He'atid sent out the following letter (cropped). I think Ora will be a great addition. From what I hear she was very well liked and very productive at Bat Torah. And it's nice to hear lots of parents are willing to take a chance on a new school with a new model.
Dear Parents,
Yeshivat
He'Atid has been making tremendous progress over the past few months, in
preparation for our Fall 2012 opening. Rabbi Gralla is in the process of
interviewing dozens of fabulous educators; we hope to issue an announcement
shortly about some of these new hires. On the operations front, we are
succesfully preparing the building on South Washington Avenue and gaining all
needed certifications. We're
thrilled to announce that due to increased demand, we plan to open a third
pre-K! Please let your friends and family know that there are
still spots available.We are extremely pleased to welcome Ora Kornbluth to the Yeshivat He'Atid family. As Director of Business and Operations, she will be handling all of the day-to-day operations of the school. Ora brings to Yeshivat He'Atid nearly two decades of experience working in Jewish day schools. She worked for many years as the Director of Student Activities at Bat Torah Flatow Yeshiva High School in Paramus, N.J, where she had administrative responsibilities. She has also served as the COO of Sensation NY, a pediatric OT and sensory gym located on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. For several summers, she has worked as an Assistant Head Counselor for Camp Regesh. A sports lover at heart, Ora is an Official Statistician for CBS Sports and is part of the game day support staff for the National Football League. She currently serves as a Councilwoman representing the borough of Bergenfield, N.J. She holds a bachelor of arts in economics from Yeshiva University.
Logging you in...
Mark · 684 weeks ago
JS (hello) · 684 weeks ago
Not a slight at Ora (who I don't know at all) or He'Atid, but I find their bio of her to be hilarious and indicative of the eccentricities (to put it nicely) of the Orthodox world. It's just funny that you hire someone as a Director of Business and Operations who has been working in schools for 2 decades and you mention that she's also a counselor at a camp.
Miami Al · 684 weeks ago
It also mentions that she loves sports and has a job of some kind doing that, and a part time political position. Seems like quite an impressive resume actually.
Guest · 684 weeks ago
3 pre-k classes is interesting, but without seeing the enrollment figures from other schools, it is hard to make definitive statements.
What would make me nervous is the lack of any announcement about faculty.
Yeshiva_Dad 69p · 684 weeks ago
-YD
guest 4 · 684 weeks ago
Rachel Distenfeld is - they hired her months ago
anon613 · 684 weeks ago
Do you suggest the school have no one in the office to run the place, except for the principal? Whatever you think the title means, it is simply the 2nd person in the office to do everything that the principal does not do.
Did you expect them to print the names of the teachers they are hiring? It is February. You insinuate that they are not able to hire teachers, but maybe the teachers do not want to be harassed by their current employers. Would you tell your boss that you are leaving in 8 months from now?
Mark · 684 weeks ago
Yes. In most schools, teachers have to sign their next-year contracts between 1-Feb and 1-March.
411 · 684 weeks ago
Heatid will have 6 classes
why do they need a:
Head of School
Early Childhood Director
Director of Operations
Secretary/billing person
This seems way overstaffed for 100-120 kids.
Seems like since they have the seed money now, they are spending recklessly.
Let's do a guessing game on the math:
110 kids x $8000 = 880000
-175k rent
-150k head of school
-75 k EC Director (a bargain)
- 70K a class x 6 classes for staff (conservative, w/o benefits) = - 420K
That leaves 60K for the Director of operations, liability insurance, all supplies, utilties, secretary/billing, tech support, consultant fees, specialty classes, cleaning staff/maintenance, licensing fees and inspections, etc etc.
How exactly is this tuition sustainable? Seriously. Why does the community need to subsidize a 6th school, and at a heavy level than the others????
Yeshiva_Dad 69p · 684 weeks ago
-YD
George · 684 weeks ago
Also, who said anything about an Early Childhood director. I'd be very surprised if they hired one right now. So thats already an additional $215k extra from your estimate. Also, there may actually be more than 20 kids in the first grade and Kindergarten so that would be extra as well.
411 · 684 weeks ago
anon613 · 684 weeks ago
Guest · 684 weeks ago
TeM · 684 weeks ago
JS (hello) · 684 weeks ago
No one would be pulling up 990's from the legacy yeshivas and complaining about salaries and number of administrators, etc. if tuition was $8k.
BC Doc · 684 weeks ago
The school said they would be announcing new hires shortly. As a new school with an innovative curriculum, people need to be in place well ahead of September.
If they can do it all with tuition at $8k, go ahead. But having the second person hired be called "director of operations" who has 20 years experience sounds like a slippery slope to legacy school status
the real guest · 684 weeks ago
A more telling sign is their lack of teachers. It is simply scary for anyone in the educational world to see that they are missing virtually their teaching staff in mid-Feb. Schools are not like businesses; its a samll world, and teachers let their current employers know they are leaving by this time. Why would any good teacher give up a established job to take one with a start up school? I can only think of one reason, and thats if heatid vastly overpays. Of course if they do that, how is tuition going to be 8 grand?
Mark · 684 weeks ago
Did all the other BC schools announce their 2012-13 lineup of teachers yet? I know my kids school (a legacy school) hasn't.
you cannot run a school in Bergen County at this tuition
I guess we'll find out over the next few years.
tesyaa · 684 weeks ago
CJ Srullowitz · 684 weeks ago
If you need someone to "cut the checks & deposit incoming checks" then get a parent to VOLUNTEER. I'd do it if my kids' school asked me. Or get an intern. Once you start in with "Director of..." you're on the same well-travelled road as the legacy schools.
Yeshiva_Dad 69p · 684 weeks ago
The school will have income & expenses of about a million dollars the first year. Fully built out it will be between 5-10 million per year. Bookkeeping for a business like that is a full-time job. You expect someone to do it for free?
Yeshiva_Dad 69p · 684 weeks ago
Miami Al · 684 weeks ago
There seems to be a lack of understanding that these schools are multi-million dollar organizations. They need proper controls, financials, etc., like any small business in that range. Dismissing budgeting and financing as "cut the checks and deposit incoming checks" is extremely obnoxious.
You have payroll, benefits, collections, etc., you have a 10-15 person staff, a $1+ budget, etc. They want a parent to volunteer or have an intern run a million dollar organization?
A big part of WHY the schools are in trouble is a lack of professional management. You need a QUALIFIED bookkeeper and finance person once you hit these numbers. You lose tons of money from not paying attention. What you don't need is tons of middle management instead of leveraging the people you have.
BC_Doc 2p · 684 weeks ago
You are correct. There is a definite need for professional management within our schools. However, the resume of the person highlights very little experience in professional financial management.
each school need an executive director, someone who is the corporate head, handling both day to day and strategic planning for the future. This should be someone from a finance/accounting background, not director of student activities.
What worried me was that Heatid said we will do it different and better and it sounds like much of the same.
anon613 · 684 weeks ago
I am a bit confused on why someone who handles day-to-day activities needs to have a finance background. Much of what goes on is not related to money (i.e. making sure the busing is working, the custodial staff, electricity, copy machines, arranging substitutes, etc). I did not read that her role was "student activities" - I read that she is handling everything other than "educational".
You can be worried when you hear them hire an assistant principal (or 3). Simply having a principal (handling the education) and having a "COO" handle everything else, sounds very wise.
BC_Doc 2p · 684 weeks ago
Now if the person will just do day to day, who is doing financial. The principal? Or like legacy schools will they hire someone else?
Miami Al · 684 weeks ago
What do you mean by financials? Are you talking MBA-style budgets? I presume that the board is controlling this at this point. Do you mean bookkeeping and controls? That's not formal accounting, that's common sense and process following... i.e. someone that IS a CPA and a parent can spend 4-8 hours setting up things, then the COO person keeps it going, and review for 2 hours/month.
An executive director is another thing. It's a much higher salary than "director of operations" which is a junior title. That means someone in charge of organizational levels. A DoO is a lower level COO-type, but in a school means responsible for everything that doesn't involve imparting knowledge into a small child's head.
afzal · 301 weeks ago