Yeshiva Sanity: Abstaining from SACS for Another Year

Monday, July 16, 2012

Abstaining from SACS for Another Year

It's official: Teaneck Patch reports that the State has given the official Kibosh to a fall opening for the Shalom Academy Charter School. Board of Trustees Acting Commissioner wrote:

"The Board of Trustees and founders of Shalom Academy Charter School have not only failed to meet the necessary statutory and regulatory requirements to gain final approval, but have also not demonstrated overall leadership and organization capacity,"

They could try again next year or they can do the decent thing & move aside & let someone else with some management skills try to open a Hebrew charter in BC. If they do decide to try again, hopefully parents will make sure to "double register" & not accept any statements that say everything is rosy & we just need to take care of one small paperwork item & we're almost ready for an opening the next year.

What's that expression? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on you. Fool me three times...

[Update: Bergen Record/Teaneck Suburbanite reported on it as well. Apparently the founder hung up on a reporter. Classy]

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Poor Leadership · 662 weeks ago

There has been poor leadership since day one handling SACS. The Rabbis in town have shown poor leadership in making any real headway with the out of control tuition and infastructure of the "system". Honestly, the rank and file family in town is quite fed up. Families feel they have a choice of "so-so" overpriced yeshivot or go to a below average public school system and hire private tutors to work with children at home on LK - overall, situation is grave. I dont think the rabbis take it seriously.

1 reply · active 662 weeks ago

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CJ Srullowitz · 662 weeks ago

How do you define "overpriced"? What, in your opinion, is the appropriate price for a yeshiva's dual curriculum education, and how do you arrive at that figure?

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What a Shame · 662 weeks ago

I've said from day 1 that the people in charge of SACS were incompetent and would never get the school off the ground. Even if they did manage to open somehow, how can you possibly think they'd provide even a 3rd rate education? Look at the difference between SACS management and every other Hebrew charter school. What a shame. They not only ruined SACS, they ruined any chance of getting a much needed Hebrew charter in Bergen County.

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guest · 662 weeks ago

Everyone in the BC area is quick to point fingers to blame everyone quickly.

But the real blame goes to the Teaneck Englewood establishment jewish/not jewish/ religious/non religious that fought this every single step of the way behind the scenes, using every single tactic imaginable. Remember, the State Senator, Ms. Weinberg who is passionately against this Charter School is now the Senate Majority Leader. That carries allot of weight Statewide. The various town zoning boards made it practically impossible for the school to ever open in an acceptable location. The anti-charter movement got lucky here by finding the perfect storm of having liberal jewish opposition to a hebrew charter, having black anti-semitic opposition to a hebrew charter and having orthodox jewish opposition to a hebrew charter, without having the backing of a SINGLE local state representative and practically no support from Englewood or Teaneck politicians as well.

Its selfish to blame the people that actually have worked on this for the past 3 years. I don't see anyone else getting off their butts and doing something about this again.

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Yeshiva_Dad 69p · 662 weeks ago

guest,

This was rejected by the State. Not Teaneck or Englewood. The same State that's been very pro-charter school since Christie came into office. New charter schools have been added each year, including 9 this year.

As far as other people getting off their butts take a look at He'atid for a contrast. They also had opposition to their founding by other yeshivot. They didn't have to deal with the local municipalities as much but they also had to raise a lot of money. They held many parlor meetings so that everyone knew what was going on. They actively encouraged people to get involved and they got the job done. At SACS apparently even the Board members didn't know what was going on. And the lead founder was impossible to ever communicate with. That's really not a way to garner trust, either with the Jewish community or with the towns.

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Bubba Gump · 662 weeks ago

We were ready to send our children to charter school last year and after getting shtupped in that debacle, vowed never to go with SACS as long as the current manager was ruining things (I'd say "management" instead of "manager", but really Bacharach was the only one running the show).

So sad for all those who were hurt (either for the first time or if they were naive enough, the second time) and looking for a viable alternative.

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Dan · 662 weeks ago

While the comments regarding local opposition from different groups with different agendas are largely on point, the fact as stated already is that this idea was finally killed by state level officials who are as pro-charter school as can be. Rafi Bachrach was approached multiple times by potential parents who were eager and willing to donate time and effort. He has a lot to answer for..

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Bubba Gump · 662 weeks ago

We were ready to send our children to charter school last year and after getting shtupped in that debacle, vowed never to go with SACS as long as the current manager was ruining things (I'd say "management" instead of "manager", but really Bacharach was the only one running the show).

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What a Shame · 662 weeks ago

Does anyone know anything about Bachrach? He comes across very unfavorably every time his name ends up in the news or in comments. What's the guy's deal?

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guest · 662 weeks ago

for those who cant afford the local yeshivot or are just interested in other options you may want to check out the Teaneck community charter school. It is a k-8 school with 17 students per section and only 2 sections per grade. School is located in a beautiful state of the art building on chestnut street and boasts a solid academic record. If you are interested you must submit your childs name by november for the lottery.

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Sad · 662 weeks ago

Bachrach is a strange and sad case. I certainly thought he seemed a nice guy at first, and wrote a meaningful check to help the cause. But (the check aside) he subsequently refused all offers of help from anyone, and even shut out all the other "founding parents" who co-applied for the charter. He continuously lied to all the registered parents last year (I was one of them) that everything was fine and on schedule, until he could not lie anymore. It really devastated many. It seems it was the same story this year.

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Bubba Gump · 662 weeks ago

Did he send an email apologizing for the "inconvenience" like he did last year?

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Yeshiva_Dad 69p · 662 weeks ago

According to sources, so far he did not.

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Bubba Gump · 662 weeks ago

So the only notification parents have received is from the articles in the paper? Nothing from the school?

Horrible.

Next question is what happens to the state and federal grants the school has received?

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Dan · 662 weeks ago

I can confirm as someone who was (technically) signed up, that no communication has been received since June 24th. Sad, pathetic and completely consistent with all that's gone before.

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Sad · 662 weeks ago

Bubba Gump makes a good point about your federal dollars at work. The school received a large federal grant (was it $250k) without even having been ready to open.

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Carlton Terrace · 662 weeks ago

Well, it's obvious that Rafi was not exactly very forthcoming in what was going on with his proposed school. OTOH, I have difficulty understanding why anyone would trust him (either as a potential teacher or parent with children) after the debacle last year. His reputation is obviously done in Bergen County. Did he really make 250k from this?

Rumor has it that Rafi is going to be Obama's new speechwriter. (that's just a joke, guys). How's that hope and change coming along?

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Guest · 660 weeks ago

From Yeshivat He'Atid: Our very own founding board member, Gershon Distenfeld, is speaking at Yeshiva University's ChampionsGate 2012 this afternoon on the topic: Challenging the Status Quo: Novel Approaches to Achieve a Sustainable Jewish Education Model in Your Community. Let's hope they record it!

I find this laughable. He's the model of sustainability when his school has not even been open for 1 minute let alone long enough to show sustainability.

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Yeshiva_Dad 69p · 660 weeks ago

<div class="idc-message" id="idc-comment-msg-div-414666208"><a class="idc-close" title="Click to Close Message" href="javascript: IDC.ui.close_message(414666208)"><span>Close Message</span> Comment posted. <p class="idc-nomargin"><a class="idc-share-facebook" target="_new" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fyeshivasanity.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F07%2Fabstaining-from-sacs-for-another-year.html#IDComment414666208&t=I%20just%20commented%20on%20Yeshiva%20Sanity%3A%20Abstaining%20from%20SACS%20for%20Another%20Year" style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="idc-share-inner"><span>Share on Facebook</span></span> or <a href="javascript: IDC.ui.close_message(414666208)">Close MessageGuest is referring to this program at YU: <a href="http://yu.edu/cjf/community-resources/championsgate/program/" target="_blank"&gt <a href="http://;http://yu.edu/cjf/community-resources/championsga..." target="_blank">;http://yu.edu/cjf/community-resources/championsga...

Even without He'atid I think his work at JEFG and NNJKIDS gives him enough street cred to speak at some boring symposium.

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