Dear COLlive,
I’m generally not one to write public letters but I’m so shaken by the events that I saw yesterday that I could not forgive myself if I didn’t make a public plea for the sake of the safety of our children.
While parked on Brooklyn Avenue and Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights waiting for my son after school, I witnessed a scene that is still haunting me.
It was distressing to see just how many of our precious boys were carelessly crossing the main part of Eastern Parkway without so much as checking for cars and just running across without looking.
But what really disturbed me was when I saw two boys just run across Brooklyn Avenue on the 770 side, straight into oncoming traffic. Bechasdei Hashem, the driver skidded to a stop literally an inch or two from these two boys. My heart is still pounding from this near miss.
Parents, teachers and school staff, please implore your children to take care when crossing streets. School this year started early for the boys and if there are no crossing guards as a result, then have a teacher, bochur or request a volunteer parent to assist our precious children to cross the main streets.
Ksiva Vachasima Toiva,
Mendel
I doubt that the tuition committee’s criteria for reduced tuition is based on medicaid coverage, though I assume the government lunch program coverage is. Just understand that whatever you know the school also knows, including the fact that there are families that have some kind of unreported income. It’s safe to assume that there are other pieces of missing information that help O.T. -and our other mosdos chinuch – decide what tuition each family will be required to pay. While I don’t doubt for a minute that there are cases that they judge unfairly (and I don’t blame you for… Read more »
What’s the cost for teaching basic commonsense I wonder.
I live right near OT and crossing those service roads is no joke. Eastern Parkway has a clear light and crosswalk but jaywalking the service lane can be even more dangerous r”l because it’s only one lane so we pay less attention. Not only do I look both ways (yes on a one-way street!) every single time I cross the EP service lane, but I also check if there are drivers in the cars I’m crossing between, to make sure they won’t suddenly start moving and crush me. It only takes one scare to set you straight for a lifetime,… Read more »
No one is ever too old to stop at a red light, even crown heightsers
its a school and parents obligation -make all be cross guards in every corner .
Demand from the city police patrol so all cars not speeding and let kids cross first when they turn
Be grateful- in Florida tuition is over $10,000 for PRESCHOOL. Anyway, from what I understand – schools cannot cover costs on tuition alone. They MUST fundraise to cover everything. The boys crossing Eastern Parkway terrifies me. As a teen I was hit by a car while crossing in the crosswalk and was thrown 29 feet landing on the pavement. Baruch HaShem I didn’t have any major injuries but years and years later I am in pain daily! Parents PLEASE talk to your kids about crossing safely- STOPPING at the corner and looking both ways before crossing. There are crazy drivers… Read more »
Not just coming home from school,the kids do it everywhere all the time,its very scary !
We were taught at school, that when crossing you must look
LEFT – RIGHT – AND LEFT AGAIN!
Just have the kids repeat it until they know it, for basic safety
(as well as Hashem’s brocha).
We don’t have pools; most homes don’t have guns. Crossing the street IS the most potentially fatal activity we expect our children to just absorb by osmosis. If a child is immature or has a short attention span, it’s insane to expect them to have mastered the skills involved. I always let my kids cross streets with no turning cars first. My rule was, no talking while crossing. Now, even with one way streets, they must look both ways because of reckless bikers. A speeding bike can actually kill someone. It’s not helicopter parenting to care about this. And don’t… Read more »
You are correct the school has rich families and poor families it only cost about $5,000 per child. they want the rich parents to pay for the poor parents this way they do not have to fund raise mantelshelves.
They also want money to buy new buildings and again they dont want to collect so they try to get that money from tuition.
Regarding the education there are many boys schools these days and you do not have to send to OT.
It’s a progressive structure just like taxes. The one with 9 kids and 75k annual income won’t pay 9k per child. The one with 5 kids making 275k will pay full tuition. The 275 k is grateful that the children don’t each need a provate teacher or his costs would be 55k per child. So he’s happy that there are other kids in his child’s class that bring cost doen to 9k even if Mr. Shwartz is only paying $4k for his child jn same class.
These are children! They must have a crossing guard. This should be a responsibility of the school to ensure there is a crossing guard before and after school every day. A must! I don’t get tuition or not, they need a crossing guard- the parkway is a major road with a lot of traffic
The children need to be told to only cross when there is a walk signal, but the problem is that they see adults crossing when there is a dont walk and they watch us more than we think so they do as we do.
The $9500 (more in other areas) is for people who work in the world. There is no secular education because everyone who doesn’t work in the world pays a fraction of the $9500 and practically nothing for camps and vacations, so they don’t need a secular education. Our chinuch system is for them. You are paying for them.
As a accountant out of state, you make very valid points. The question is, where is all the money going to? I know that in the Miami area, the school asks for $9,000 but the average actually pay in the vicinity of $4,000 to $5,000. I understand that the schools ask a high price expecting parents to ask for a break, but no one really pays the full asking price. On the points of the board of directors, you are right, it should be elected by the parent body, NOT nominated by one or two individuals who don’t have children… Read more »
I see it all over, very young boys walking home crossing on reds, scooters without helmets. Who will educate our children about safety if not their parents… In my opinion only a child who is mature enough to follow safety rules, are they ready to walk the streets alone – there is bus service up until 5th grade
From reading this article I would like to thank Rabbi Shwartz From lubavitcher Yeshivah. Years ago, (and prob still today – I just have not been around some time..) when I was a student there, he made sure to walk all his students across the street .
He simply cared.
Realistically speaking is very hard to rely on teachers after a long day of work. is there no way to get the city to pay for crossing guard?! IMHO It’s the only reliable option.
I find it hard to believe that a yeshiva Mossad is charging 950 per month tuition unless you are wealthy and you don’t mind. Most yeshivas charge about 450 a month and satmar types charge about 200 monthly. Modern orthodox yeshivas charge between 25 thousand to 50 thousand yearly. Something is not adding up in your tuition claim unless you are a millionaire and they know it.
I see that you characterize Oholei Torah as ” a school that gives no secular education or tools to make a living and encourages its students not to think about making Parnosa.” To respond to that, I urge you to remember Pirkei Avot, V:21, the quote from Ben Bag Bag. But also, it is YOUR job (as FATHER) to make sure your children: 1) Receive an education — The yeshivah is simply a tool you hired to do much of YOUR work for you. You trade tuition money so that you don’t have to do as much of it yourself,… Read more »
Why should #1 have to foot the bill for those who have their connections and therefore get breaks? Maybe #1 can’t afford it because he is actually, (gasp) working and paying taxes!? I do agree that #1 is not taking into account all the other expenses of running a school. You do need a menahel, janitor, bookkeeper, secretary, etc… You do need to cover the electricity, running water, phones, taxes, other building maintenance, toilet paper, copy machine with paper etc, lunch, cooks, etc…. I’m sure I’m leaving off a lot. However WHEN I had my kid in OT, I asked… Read more »
I dont know what you are talking about, my boys have been through the system, and their average class size was 23-24. I have never been able to so I never did pay full tuition. School never made me feel bad about it. This is my reality, my family size +my income= reduced tuition for every one of my boys. Please stop counting the money that OT is bringing in, you sound like a fool. (OH and go try and educate your boys in an out of town moised, you will come back here on your hands and knees with… Read more »
Move to Israel, it’s incomparably cheaper over here, Israelis actually use their brains, most expensive tuition you’ll find here will be less than $5,000
Maybe also install a GPS tracker in your children.
This way you can know where they are at every moment, this way they can really have our trust.
Your ignorance is astonishing, I don’t run the school nor do I work there, but it’s easy to know there are other expenses of overhead other than tuition that accumulate to fill that 200k you are referring to. Let alone that more than 75% of the the parents are not paying full, believe it or not OT has fantastic fundraising to make up for the shortages of tuition. Yes it’s a Moisad and breaks are understandable for our community, but it’s also private not subsidized by the government, look at our cheders in other Frum communities and see what they… Read more »
A) I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it costs 10k a kid to educate.
B) full tuition payers often help subsidize those that are on scholarship.
C) relax
My teenagers don’t walk on red lights, even when there are no cars, cause from when they were young, they saw their parents do the same?
Most adults are crossing on red lights too!!
Try leaving ch! we have the cheapest tuition here you will find. Go anywhere else… and you wont be paying less than 12-14k!!! And yes, it a ton of money to upkeep a building and pay the amount of staff that our school have.
WHEN I WENT TO SCHOOL THEY HAD A LARGE POSTER IN EACH CLASSROOM : “LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE YOU CROSS”
THE TEACHER WOULD REINFORCE THIS BY HAVING US ACT IT OUT IN CLASS.
Isn’t there a crossing guard at that intersection?
We have teachers that are rostered to supervise dismissal and pick up each day.15 to 20 minutes and teachers take turns. Public schools all have a rostered teacher or teachers if there are more than one gate. I actually believe it is a legal requirement here.
I live on Eastern Parkway, and also work for the yeshiva. So I see the kids crossing, and witnessed something similar. After the city repaved the service lanes at the end of the school year, the crosswalks were painted back. But not on the 770 side. There is now no crosswalk on the southwest corner. When cars approach Brooklyn Avenue to turn, there is nothing to stop them from driving at full speed, past the stop sign all the way up to the corner. At the same time, kids are rushing, literally hurtling up Brooklyn Avenue, trying to catch the… Read more »
And parents can watch their kids cross.. Just a way to prevent kids from crossing unsafely
You sound bitter. But more importantly, are you so sure that it cost LESS than that to educate the child?
Did you ever try to help in any way to eleviate these burdens so it doesn’t have to cost so much?
You mention that a Rebbi should be paid $30 to cross the st with the boys? That sounds disrespectful and very entitled to me!
Maybe you could volunteer a few times a week?
If you’re not happy with the education the give and the money they take, you may want to send your child to a different school.
It’s your choice!
When mine went to school, the last thing that they heard was me telling them to stop look and listen whenever crossing a street . Upon return home, each had to look me in the eye and tell me they crossed safely. If the school would reinforce this daily, the kids might get tired of hearing it but even if just one child is saved from death or serious injury….it’d be worth it. The key is to have parents get involved and the schools back up the parents.
I agree!!
Shana toba umetuka
And kids on scooters rushing across streets ….Hashem yerachem and protect our children… but let’s also talk to our children and take precautions
Maybe we can set up a roster? Thanks for bring this to our attention.
All the “tishrei orchim” will be doing it
crown heightsers you’re not allowed to rely on miracles
To those that have hijacked our community schools (without proper elections) and have imposed a ridiculous $9500 tuition per child, why don’t you take a measly $30 and put a staff member to cross the young children??? Is this asking too much from a school that demands so much from its parent body??? Sadly, these board members and administrators were never legally inaugurated, the way it should be done, rather they were appointed by the powers that be. They don’t care about the children or their education, it is all only about their self glory. Is this a community Mosad,… Read more »