Yeshiva Sanity: By the Sweat of Thy Brow Shalt Thou Eat Bread

Thursday, August 16, 2012

By the Sweat of Thy Brow Shalt Thou Eat Bread

Kudos to the team of volunteers staying up late last night assembling tables and the many computers to prepare for the big opening on September 4th. Admins were there working hard as well. Even Rabbi Gralla was busy vacuuming! This "sweat equity" will help defray costs. It was the model for the "cooperative yeshiva" they tried to start in West Orange last year. I encourage everyone to come Monday night to finish up. Even if you don't have kids going there its a fun way to help a local Yeshiva and to work on the tuition crisis in a small way, but in a way more useful than kvetching.

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parent · 658 weeks ago

A truly rewarding experience.

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Proud He'atid Parent · 658 weeks ago

I am excited for my child to start at this new school. I think it's going to be great!

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Guest · 658 weeks ago

I'm sorry but seriously? There are hundreds of parents in the current schools that put in hours and hours of "sweat equity". This deserve a post on a blog?

1 reply · active 658 weeks ago

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Avi Greengart · 658 weeks ago

It's his blog. He can post anything he likes, and he posted this. You could have ignored it, but instead you read it and decided it was worthy of comment. I'd say he won this round.

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reality · 658 weeks ago

Hope four and five year holds keep their food and drinks away from their computers or else the community may get another E-mail or mailing for money

"After spending nearly 1.5 million of our funds to subsidize tuition and start up expenses, we have yet to master the science of keeping preschoolers from destroying the computers the community already paid for. We now need new ones. Please help us with our "preschool computer replacement drive "

I thought I heard at open house that our model does not require much parental volunteer time due to the need for dual income homes.

Anyway, I hope all our kids have a great school year. I hope some leaders and rabbis come up with a real tuition crisis plan as heatid is clearly not the answer ...hope kids learn well there and school successfully grows, but it has demonstrated without even opening their doors that they are not the soluy

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End Welfare · 658 weeks ago

I have never seen such sour grapes from the legacy school apologist crowd that I have seen in the past few days on this blog. They were all rooting for Heatid to fail and now that they realize that Heatid is a smashing success with a board and parent-body that is willing to donate both time and money for an affordable product, the sour grapes crowd feels the need to bash further. How sad and pathetic. I guess they are bitter that they are stuck paying inflated tuition.

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Guest · 658 weeks ago

You heatid promoters need to chill out.

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Anne · 658 weeks ago

Reality - how has it demonstrated that they are not the solution? If tuition remains at $8k and $9k then how is that not part of the solution? Just because they are fundraising like every other non profit? The legacy yeshivas fundraise all the time - so their tuition is whatever it is plus millions from the community rasied by fundraising. The difference here is that parents who can only afford what He'atid costs only have to pay that. At legacy schools, parents have to pay much more in tuition plus those schools take millions from the community -

1 reply · active 658 weeks ago

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Guest · 658 weeks ago

Anne, unfortunately the difference is that the yeshivas don't claim to be self sufficient on tuition alone like he'atid does. He'atid has used this claim in order to gain community support and organizational funding when it is not accurate. Other communities are starting schools based on heatids unproven sustainability. It's irresponsible of the board to not be forthcoming.

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Reality · 658 weeks ago

Anne,

Thanks for asking. When I donated [4 figures, not one of those big 5 or 6 figure checks], I was told that with the appropriate start up funds, we have a model that is self sustaining, based off of tuition alone. Based on my discussions with board members, others involved with school and review of their mailings and actions, it is clear that tuition can stay at 8 or 9k, if the community / outsiders pay a significant part of the school's expense. That is not self sustained.

Again, I think we have a huge tuition crisis in our community, and no real leaders and rabbis are doing enough about it. I know families struggling to pay 9k at He'Atid, but what happens if these outsider subsidies go away? The families "signed up" with the premise that the school will be self sustaining at 8 and 9k, which it clearly will not be...thus, they are nervous.

Now parents are not going to protest TODAY. They have outsiders hyped up, they are paying 9k and are keepign quiet. However, lets just hope outsiders continue to cut checks. If not, I know many that will have a foot out the door quicker than GD or Rabbi Gralla can catch up to them.

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Sora · 658 weeks ago

Reality - using that reasoning, no one can say that legacies are making any sort of effort to cut costs - they kept tuition the same, but all they are doing is raising more funds from the outside. if they can't continue to do that, then legacy school tuition rises to a huge amount.
Why can't legacy schools lower their tuition to $8k or $9k for K and first grade? Per you - all they need to do is get subsidies from the outside (and surely the legacy schools have tons more people to donate and tons more contacts). Could it be that there is something about the format /budget of He'atid that makes it different?

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Sora · 658 weeks ago

I love all these people who say they have spokent to board members. the school has huge funders who looked at the budget and decided it was legitimate. Do you really think that budget shows tuition kept at a certain level if only the school can raise $1.5 million every year? That is the new and innovative school these funders - AJE - were looking for? Are you really that dumb? That an organization was created to make jewish education affordable and the people want to throw their money at a school without there being any real changes in that school to make educaiton affordable? If that was the case they could have just donated to any legacy school. (I know now you are going to tell me you know better than AJE or anyone else about the budget of the school)
Many of the costs they are raising for are start up costs and they will not need as much in the future (if any - truth is the schools that He'atid is based off of are all self sustaining).

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JS (hello) · 658 weeks ago

"It was the model for the "cooperative yeshiva" they tried to start in West Orange last year."

Let's hope the model doesn't come to the same conclusion - the legacy yeshivas buying out the parents who want to attend with promises of free or heavily reduced tuition so that demand shrivels and the new yeshiva is forced to shutter.

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Yeshiva_Dad 69p · 658 weeks ago

Guest,

I thought it was topical because we've been discussing Heatid's methods for keeping tuition low. By all means parents who put in their free time working for their existing schools deserve to be recognized. They often are at school dinners. If you want to do a guest post on them for this blog by all means send it to me.

2 replies · active 658 weeks ago

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Guest · 658 weeks ago

Let's just be fair. When parents volunteer their time and expertise to the other yeshivas, they are also saving that school money and keeping their tuition down. Let's see a blog spot about the sweat equity at ALL the schools.

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End Welfare · 658 weeks ago

So if parents at these legacy schools didn't volunteer, are you telling me that tuition would be even higher than the insane tuition they charge now? Wow. That is scary to even think about.

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Guest · 658 weeks ago

To quote End Welfare above - "I have never seen such sour grapes from" the Heatid "school apologist crowd that I have seen in the past few days on this blog."

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Guess my name · 658 weeks ago

"Heatid is a smashing success"

ROTFLMAO. Thanks for this great quote. How do you define "success"? (not to mention smashing).

Great educational system? Nope

Lots of top notch graduates? Nope

Awards for excellence? Nope

I guess you have a different definition of success that I have. I want my children to get a superior education, which I believe they have. Perhaps Heatid will succeed, perhaps they won't. Right now, the only way I can measure Heatid's success is by comparing them to Obama: Lots of self promotion.

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Charlie · 658 weeks ago

Sora makes a great point. The big $1mm donor (who is outside the community btw) is a successful businessman who knows how to invest. Clearly, he did not just give GD money without being convinced of the viability of the plan.

Anyone who knows GD, also knows that he manages the #1 ranked high yield fund in the industry. You think he doesn't understand school economics better than all you pretenders on this blog?

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Carlton Terrace · 658 weeks ago

As soon as the initial euphoria wears off (which already seems to have happened), Heatid will be scouring the bushes for cash. I'm not surprised at all these appeals. They are now finding out the cold hard truth: Other than the original benefactors and Avi Chai, very few people in the community are all that interested in supporting another school. Anecdotal evidence tells me that by far, the vast majoority of parents of children at Heatid chose not because of the program, but almost exclusively due to cost. This is important, because schools do not cover their costs via tuition; they must have other sources. Most schools use dinners and other fundraisers. Heatid has chosen to reach out to "the community at large". As someone who has done a fair amount of work in this area, I can tell you that this method is almost guaranteed to fail. Most people, if they are going to contribute above tuition, will give it to their own schools that their children go or went to. Why should they give money to a school they have no affiliation with?

Anyway, perhaps they have an additional source of funds. I only wish Heatid the best of luck going forward.

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End Welfare · 657 weeks ago

I hear there was another great and dedicated volunteer crew last night helping to set things up at Heatid. I also heard the R' Gralla was in attendance again getting his hands dirty and helping out. What a mentch he is and Heatid is so lucky to have him on board. It is amazing how enthusiastic and excited parents can be when they don't feel like they are getting ripped off to pay for 6-figure salaries for 14 different admins.

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Fundamentals · 657 weeks ago

If a teacher gets stuck on the He'Atid model, will they contact the blended learning, tech based learning consultants? If yes, there are more layers of out of classroom costs than one is leading you to believe. If not, did the school hire another admin that has expereince with this model?

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Carlton Terrace · 657 weeks ago

" It is amazing how enthusiastic and excited parents can be when they don't feel like they are getting ripped off to pay for 6-figure salaries for 14 different admins."

Oh please. All these parents care about is paying less anyway they can. I know some parents that would send their kids to a basement school if they could save a few bucks. Personally, I'm impressed by the education my children have received. Would I have liked to pay less? Sure, who wouldn't? However, and this has been pointed out many times, no one is really get rich at these schools. The average teacher does not make a salary that would allow him/her to live a comparable lifestyle in Teaneck/Englewood. Education is very expensive here; just look at the public school costs.

I believe that the jury is absolutely still out on Heatid's educational model, and I have substantial doubt whether it will ever succeed. Even based on the material passed out by Heatid, the flip model does not work on a grade level below grade 6. I would rather be poorer and send my kids to a proven model, but that's just me.

I wish heatid and everyone else the best of luck.

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Guess my name · 657 weeks ago

YD, you do know that the quote you used is written as a curse, don't you? Do you mean to say that Heatid is cursed?

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