have an exceptionally great school to go to that is perfect for her. And the honest truth is that all of the troubles that we went through was probably the only way we would have gotten there. But the way we were treated was inexcusable. Without hitler ther e would be no current eretz yisroel and probably no lakewood mir or chabad as it is today. But he is not getting schar for what he did stop telling others that they should be responsible to open schools.trust me if I opened a school you wouldn't go to it and neither would your friends which would leave us with a name as the school for "the lessere mentchen" and then I can blame you for not supporting my school because you only want the "frummer" school. So it seems there will always be someone to blame. But please stop insulting me and many others who pay above our tuition raise or children instilling in them good middos,are partners with our schools,study with our kids,make sure their homework is done and never ever complain about other parents or children in their schools. We are all that and more and you won't have the zchus of having us in your school.I am looking forward to paying my tuition in the new school my daughter will be going to.there is no bill that makes me happy when I pay it. I will try my best to do teshuva this month for all the bad things I have said about so many people. I may even bring myself to ask mechila from a few. Let's see how many will be calling me. You know my number. I'm the parent you insulted. I'm sure there was only one. Ksiva vchasima tova
and now as this topic gets pushed to the next page and all comments will be sent deep into cyberspace let us all tkae a moment to reflect and think about how nothing got done,nothing changed and nothing will.
UNLESS THE SCHOOLS:
1. at least take upon themselves to be honest with the parents.
send out acceptance or polite rejection letters to everyone within two months of applying.
2.try to talk to one another and get along to find a school for difficult girls or families.leave out well meaning askonim that only complicate the issue.
3. tell each parent what you are looking for before they apply and take a test.you would be surprised how many parents would appreciate to be told ahead of time so they can make contingency plans
4.never ask an extreme favor from someone if you know they may want to send their daughter to your school and she is not cut out for it.unless you tell them honestly in advance that you cannot promise the favor in return.you would be shocked by how many would do it anyway with a smile.
5.and never take a girl into school that you don't want and then treat her badly.the ramifications for doing such a thing are much too great.
AND PARENTS
1.please stop falling into the trap of "i only want the best school for my daughter" be realistic about what she is capable of academically.and dont hound the schools and call them rashoim as long as they tell you the facts about what they require.
2.always pay your tuition before anything else other than food.if you cant you must go and collect or borrow.lakewoods tuitions are so low because everyone is expected to pay.
3.if you can afford to pay a higher tuition by all means pay it.dont wait for the schools to beg you for it.if you can drive a brand new lexus as if you live in lawrence then you can pay at least half the tuition they pay. which would come out to be about 8000 dollars a year.
4.never tell a school to reject another child or you wont attend-it is rishus and i dont think looked kindly upon by our religion.
5.follow all the rules the school sets forth.dont play games with the rules.except internet of course, that is a dash bo rabim at this point on both sides it seems.
i hope this will be the last post on this topic as i cannot see any point here that can be argued on.
and if all will follow these rules we can live happily ever after as this topic turns to the next page,to be forgotten till next year when we hopefully will not start all over again.
a git gebentcht yur
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