As we prepare to celebrate Pesach and commemorate the Jewish people’s exodus from Egypt, there are unfortunately families in our community who remain enslaved to a broken educational system.
Six months into this current school year, we have as many as 500 children who could not find schools. This is unacceptable.
I am committing myself to seeking a real solution to this problem so that this upcoming school year, there is not a single child who has been denied a seat in a yeshiva.
If YOUR child has not been placed in a school, or if you suffered from seeing your child unplaced until recently, please contact my office. You can remain anonymous. Men should contact Dov Cohen and women may speak with Sharon Fuchs. Contact us via phone, email or mail.
Together, as a community, and with G-d’s help, we can create an educational system where no child is ever again left behind.
Wishing everyone a chag kasher v’someach.
Dov Hikind
Member of Assembly
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
17 Responses
Problem is not new. It has been presented to the Gedolei Yisroel who have acknowledged that a problem exists. It is a complex one. Among different aspects of it are those who cannot get admission for a wide variety of reasons. Sometimes there are academic standards, other times there are special needs. There are financial concerns, and other times there are parents who interfere to prevent other kids from getting into their child’s class. Any menahel could list many other factors. Dov is correct, that this is a big problem. But this brief article here fails to note the complexity of it, and how there is no simple (even if painful) solution.
As long as our yeshivos are not connected under a single umbrella, there is no such thing as one being responsible or coordinating with another. While that can happen, there is no “system” to make that standard practice. Meanwhile, there is a competitive spirit, and each yeshiva/school is most interested in furthering itself, with its impeccable image and reputation. There is also a mentality that the chief responsibility is to the population, not the individual. i would debate the merits of that, but that debate will lose because the voices against that are too many against my lone voice.
I wish Dov the greatest of success in the quest to solve this problem. It might require a task force with many players. All the great speeches won’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again. Not so simple.
Where does he get the number 500? Is it less? More? Just making it up for sensationalism?
Does he have a real plan how to tackle this seemingly (if it exists) awful problem or does he have as many great ideas as his sin Yoni had?
He should stick to State issues that truly affect all New Yorkers.
ok Dov, I guess you can worry about this from your all expenses paid pesach hotel where you are the “guest speaker” so you can discuss Gush Katif.
Does this mean that 500 children stay home all day, every day, and not do anything? or that initially 500 couldn’t find a school, but last minute people scrambled and figured something out? or did they all go to public school? something else? I sort of always assumed that in the worst case scenario, every kid would eventually find something. It’s very disturbing to hear that this is not the case.
FrumGuy:
Actually, his estimate might be low. There is now a growing field of yeshiva placement experts that have a better picture. They use numbers far greater than 500.
Dov is beholden to his constituents, and is moseir nefesh for the Klal daily. Can you match that? He is addressing a huge issue. If you want to tackle the problem and free him up for other things, call and volunteer.
Makes one wonder how 150,000 people can go to Florida for Pesach. Ironically many frum Jews are going to Spain, France, and other countries where their fellow Jews are being murdered and persecuted. Makes one wonder.
Thank you, Dov, Just the fact that you brought up this very difficult discussion is commendable. no one else did and I aploud you, Good Luck!!! Hope you succeed.
americaisover:
Groisse chuchem. Would you be more pleased if he was kvetching a bonk somewhere and going to his shver for an all expenses paid Pesach where he can speak about justifying damaging countless innocent people because of his rage about being required to register for IDF even though he is not serving?
Your cynicism does not testify to anything respectable in the intellect area. It says more about your jealousy. If there are people willing to fund his Pesach to speak about any subject he wants, that’s his business. You can choose to go there and listen, go elsewhere, or stay home. Meanwhile, perhaps the readers here would be interested to know what kinds of Klal work you have done to be an עוסק בצרכי ציבור. Dov has a stellar record. What’s on yours?
@The little I know
Actually, Dov will do anything for attention. As if you care, I know for a fact that Rav Elya Brudny had a meeting with Rav Hillel David a few months ago with every single Yeshiva menahal and principle in Flatbush to ensure that every single child is placed in Yeshiva next year. No fanfare. No press release. Nothing.
If you want some good info, Rabbi Levy of Bais Yakov Drav Meir was the ONLY school that didn’t show up.
A chutzpah shein kedugmaso.
Shows what some school owners are. No different than a pizza shop owner. Just make sure the store font looks good. No Rov behind mosdos… they simply do whatever they want. They are privately owned and treat children like an object.
Shame.
FNA:
I know that Dov’s public appearances can get irritating. If he was only noise and no action, that would actually matter. But he has accomplished quite a lot, and he deserves the credit for that. This is about his entering an issue that has been neglected for way too long. Nothing happened yet. I also wait to see what he will do, and how he will insure that this matter is addressed to the benefit of yaldei Yosroel.
The effort by Rav Elya Brudny and Rav Hillel David is truly praiseworthy. And, yes, they do not operate in front of cameras and microphones. Dov does. But their effort included only Flatbush yeshivos and schools. Their focus is only on that neighborhood (quite a large one judging by geography). But it does not include Boro Park, Williamsburg, Crown Heights, and any other frum communities. The problem extends to Lakewood and Monsey as well, and none of these were included in the Rav Brudny/Rav David meeting. It is probably true that their domain is considered just Flatbush. But the expansiveness of the problem is missed when only one neighborhood tackles its portion. I am not negative about their effort. I applaud it. But it constitutes a single slice from a larger pie.
I know nothing about any particular school, and cannot comment about BY Dr’av Meir.
A statement that is painfully true way too often, the administrations of many yeshivos and schools are not focused on the talmidim(os). And even fewer have a focus on the needs of the individual talmid. That is a huge shame. The Torah expects something quite different. And there is ample precedent in the writings of the Gedolim of previous generations that tell us to focus on the yochid.
@The little I know
The problem extends to Lakewood and Monsey as well, and none of these were included in the Rav Brudny/Rav David meeting”
You obviously are as clueless as they come. Screenname fits you perfectly.
Hikind is a state assemblyman. He should be discussing what can he do in that capacity to address this problem. I have the feeling that he is simply pandering, suggesting he has solutions that he does not have.
FNA:
I have an idea for you. Contact any of the several tzaddikim who volunteer their time to do placements in yeshivos and schools. You can get access to their names and numbers via Torah Umesorah, that has a placement program. They seem to work together well. Next, ask these people how much is going on, by way of the extent of the problem and the amount of activity that is being done. Next ask about the degree of success. Then ask them what was covered in any of the meetings in this matter over the past several years. Then we will address who knows and who is clueless.
With an increasing population, frum schools need to continuously expand or new schools need to be built but with high real estate and other costs, how can frum NYC schools do this??
@The little I know
“Then we will address who knows and who is clueless.”
Apparently it’s you…
1)You seem to be uninformed that Rav Elya Brudny is the lead Rov of Torah Umesorah nowadays. You must have been asleep at the wheel the past 10 years.
2) You decided on your own that Rav Brudny spent his time only dealing with Flatbush cases. And you seem to know it as fact.
Know what you know? NOTHING.
And that is an understatement.
Frum Guy,
FNA,
Interesting how you guys are so busy knocking each other and whatever Hikind says or does (did) you couldn’t care less about our children and our future. Why don’t you 2 (if you are not one and the same) get together and something that may help in this issue or any other issue impacting our communities and earn some mitzvos instead of all this negative talk……..just sayin…..
FNA:
macher is correct. What are you doing about this problem?
The statement about Rav Brudny is that the meeting involved Flatbush yeshivos and principals. That did not address the many yeshivos in Boro Park who are refusing admissions and expelling kids, leaving them to sulk at home or go to the streets. And Willy? And Queens, etc? Rav Brudny is doing an awful lot of Klal work, and he should be granted much koach and arichas yomim to continue. Just Flatbush yeshivos begins the process, but has not yet reached hundreds of more yeshivos that need to be part of that process. I have the greatest kavod for Rav Brudny, and I actually do know him. And I know Torah Umesorah as well, and stand in awe of what they do.
There is a painful reality. There are efforts to tackle the yeshivaless kids problem. The success is barely moderate. All I pointed out is that this problem is complex, and no single idea will prove to be a solution.
Have you ever attended any meeting that was focused on this issue? Or are you an armchair quarterback? I have been involved quite extensively.