Last night, the Yavneh Academy Board passed the budget for the upcoming 2012-13 fiscal year.
I am pleased to report that, thanks to our adherence to a balanced budget, Yavneh Academy is fiscally sound. As a result of hard work and cooperation by Rabbi Knapp, Joel Kirschner,our Finance committee Chairman - Adam Fried, and others, we have once again struck the right balance between educational excellence and fiscal responsibility.
Yavneh broke new historic ground by being the first local Yeshiva Day School to cut tuition last year, and we continue to live up to our reputation for fiscal responsibility and affordable excellence by being the first school in the area to cut tuition two years in a row. The budget includes provisions for continuation of the recent significant cut in Early Childhood tuition (Pre K and Kindergarten) , a $100 tuition cut for grades 1-5 and a freeze on tuition for grades 6-8.
The new budget also provides for a raise for our hardworking faculty, a new Early Childhood Hebrew Immersion Specialist, and, for the first time in our history, a Development Director who will work side by side with Joel Kirschner, Rabbi Knapp, and our Development Committee to improve Yavneh’s fundraising efforts to ensure a Yeshiva Day School education for all who want it.
Great things are happening at Yavneh, and I encourage you to get involved in your children’s school, not only for their benefit, but for the benefit of generations to come.
Wishing everyone a wonderful end of year, and best of luck on the remainder of the academic success,
Eric Fremed
President, Yavneh Academy
Logging you in...
JS (hello) · 675 weeks ago
Wonder how they fit it into the budget. Giving out less scholarships? More donations? Other cost cutting?
spring time · 675 weeks ago
Maybe they should keep tuition where it was and use that money to work on improving their program in order to attract students. At their price, they can't compete with He'atid. With their academic program, they can't compete with Noam or BPY.
Price isn't everything
realist · 675 weeks ago
1. Tuition is already ridiculously high everywhere.
2. Teachers are generally underpaid as it is.
3. Price is not nearly as important to parents as hashkafa and perceived educational excellence.
Cutting tuition by $100 is not going to change anyone's mind about Yavneh one way or another. It is going to be interesting to see how the heatid experiment is going to play out.
Yeshiva_Dad 69p · 675 weeks ago
A lot of parents think Yavneh's academic program is superior to all the other schools. I haven't seen any metric to show any of the schools as being better or worse academically than any of the others. Personally I feel that they are all pretty much the same, since teachers and admins go from one to the other & don't change their methodology when they do so.
I don't think Yavneh was expecting to get an enrollment boom when they lowered tuition $100. Especially when Noam was lowering as well, BPY was keeping it flat, He'atid is opening and some people seem to think that there will be a local Hebrew charter school opening in the fall. The tuition decrease is the result of a realization that parents are suffering under the weight of tuition and they have to try as much as possible to alleviate that burden.
School boards and administrators should be working to serve the needs of the parents and children. There goal should not be to try to increase enrollment as much as possible,.
spring time · 675 weeks ago
Teachers do switch methodologies when they switch schools under the guidance of the schools philosophy & mission and professional development.
JS (hello) · 675 weeks ago
Here's the real questions:
1) Why is Noam or BPY actually academically better (or perceived to be academically better) than Yavneh? I suppose the only real way of measuring this is whether when the kids from the various grade schools enter the same high schools that kids from one school are disproportionately in the higher tracks or the kids from one school have to play catch up.
2) What is the different hashkafa at these schools? I have yet to hear anyone articulate this.
3) What should teachers be paid? I hear all the time they're underpaid. But, what should they be paid?
TheOracle · 675 weeks ago
I find it funny that Yavneh is now embracing hebrew immersion, something BPY has done succesfully from Day 1. BPY's enrollment has been growing year over year. Looks like they are going to try and copy their model to help stop the dwindling enrollment,
George · 675 weeks ago
I think cost plays a factor in the school decision but, unfortunately, it usually comes down to a social decision. The main decision factors for a parent are usually where are my friends sending their kids and where are my kids' friends going. It's unfortunate but from my collection of anecdotal evidence, I would say it's true at least 75% of the time.
??? · 675 weeks ago
600-800 for grades 1-8. Yet they cut Millions from their budget.
Harry · 675 weeks ago
Shul Chatter · 675 weeks ago
Miami Al · 675 weeks ago
There may, or may not, be an academic difference, but solid financial management points in the direction of solid management. If they use the same discipline with their educational management, they should be solid performers.
The Charter Schools in Florida demonstrate this nicely. Charter schools receive 90% of the funding of a district public school, and it's really less, since Charter Schools have to rent space, while District schools are given facilities out of the capital budget, so per-pupil educational funding is probably around 80% or so. Despite this disadvantage, they generally perform better than district schools. There have been plenty of mediocre charters, but their charters don't get renewed so the average creeps up.
In the district system, good teachers get choice assignments, so they pick schools in rich areas with better students. Bad teachers get shuffled to schools in bad areas with worse students.
Yes the day schools are outperforming Teaneck schools, but are they outperforming public schools with a more comparable socio-economic parent base? Teaneck has diverse income ranges, but it appears that Modern Orthodox Day Schools have sucked out a pick part of the upper-middle class families from the school system.
If they are cutting educational benefits to fund a tuition cut, they are likely going to enter a death spiral. But if they are cutting costs through sound management, they are likely able to offer an improving education at lower costs.
Good luck to all families and schools, regardless of methodology or financial situation. It is positive than in the 3 years or so people have been venting/blogging, the schools are starting to separate. Clearly Moriah is trying to move up-market, and Yavneh is attempting to grow in the middle market. The best thing that could happen to Teaneck, economically, is to see the schools ACTUALLY offer differentiated products in matters of substance, not dress code.
Mark · 675 weeks ago
Go Yavnah · 675 weeks ago
What Yavnah is working on is impressive. They have committed themselves to more fundraising, they focus on strong academics and quality teachers, while trying to tighten the belt financially.
My only concern is that 15k+ per child may still be too much for the average family in town. The system was so out of hand when Yavnah made some of the boldest moved in the industry, and some are trying to keep up with it, but is it too little and / or too late? Will 15k win over 17k? Or, are both price tags just out of touch with what most families can afford to pay? I have spoken to several HeAtid families and they hope HeAtid can freeze tuition right where it is long-term, because once things are north of 10k, many are downloading scholarship applications and the whole cycle starts over again. Problem is...for 9k, if donations don't keep pouring in, can He'Atid match what Yavnah has been offering all these years and continues to do so?
fooey · 675 weeks ago
They are running into so many unanticipated expenses right now. They also are not able to put as many kids in a class as they originally anticipated at this price point. The founders are not educators and don't know what they don't know until it comes up.
Yavneh may be slightly lower and committed to fundraising - if they don't improve the little personal details, where children are treated as children and not "stats" and "percentages" - they will continue to loose potential students to BPY & Noam