Save Hillel

55 responses so far ↓

• 1 admin // Jun 20, 2007 at 12:06 pm

  Keith, have you read the archives?

  Not all alumni are confused.

• 2 Aaron // Jun 20, 2007 at 2:06 pm

  Keith makes a very good point.

  Since its inception, Hillel has been involved in a very delicate balancing act.

  Parents have always had two complaints:

  1) The curriculum is too religious.

  2) The curriculum is not religious enough.

  Because Hillel has walked the tightrope so long, we had gotten used to Hillel existing in a contradiction.

  However, all contradictions must eventually be resolved. Most of us are just upset with the choice that was made for resolution.

• 3 Anonymous // Jun 20, 2007 at 3:31 pm

  Keith,

  There has been more administrative turnover at this educational institution than in most private Jewish day schools.

  5 HS principals in a decade

  5 deans in a decade

  A loss of several of the BEST teachers due to the school’s inability to get its act together and low teacher morale problem well documented (ADL Report 1998) at this school–3 of the school’s most popular teachers nonrenewed this year for no good reason by 3 brand new administrators to Hillel –1 of which was nonrenewed herself

  Tons of teacher complaints about the Head of School and Assistant Head (both only in their first year at Hillel) who threaten teachers and talk to them with a total lack of respect-an unprecedented all time low has been hit

  “Deaf to parents’ ears, I think I have heard that about every school since I was a little kid”

  Keith, the complaints here go beyond your wildest imaginings and are much worse than anything heard from parents or teachers during Dr. Levy, Dr. Fein, etc. or anyone else’s tenure.

  You’d have to go talk to teachers to understand exactly how bad things have gotten. That type of information is not for a blog. This is not just typical griping, but unless you know actual teachers you will never hear the truth. Most parents aren’t privy to details. Some are now. Many board members are burying their heads in the sand and pretending there is no problem. Some are minimizing the problem. Others are lying and saying there is no problem. And a few are actually trying to resolve the problem.

  The new head of school has received scathing reviews from from several parents, teachers, students, and alumni of his last school (HB Hebrew Academy Kansas). The Kansas community has taken time to write in several letters of warning in to this blog and the Florida Jewish News as a warning. (Several of their comments are in the archives now. Eerily similar to what’s happening at Hillel). Apparently, he axed several of the best teachers there too, particularly Judaic ones (like here) and got rid of several Judaic courses and de-emphasized Judaics in general. That started to happen here too. Perhaps that trend will now be reversed because of this blog and increasing public scrutiny.

  5 Non Jewish administrators taking over key positions next year. Most Jewish day schools have a Jewish head of school and several Jewish principals (in addition to some non Jewish General Studies Principals)

  Minimal parent, teacher, or alumni input solicited in any of the decisions made — different than several other private schools who solicit feedback from the majority of these groups–esp. parents and teachers.

  Also, Jewish day schools were never meant to be run like the corporate world. An educational institution is NOT supposed to be run like a business.

  So sorry, a HATCHET MAN just doesn’t belong in a school environment-especially when he’s axing people completely arbitrarily.

  Our teachers choose to work at Hillel. There are several other options available to them. They can go work in charter schools around the corner, public schools nearby, or other private prep schools, or even other Jewish day schools. At public schools, they can get tenure after 3 years and never have to worry about being axed again. If Hillel wants to retain its best, it has to play nicely or it won’t have any teachers left to teach or alumni willing to send their kids or write checks to the school in the future.

  That’s the synopsis in a nutshell.

  Start reading the archives if you want a more in- depth picture.

  I recommend: Rehired?!, Stand Up, Who is Adam Holden?, Excellence? , Hillel is Not a Soccer Field as a starting point.

  AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHEN GREAT TEACHERS LEAVE IT’S THE STUDENTS WHO LOSE OUT THE MOST.

• 4 Non-confused alum // Jun 20, 2007 at 3:49 pm

  “although no one has said why they were let go?”

  actually, people asked and begged for an explanation from the people in power. they didnt give it. in fact, 3 of them were rehired, and during the election at the beginning of the month, the people claimed that these teachers were never fired to begin with. is this how they focus on damage control? by lying about it?

  and really, you’re a class of ‘83 Alum. That was 24 years ago. DR levy’s career at hillel was in his infancy. I don’t think i’d be alone to say that Dr Levy was a great administrator.

  this website has a lot of information dating back to March. isuggest that you read it. it pretty much answers your questions and confusion.

  It’s good to know that there are people out there that really don’t know what’s going on. My recommendation is to READ:educate yourself rather than asking questions blindly, because your comments prove that you’ve really done no research into the matter. (it would take more than a week to absorb what’s been happening, and you said you just got back)

• 5 Anonymous // Jun 20, 2007 at 3:52 pm

  Good point.

  Before you jump in to a conversation, and offer an opinion, you should know what you’re talking about first. It sounds like you’ve done little or no homework and somehow feel qualified to assess the situation.

  You know what they say about assumptions or those who assume……….

• 6 Anonymous // Jun 20, 2007 at 3:53 pm

  On a different note, does anybody know about the new name of the Alumi Association?

  M. Levy Hillel Alumni Association

  Does anyone know who M. Levy is ?

• 7 Non-confused alum // Jun 20, 2007 at 3:54 pm

  The only benefit I see to Keith writing is that it shows that there are many people need to be educated about this specific subject.

• 8 Non-confused alum // Jun 20, 2007 at 3:55 pm

  I don’t know who M. Levy was, but wasn’t the alumni association supposed to be named after Dr. Levy z”l?

• 9 Anonymous // Jun 20, 2007 at 3:55 pm

  That’s very true.

  Many alumni still have no clue what’s going on .

  I have spoken to several.

  I am glad Keith cares enough to investigate and learn about the situation.

  Our alumni are truly caring people.

• 10 Delli // Jun 20, 2007 at 4:19 pm

  I was non-renewed.
  It is a royal pain to have to job hunt.
  I have heard that the PTB may have up to a couple of dozen teachers to replace.

• 11 Anonymous // Jun 20, 2007 at 5:00 pm

  PTB =?

• 12 Anonymous // Jun 20, 2007 at 5:03 pm

  powers that be at hillel ?

  couple dozen = 24 teachers?

• 13 Anonymous // Jun 20, 2007 at 5:06 pm

  I hope the teachers will let us know once their plans are finalized so we know what we’ll be facing in August - also so we can have an opportunity to thank them through this site for their years of dedication to our children.

• 14 Keith // Jun 20, 2007 at 5:33 pm

  9th grade back then
  I posted about Dr. Levy not to deride whatever legacy he left(which I know little about) but that in the eyes of students the world can be a big mystery of unknown behind the scene events which we (the students)pay for in the interim until everything finds its way which it sounds like he did .
  In fact I did read quite a many posts and comments, one can not and should not need to read 100’s of posts to understand why this site was put in place if you want alumni to understand and/or help. Even now the about page does not really say much of anything about the timeline of circumstances or what led to this site being created aside from generalities. So what else was I to think, even to have the list that an anonymous poster above listed(thank you I will read this soon) would be helpful to the new people to the site.
  Some of us do work for a living too sometimes, we don’t have the resources to know all and see all, especially as this is on the outer side of my interests.
  School isn’t a business but you need to treat it like one as far as risk and forward planning and adjust to the changes in demographics, outside influences, location values, etc. Or you will not have a school in the future.
  If you don’t agree on the last sentence, those who remember the previous 5 shuls which are now included in the Beth Torah congregation should revisit why they all merged and moved locations.
  To those who answered with some information to my questions, especially the long anonymous one, it is greatly appreciated.
  I don’t want to qualify this, just understand what happenned.

• 15 Anonymous // Jun 20, 2007 at 6:13 pm

  I will create a time line and get back to you

• 16 admin // Jun 20, 2007 at 6:20 pm

  Keith: I am the administrator of this site and an alumni. If I were to regurgitate the history of what has occurred within Hillel in the past few months, it would appear quite biased. I certainly can work with others to craft a “History” of what’s been discussed on this website to give you a better picture of where people stand and what problems remain, but because of certain individuals I will not name, I cannot do so myself. My job here is to facilitate the discussion, not to personally steer it in any particular direction. Your request, however, is noted.

  I happen to work for a living too. It’s a great thing to know you can work for a living without fear of your job. The bottom line is that it’s not necessarily about people losing their jobs but about protecting the livelihoods of people whose jobs are being threatened. That’s really my personal mission statement in a nutshell. This site has taken other tides and turns on matters that seem to plague/concern the school as well. However, my personal goal is to save the Hillel teachers. I’m not as distant from Hillel as you are and many of the teachers currently there actually taught me and my sisters (my youngest sister graduated last year).

  I hope that clarifies the mission of this site, but again, a request to add a page to outline the history and series of events leading up to the inception of this site (and events thereafter) is duly noted.

• 17 admin // Jun 20, 2007 at 6:23 pm

  Anonymous: If you can kindly email it to me so that I can post it on the site, it would be greatly appreciated. You can also respond in a comment, but Keith has a good point — it deserves its own post (and probably a tab on the top of the site).

• 18 Anonymous // Jun 20, 2007 at 6:25 pm

  I will need to do some research to get all the dates accurate. I suggest creating a separate tab. Many who come to the blog have made the same request to me personally. They have a hard time making sense of all that’s transpired. I will try to fill in the gaps.

• 19 Keith // Jun 20, 2007 at 8:35 pm

  Admin, Thank you for understanding. I realize the site got away from you, as most wiki’s do or even blogs sometimes.
  You deserve much credit for raising the awareness of the situation.
  But it will help, especially as newer people find the site.
  I just finished reading my “homework” as outlined above.
  As someone asked the other day, Marty Scheck of the Board who I have not seen since Hillel, did attend and graduate(I believe) from Hillel, about 2 years before me, so at least 1 alumni is listed that I know.
  I have emailed Chani of alumni and see what that brings or offers.
  Not going to comment on the administration or board because I have no right to do so and the information here is a little biased for better or worse.

  Solutions are difficult but without the desire for change, none would happen. No one wants this to end up like the movie Taps(1981), even though some of you from other posts comments seem bent to go that route.
  Maybe alumni should be more involved, maybe not, but perhaps they could be a stronger presence for the student body in some aspect.
  Thank you everyone for your thoughts and input and I hope for a better 2007-2008 year for all still attending.

• 20 Anonymous // Jun 20, 2007 at 8:59 pm

  I thank you Keith and every alumni who has cared enough to get involved.

  I thank the site admin. for providing the opportunity for this to take place.

  Kol Ha Kavod.

• 21 Anon // Jun 20, 2007 at 9:11 pm

  It is largely thanks to alumni involvement that 3 teachers got their jobs back and that an election was held for the first time in the history of Hillel and now the formation of an alumni association.

  The alumni are the fire underneath everyone reminding people to do the right thing for the future generations of students.

  Hillel Alumni: You rock!

• 22 anonymous // Jun 20, 2007 at 9:22 pm

  ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:

  • Are teachers and parents satisfied with the current level of participation in shaping the decisions and policies that affect the school’s future? Is the school actively promoting an environment that encourages input from parents and teachers?
  • Is it important to us whether the leaders who run the school are Jewish or not?
  • The teacher evaluation process that preceded the teacher firings was not standard practice, and included administrators observing teachers for 15 consecutive days. Was the teacher evaluation process that preceded the firings a fair one? Why did Hillel employ an evaluation process that is seen in virtually no schools or universities in the US?
  • Why did so few people have a say in the hiring of Adam Holden as Head of School? Why was the Hillel parent body never informed that Adam Holden is an educator who began as a coach, and holds a doctorate degree from a university that came under Congressional fire in hearings and was not recognized by the US Dept. of Education at the time of his matriculation?
  • Why did so few people have a say in the hiring of next year’s High School Principal, Tymony Bonnila, a former Kansas colleague of Adam Holden’s who also began as a coach and has only been a principal of elementary school?
  • Why did so few people have a say in the hiring of next year’s elementary school principal, who has no prior experience as an elementary school principal?
  • If given the choice, would we want to see Rabbi Kaplan placed as the permanent (rather than Interim) High School Principal for the upcoming 2007-2008 school year?
  • Why are we hearing so many complaints about the Rabbinical Head of School?
  • Should we be concerned that students and parents from Adam Holden’s previous school, the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, have sent letters in to the website and to the Florida Jewish News to warn the Hillel community?
  • Should we be concerned about a possible Non-Disclosure Agreement (gag order) in small print to be incorporated into next year’s registration contacts? The current Dean is considering including such an order in the contract parents sign to register their children next year, meaning that the school can expel children whose parents talk to the press or post to websites by name.
  • What type of Judaic program do we wish to see implemented at Hillel?
  • Is it educationally sound to include sixth graders in the middle school next year?

• 23 A veteran Hillel teacher // Jun 20, 2007 at 10:30 pm

  Glad to see some of you are providing the MUCH needed clarification to “Alumi Confused.” Ditto to comments 3, 4, and 5. And I will add the following:

  Dr. Levy was NOT the principal of the school in 1983. He did not assume the position of principal until 1984 or 1985. Prior to that, he was the assistant principal—NOT the decision maker. And he was principal of the junior high, which at that time included grade 7-9.

  In “those days,” the junior high school consisted of approximately 40-45 students per grade level—quite different from the numbers we have today. Among the students were the children of the Scheck, Lipson, and Dennis families(and other well-known at the time Hillel families.) Board members included people from these families. DRECH ERETZ was practiced by all.

  When what you perceive as the take-over by the former Jewish High School took place (and that is not exactly how it transpired—but that is a different story), Dr. Levy was made principal of the high school. The school flourished under him; a grade added each year. He headed a 7-12 institution ALONE and with one secretary/receptionist. Later—an assistant principal. And he also developed extra-curricula activities. He brought crew to Hillel (which we still have) and a debate team (which we no longer have). He was loved by students, parents, faculty, and alumni (who always came back to visit him).

  As a side note, the consolidation of the two schools was not a smooth one. Today’s Board members—and other readers of this blog—may be enlightened by hearing how the situation was turned around. Some Hillel teachers approached a Board member (that is when we COULD approach a board member) and explained the uncomfortable situation. This caring Board Member came up with a viable solution— I will not go into the details here, but suffice to say, it worked and it worked quickly.

  And so, our high school, with Dr. Levy as the head, moved on (until the inception of a separate middle school—Dr. Levy remained head of the high school only). Were we problem-free? Of course not. We are wise enough not to view those years through rose-tinted (bi-focal) glasses. But we certainly did not have the faculty attrition we now have. We certainly did not have discussions about the qualifications (or lack of) of administrators. We certainly did not have discussions about evaluations not meeting SACS standards—or any other areas not meeting SACS standards. We most certainly did not have discussions about a top-heavy non-Jewish administration—there, of course, were no non-Jewish administrators.

  And one more point I would like to mention: There was a period of time that we had no Dean, yet the entire school—every division (preschool –high school) operated just fine. Why? Because the administrators of each division met and planned regularly. Each administrator met with his/her faculty and together they planned. People’s opinions were valued and respected. Did everyone always agree? Of course not. But, I repeat, people’s opinions were respected. There was not a top-down, dictatorial approach. People were respected.

  So why does it appear that some people are now fighting changes? On one hand, I do not think it is change, per se, that is upsetting people.(Changes occurred, for example, while Dr. Levy was running the school). It is, I think, the manner in which things are being done. On the other hand, conditions mentioned in post #22, “Essential Questions” (which have been posted elsewhere on this site) are disturbing, especially when no one is answering/addressing the concerns.

• 24 Aaron // Jun 21, 2007 at 1:06 am

  Veteran Teacher,

  I would like your insight as to why Hillel/The Board decided to have a separate Middle School.

  Were we lacking something when we had Junior High and High School all under the same banner?

• 25 Anonymous // Jun 21, 2007 at 7:31 am

  Thank you to the Veteran Teacher - we appreciate all you do!

  You are correct!

  The school was not broken - it did NOT require fixing. Perhaps, it required some tweaking. It did not require the massive overhall. It has always graduated top notch graduates who have attended the best of the best institutions of higher education.

  All of the information provided by this veteran teacher is true.

  ….just to add, it was Dr. Levy z”l who brought in amazing programs such as crew, grad night, etc. and elevated the high school to the next level. We was slated to run the alumni association when his untimely death occured.

  ….and yet it is also true that the school ran without a head of school - way better than it runs with the non-Jewish head of school and the inexperienced, not respected Judaic Head of School - both still do not understand the environment in which they operate. Both not only lack respect for the history, the faculty and the school but continue to beat it down and pretend the past did not and does not exist questioning many longstanding policies, etc.

  Case in point, why are our beloved teachers NO Longer permitted to tutor students on campus over the summer? Why did the school cut them off from their home? These teachers constantly give of themselves for the benefit of the children and are being turned away? Why?

  Again, it is important to bring all of the issues again to the forefront.

  Many months ago, a summary was provided:

  Teacher morale is very low; they are living in fear of their jobs. This is the worst situation they have seen in many, many years. They feel they are not being respected by administration and are not being treated well. They have been verbally threatened by administration that there are consequences from speaking with parents about the inner workings of the school. It is a difficult and uncomfortable environment in which to work. There are many long-standing teachers who are affected by these tactics - they are very unhappy!

  The board circumvented the SACS rules which state the Dean must be Jewish. Instead, they call the position, Head of School.

  Additionally, academic integrity and integrity in general is paramount and should be a priority to any institution. The mere fact that Ana Baker, the HR director and the hiring committee did not undertake the due diligence to validate the information on the resume is absurd. These people are on our campus with our children. Do they not do formal background checks - - did they not check references or speak with the prior board of the school? They did not. If they did, perhaps they would have known some of the issues. Did they check out Rabbi Druin as well? I don’t believe a due diligence process was undertaken, and, if it was, it was obviously not thorough enough.

  Several parents, board members, and Students, from Hyman Brand academy have posted openly through the website conveying similar tactics and situations that were caused by Dr. Holden at their school. Apparently, history is repeating itself. These individuals have nothing to gain from conveying this information - they have no stake in our school - but they care enough to notify us accordingly. There must be some truth to this information.

  There is a question of academic integrity with regards to the educational information provided on Dr. Holden’s resume. Though it may not have been a consideration or requirement of the position. The integrity of the information provided did perhaps have a perceived influence in the resume evaluation process as a doctoral degree may have made this resume stand out above the rest. This, therefore would have made it a deceptive tactic.

  It is not only the high school issues that are in question - there are administrative and board issues as well.

  Upon the resignation of the elementary school principal, Dr. Holden appointed the ECE principal to the be her successor. However, her credentials do not qualify her for the position as she has absolutely no elementary teacher, principal, or curriculum experience. This individual is NOT appropriate credentialed or experienced for such a role. No active
  search was performed.

  In another perceived deceptive move, Rabbi Kaplan was promoted to Interim High School principal upon the unexpected early departure of Chaya Kohl. Though her departure was welcomed, the promotion of Rabbi Kaplan was an effort by the administration and board to try and allay fears and issues. In fact, after the announcement of the interim promotion, which was well received by all - - parents, teachers, and alumni, it was discovered that Dr. Holden had already hired his buddy from Kansas (another coach) to be the new principal of the High School. The hopes of Rabbi Kaplan staying on as principal and this interim role becoming permanent were immediately extinguished.

  The manner in which the board is communicating or not communicating with the parent body, community etc is unacceptable. The continued downplay of the information of the website, the intimidation tactic of a board member’s partner serving the site administrator with a cease and desist order and telling the admin to have the individuals who embarked on the parent letter campaign to immediately stop were utterly ridiculous. This is a free country and it the parents of the school wish to embark on a letter campaign to notify others of the issues, why would this be of major concern to the board if there was nothing to hide. The school immediately removed the class lists and board of governor meeting dates etc from the school website - stating Privacy Issues. There are no privacy issues and parents of other schools openly access class lists without having to write the school an email and request them. Again, this is another attempt by the administration and board to create these intimidation and secrecy issues. The school subsequently voted and the count showed that 1/3 of the parent members are unhappy with the current board and tactics of the school. Though not enough to throw the election - certainly enough to raise a strong voice of dissatisfaction.

  There are also issues with Rabbi Druin and the manner in which he engages or does not engage with the faculty and parents. His condescending manner is disliked by many of the faculty, staff, and parents. No one seems to know the purpose he serves at the school. He is disrespectful to those who are not considered upper escelon. He has even changed the rule of all men wearing Kippot on campus. - - Very disrespectful - this is no longer a requirement. It is a requirement in other Jewish institutions and was at our school forever and a day.

  Apparently, the board has communicated that it will only entertain those people who identify themselves. The FBI, police department, and other government agencies encourage and take action on anonymous complaints and observations. If it is good enough for the government, it should be good enough for the school. The blog continues to bring the issues to the forefront.

  Parents will not identify themselves for fear of retaliation. They do not want their children to have any issues. Teachers and staff members will not and cannot identify themselves as their livelihoods are at stake. They have been warned on more than one occasion about conveying their dissenting opinions or speaking outside of the school. Additionally, some of these fears have been addressed by those Hyman Brand posts to the blog site.

  As continually mentioned, if the board truly wants to fix the issues, they should have an open meeting and be forced to address the issues. The issues have been conveyed and the questions should merely be answered in a board meeting - -people should not be forced to ask - the board should address them as they have been posed. There are even board members posting anonymously as they are in fear of not being included in future meetings. At the annual meeting they made an open statement that there are many committees for people to become involved. This was rhetoric. As many people approached the board, they were turned away and told they will be called, if needed. Again, it will be found that those who are asked to join such committees will be carefully hand selected by the board as to not have diversity or dissention in their unwavering support of their leader! Completely UNACCEPTABLE and inconsistent with democracy!

  There are many alumni who care about this school and are actively posting. The continued downplay and disrespect to them is abominable. The board needs to understand that the alumni are the lifeline of the school. They are the best marketing and can be tremendous assets to philanthropy - - ask any university…. They can tell you. The manner in which our alums are being treated by the administration is awful! Furthermore, they were turned away the night of the open annual meeting. Where is the heart and soul?

  This whole situation is truly a shame. School was good in the days of Rabbi Finkelstein, Rabbi Raab, Jerry Levy, Rabbi Bald and the like.

  The inactivity on the part of the board and their consistent lack of interest in the public opinion is serving to hurt the school via the negative publicity throughout the community. The non-renewal of the faculty and the manner in which it was performed, has sent a clear message to the community. Honestly, how can we expect to replace these teachers. There isn’t a sane person in the South Florida community that would want to take a job at a school that performs evaluations and dismissal practices in such a manner. With the teacher shortage that exists in our state, it is apparent that not much thought was taken when these acts were performed. Can’t imagine what they did to not be renewed.

  These are disturbing issues that conveniently took place immediately after all renewal contracts were due from the parent for the next school year. These types of decisions and acts (example - merging the preschool and elementary school) should have been communicated prior to everyone signing contracts and committing to renewal not after.

  Additionally, it should be noted that the representation on the board is inappropriate. The only representation is from those wealthy enough to be included. There is no accounting for educational credentials or any other type of lay leadership except if you can pay. This creates an
  imbalance of board structure. Those individuals who may have insight or expertise are discounted.- that too is clearly inappropriate. Only the top financial eschelon are included or considered. Therefore, there is an entire population that is underserved.

  At the first meeting with Dr. Holden just prior to his arrival - he clearly addressed the parent body by informing them - that there will be an exodus from the school because people will not like what they see - - and he said - So Be it. That is the way it is. “Either the board is going to let me do what I feel needs to be done or I will leave.” His autocratic manner and totalitarian approach is quite disturbing.

  It is further unbelievable the way the staff and faculty are responding when questions are asked. Adam said, Adam told us, this is the way Adam wants it done. It is almost like they are programed.. it is truly scary. They are no longer permitted to think and speak for themselves.

  As you can see, the situation is untenable. Schools can not be run as businesses - http://www.nais.org/publications/ismagazinearticle.cfm?ItemNumber=144267

  This article is an interesting read - obviously not read by the HEAD of School and current board.

  In any event, perhaps you will find this insight helpful.

  We must do all we can to save HILLEL for our children, our teachers and our community.

• 26 Juno // Jun 21, 2007 at 7:56 am

  excellent article by the way!

• 27 Anonymous // Jun 21, 2007 at 10:39 am

  To answer Aaron’s question–why was the middle school formed?

  The creation of the Middle School:

  Some board members felt that they wanted a separate middle school because middle school children do have different needs. There is also a difference between the philosophies of how to run a MIDDLE school vs. how to run a JUNIOR HIGH school.

  Middle School is supposed to be more STUDENT CENTERED rather than SUBJECT CENTERED but truthfully ALL CLASSES need some balance between the two. Good educators know how to find this balance.

  Middle School:

  -Student-Centered
  -Fosters collaboration of students
  -Affective and cognitive growth are emphasized
  -Focuses on creative explorations and experimentation of subject matter
  -Varies length of time students are in courses
  -Offers high interest exploratory coursework
  -Advisory program = teacher-oriented guidance
  -Athletics organized around intramural concept

  Junior High School

  -Subject-Centered
  -Fosters competition of students
  -Cognitive development is first priority
  -Focuses on mastery of concepts and skills in separate disciplines
  -Offers subjects for one semester or one year
  -Provides highly structured activity program after school
  -Study hall = access to counselor upon request
  -Athletics organized around interscholastic concept

  Dr. Levy and Dr. Zakon successfully ran the school from grades 7-12 from circa 1985 until the year 1999/2000 when the Middle School broke off.

  That’s 6 grade levels under their belt that they successfully handled.

  Now perhaps they could have adapted a different strategy or philosophy for middle schoolers or perhaps Beverly Buncher was the one to do it.

  However, instead of just letting Dr. Levy run the high school successfully, they pushed him out of there too in circa April 2001. Why?

  Because they believe “New is Better”

  This is a logical fallacy.

  (This is especially fallacious in the case of Michael Druin and Adam Holden. Newer is FAR WORSE. )

  They had Beverly Buncher step in when Dr. Fein, Dr. Levy’s replacement, didn’t work out (Dr. Fein is a very nice man, by the way) . Through no fault of her own, Beverly was in way over her head. She had no high school experience. She was trying to help the school out in a pinch, but it wasn’t the best assignment for her either. I would think she garnered new respect for Dr. Levy and Dr. Zakon. They were able to successfully oversee grades 7-12 for several years. She was extremely overwhelmed and had to let go of 7 and 8 after one year to focus on 9-12. Grades 9-12 were still too much for her. She bit off more than she could chew. Not that that was her fault.

  The middle school she created at Hillel is extremely successful and does address many of the needs that middle school students have.

• 28 Anonymous // Jun 21, 2007 at 10:54 am

  TIME LINE

  Here is a rough time line.

  If anyone can FILL IN OR CORRECT any of these dates, that would be great. Then at some point, all of the posters here together can collaborate on a time line so that the site administrator can create a separate time line tab of the History of Hillel -

  Elementary teachers, you need to create the rest. We are not as well versed in the elementary school history as you are.

  1984/1985 Jerome Levy is high school principal

  October 1998 ADL Report Documents Low Teacher Morale Problem

  June 1999 Rabbi Bald Leaves

  April/May 2000 Beverly Buncher is officially placed in charge of creating a separate Middle School just for grades 7 and 8 at Hillel and is named Middle School Principal

  April/May 2001 Dr. Levy is forced to resign.

  Aug 2001 Dr. Fein becomes High School Principal

  Beginning of 2001 Dr. Levy dies of a heart attack in his sleep. Many claim he died of heartbreak.

  April/May 2003 Beverly Buncher is promoted to principal of the high school

  The day the appointment is announced she fires the entire guidance staff for no good reason ( i.e. Dr. Zakon, Alan Mintz, Sue Enis, Dara Lieber)

  Lois Connelly/Perlman was part of the group too. Everyone goes and begs for them to keep her. So they tell everyone they have one opening only and Lois can have it. Then they immediately replace everyone they fired.

  May 2004 Helen Gorin pushed out

  Aug 2004 Frumma Rosenberg becomes Middle School Principal. Appointed largely at the behest of Beverly Buncher.

  May 2005 Beverly Buncher is replaced by Chaya Kohl

  Aug 2005 Chaya Kohl becomes High School Principal

  May 2006 It is announced that Adam Holden will be Head of School and Rabbi Michael Druin will be Assistant Head in the fall.

  Amy Gallup leaves

  Aug 2006 Chaye Kohl, Michael Druin, Adam Holden form a triumvirate. REIGN OF TERROR LIKE NEVER BEFORE.

  Circa February 2007 Teachers are evaluated unethically for 15 consecutive days by 5 different administrators – one who holds a bogus doctorate, one who has no college degree, one who was demoted as middle school principal, one who was demoted as high school principal, one who was not asked to return to Hillel as high school principal for the following year

  According to current research published on the US Dept of Ed’s database ERIC

  BEST PRACICES FOR TEACHER EVALUATIONS IN A NUTSHELL:

  1. Teachers are supposed to have input in the way the evaluation process is designed– They didn’t.

  2. The people conducting the evaluations are supposed to be knowledgeable in the specific subject area of the teacher they are evaluating–They weren’t.

  3. It is imperative that pre and post conferences take place–They didn’t.

  4 FORMAL evaluations require the evaluator to observe the class for the ENTIRE DURATION OF THE CLASS PERIOD–This did not happen.

  (Walking in for 5-20 minutes does NOT constitute a formal observation–such a short span of observation constitutes an INFORMAL evaluation.)

  5. Being FORMALLY evaluated for 15 consecutive days (never mind informal observations conducted during the year) by so many different administrators (especially by ones who were non-renewed or demoted or removed from their current positions) is unheard of in any reputable institution of learning in this country. I challenge someone to prove otherwise.

  6. A couple administrators who knew this process was not the proper way to conduct evaluations but were too afraid to defy the dean informed a couple of us that they were instructed not to give anyone above the score of a 3 on a scale of 1 to 5 –5 being the highest–so that we wouldn’t take the scoring personally.

  So what’s the purpose then?

  Doesn’t it make Hillel look bad to employ teachers who are all merely 3’s on a scale of 1 to 5?

  7. When teachers were upset with their scores, several complained to the evaluators and had their scores raised. What a joke.

  8. A formal evaluation of a teacher is supposed to evaluate the pedagogical efficacy of the instructor in a classroom setting–in other words, “can this person teach or not”–it is not supposed to score a teacher on the manner that he keeps his attendance records. Such minutia and irrelevant factors were included in the overall rating of the teacher.

  9. The firings had no correlation to the ratings of the evaluations. Some teachers with 5’s got fired. Some with lower scores were kept.

  Since the ratings were arbitrary to begin with, however, this fact is immaterial.
  It, therefore, stands to reason that personal agendas prevailed in the firings since there was no easily discernable correlation between who got fired and the rating he or she received.

  Since every aspect of the evaluations conducted was certainly unethical, it stands to reason that the purpose of this farce was to intimidate and harass teachers. And the administration indeed succeeded, for the most part, in intimidating the majority of teachers.

  End of March 2007 The triumvirate fires 15 teachers fired in one fell swoop – among them Debbie Heber, Debbie Galitzer, Rabbi Lefkowitz, Rabbi Tzion Elbaz

  HOW DID THE BOARD ALLOW THIS???????

  Chaye Kohl fires Debbie Galitzer
  Rabbi Druin fires Debbie Heber
  Adam Holden doesn’t know who’s who.

  He fires whoever he is told to because he’s the HATCHET MAN brought in by the board to lower the budget and hire inexperienced teachers who cost less money to replace these teachers. Judaic teachers also probably won’t be needed according the New Vision of Hillel.

  March 2007 Nick Henrichsen to replace Frumma Rosenberg as Middle School Principal. Many wonder why he couldn’t be high school principal. He, alongside Rabbi Kaplan , seem to be the perfect high school principal combination.

  March 23 2007 Savehillel.com is created. Students at Hillel stage sit-ins on campus wearing all black. Current Hillel Students form a Facebook profile page called “Free Hillel Teachers” and a Facebook group called “Save Lefkowitz”.

  Pesach 2007 Chaye Kohl “resigns” as Principal and clears out her office during the holiday (her contract was nonrenewed anyhow)

  April 13 2007 On account of public outcry -3 teachers are rehired: Heber, Galitzer, Lefkowitz. A massive victory!

  April 2007 The battle is not over.

  Several think that the firings are symptoms of larger issues that need addressing:

  1. Low Teacher Morale
  2. Teacher complaints regarding Holden and Druin’s mistreatment of teachers.
  3. Rabbi Michael Druin is less credentialed than the teachers he fired. He doesn’t even have a college degree.
  4. Who is Adam Holden? A man who holds a bogus doctorate degree from an unaccredited university (California Coast came under Congressional fire in Senate hearings for being a diploma mill )and received scathing critique from teachers, parents, alumni, and current students at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy of Kansas. Several of their letters appear on Savehillel.com and some were sent to the Florida Jewish News as a warning to Hillel.
  5. Who is Tymony Bonilla? Adam Holden hired his crony from Kansas to come be High School Principal next year much to the dismay of several who were hoping Rabbi Kaplan would be promoted to principal position.
  6. For the upcoming school year, 5 non Jewish administrators will have key positions. Most Jewish day schools have a Jewish Head of School and several Jewish principals with a smattering of non-Jewish General Studies Principals. There is an imbalance here tilted to the non-Jewish side.

  May 2007 An alternate slate is formed to run against the slate nominated by the committee affiliated with the current Board of Governors. WWW.hillel4change

  The new slate has roughly 3 weeks to start to get information out there. Most parents have no clue what’s been going on at Hillel or have been given a great deal of misinformation. Against tremendous obstacles (and rumored dirty campaigning done by the current board), in three weeks time, the new slate garners 30 percent of the vote.

  Circa May 2007 After years of delay, a Hillel Alumni Association is finally formed. Chani Dennis, Heidi Frye, Robyn Baltuch are in charge.

  June 6 2007 Elections are held. The first time in Hillel history that an election for the board ever took place. Approximately 500 parents show up. The Current Board of Governors are voted in primarily by elementary school parents unaware of all the turmoil. Had high school parents voted solely, the vote would have gone the other way. One new slate candidate is, however, voted on to the board: Jill Shockett. A huge victory for parents, teachers, students.

• 29 Anonymous // Jun 21, 2007 at 11:01 am

  WHAT WILL IT FISCALLY COST HILLEL TO REPLACE EXPERIENCED TEACHERS WITH LESS EXPENSIVE, CHEAPER ONES?

  WHAT WILL IT COST OUR STUDENTS IN THE FUTURE????????????

  THE BOARD MAY SAVE MONEY IN THE SHORT TERM BUT WILL PAY A LOT MORE IN THE LONG RUN

  THEIR CHILDREN WILL PAY THE HIGHEST PRICE

  GOOD WORK BOARD! GREAT WORK HATCHET MAN!

  _______________

  06-20) 12:04 PDT SAN FRANCISCO —

  About 500,000 teachers across the country give up on the profession every year — a persistent churn and burn that costs the public schools an estimated $7.3 billion annually, according to a national report released today.

  “Schools are able to hire enough teachers, but they just can’t keep them in the classroom,” said Tom Carroll, president of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, which conducted the study.

  In San Francisco, the district spends an estimated $12 million to recruit, hire and train new teachers each year to replace those who’ve left, the researchers found.

  The annual exodus is “draining resources, diminishing teaching quality, and undermining our ability to close the student achievement gap,” according to the report.

  To stem the flow, districts must first determine the annual turnover rate and then focus on hiring well-prepared teachers who have a clear understanding of content, curriculum and how to manage a classroom, Carroll said.

  And then, he added, they need mentoring and other support their first years.

  The study analyzed five districts across the country, adding up all the costs associated with replacing outgoing teachers, including staff time spent interviewing, travel to recruitment fairs, professional development.

  At the high end, Chicago spent nearly $18,000 on each of the 4,800 teachers who left every year.

  Yet, in the much smaller community of Jemez Valley, N.M., the district spent $4,366 on each departing teacher.

  For the complete report, go to www.nctaf.org.

  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/20/BAGPMQIJPH8.DTL

• 30 Anon // Jun 21, 2007 at 11:06 am

  “As someone asked the other day, Marty Scheck of the Board who I have not seen since Hillel, did attend and graduate(I believe) from Hillel, about 2 years before me, so at least 1 alumni is listed that I know.”

  problem is that Marty only has elementary school kids so he’s not aware of a lot of what people have been saying

• 31 Anon // Jun 21, 2007 at 11:12 am

  “The board circumvented the SACS rules which state the Dean must be Jewish. Instead, they call the position, Head of School.”

  I believe you mean circumvented the by-laws which are constantly being re-written at the whim of the latest PTB

• 32 Anon // Jun 21, 2007 at 11:16 am

  Veteran Teacher post 23

  YOU HIT THE NAIL RIGHT ON THE HEAD!

• 33 Juno // Jun 21, 2007 at 3:11 pm

  Absolutely!

• 34 Anon // Jun 21, 2007 at 8:01 pm

  Lott tripped by bloggers?
  Monday, December 16, 2002 by Dave Winer.

  Lott tripped
  This CNN piece caught our eye at Scripting News.

  http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/12/16/timep.lott.tm/

  A quote: “If Lott didn’t see the storm coming, it was in part because it was so slow in building. The papers did not make note of his comments until days after he had made them. But the stillness was broken by the hum of Internet ‘bloggers’ who were posting their outrage and compiling rap sheets of Lott’s earlier comments. It took a few more days before Democrats denounced Lott and demanded a censure.”

  Top down

  I thought weblogs would rewrite the rules of US politics, but I thought it would happen slowly, and come from the ground up: that one candidate, perhaps for local office, would use a weblog well, and others would follow, and in a few years a weblog would be an assumed part of a political presence, much as telephones and airplanes are today.

  This is a surprise. That weblogs would play a role in the toppling of a major US political leader, is growth from the top down, and it’s happening very quickly. The medium is perfectly suited for this. All of a sudden punditry is open to everyone.

  I think somewhere, where ever he is, Thomas Jefferson is smiling.

  Dave Winer

• 35 Anon // Jun 21, 2007 at 8:57 pm

  “And Alexa.com, a company that ranks web sites based on their traffic volume, places SaveHillel.com in the top 2% of the 11 million sites tracked over the past three months.”

• 36 robyn baltuch // Jun 21, 2007 at 9:34 pm

  I have read this blog throughout its history and have not made any comments on it but rather to individuals. Now that my name has been mentioned, I feel that I need to set the record straight with the information that I know….
  I was called and asked to be part of an alumni advisory board that the school was forming. I will admit that I was hesitant but said that I would come to a meeting to learn more. I have now gone to two meetings. Last time I checked, that does not make a person in charge of something. In addition, you should know that Chani Dennis is no longer at the school. As of now, Erica, the development associate is taking care of the Alumni Advisory Board.

  The group is comprised of individuals from various years, including people from the class of 2007 and 2008, also going back to when the school didn’t have a high school. I have also recommended names of people that I personally think would be assets to the group.

  I could be jumping the gun by sharing this information but I feel that you, fellow alumni, should know that the school is planning 4 alumni events for the upcoming year. I am not 100% sure of the exact role that is intended for the alumni advisory board at this point but I think it will evolve as things move along. Right now alumni advisory board members were asked to choose a committee/event to get involved with.

  I hope that clarifies that false information about me being in charge of the alumni association. One other thing that I want to mention is….the alumni association will be called the JEROME M. LEVY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION. I personally brought it up at the last meeting and everyone sitting there couldn’t have agreed more with making sure that this is held up.

  With all this said, let me know if you have any thoughts that I can bring to the table when the next meeting takes place (i believe in the fall, i have no exact date).

• 37 admin // Jun 21, 2007 at 9:40 pm

  Hey Robyn, thanks for clarifying. Also, thanks for mentioning that it will be called the “JEROME M. LEVY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION.” It appears that they forgot to put “Jerome” on the alumni page.

• 38 Anonymous // Jun 21, 2007 at 9:45 pm

  Robyn,

  Thanks for the clarification.

  Anyone else who has any corrections or additions to make to the timeline, please do so.

  It is a work in progress.

• 39 robyn baltuch // Jun 21, 2007 at 9:46 pm

  i sent an email to the people at the school to bring the mistake of the name on the website to their attention. thanks for bringing it to my attention.

• 40 Anonymous // Jun 21, 2007 at 9:53 pm

  Hillel is lucky to have such dedicated and competent alumni like Robyn helping out! Thank you!!!

• 41 Anonymous // Jun 21, 2007 at 9:55 pm

  

• 42 Anonymous // Jun 21, 2007 at 10:01 pm

  Kol Ha Kavod to Hillel for naming the alumni association after Dr. Levy as it was meant to be named for several years now.

  Acknowledging the individuals who give and gave so much of themselves to this institution is very much in keeping with the Torah principles espoused at Hillel, particularly the sacred principle of Ha Karat Ha Tov.

  It is a pleasure to see lip service being matched by ACTIONS.

  Hillel should continue to practive this principle by acknowledging excellent individual teachers by individual name in a more public forum - soon!!

• 43 Anon // Jun 21, 2007 at 10:20 pm

  Robyn: Is there a way for interested alumni to get involved with the association? If you’ve been reading the blog, you can see that a number of alumni have expressed such a desire.

• 44 robyn baltuch // Jun 22, 2007 at 9:41 am

  i think there are ways for people to get involved, committtees, events, etc. it really is still in its infancy. as far as i know there isn’t much going on over the summer. i would suggest interested individuals either call the school and speak to erica or you can let me know and i will make sure you are included.

• 45 Aaron // Jun 22, 2007 at 1:36 pm

  Ironically, had Dr. Levy not passed, his full time job would have been the administration of the Alumni Association.

  Why was no one hired to replace him on a full time basis after he passed away?

• 46 Anon // Jun 22, 2007 at 2:09 pm

  Well aaron , it looks like the school has been in great flux. There have been so many changings of the guards that I don’t think most of the PTB even know who Dr. Levy was. It’s great to see that this blog has reminded the people who do know not to forget about creating that association and has reminded them to put his name on it. If the school starts to put more channels of communication in place and creates more forums for different stakeholders to have a voice then this blog achieved a huge victory.
  Public schools include all their stakeholders - from alumni to the Parent Teacher STUDENT Association . Hillel for the last couple years only had H.I.P. (Hillel Involved Parent) -notice there was no role there for Teachers as in P.T.A….or in public schools P.T.S.A. Public schools also have their bylaws online for all to see. Interesting differences….

• 47 anonymous // Jun 22, 2007 at 8:45 pm

  exactly right Avi. I was browsing through the Florida Jewish News and stumbled upon this opinion piece. I couldn’t agree more:

  http://floridajewishnews.com/Opinion/Avi%27s_Corner/Don%E2%80%99t_Leave_Quietly%21_200706151190/

  Don’t Leave Quietly

  Written by Avi Frier- Publisher
  Jun 15, 2007 at 12:00 AM

  In my pre-newspaper days, I used to work with businesses that needed help with their marketing.

  When consulting with my clients in the area of inviting customer feedback, I often pointed to two local retailers that I occasionally patronize: A dry cleaner and a restaurant. Each of these retailers has a sign hanging by its counter expressing the store’s “policy” on customer satisfaction.

  The restaurant’s sign portrays a photo of the proprietor holding what appears to be a large assault rifle. The caption reads simply, “Complaints Department.”

  The dry cleaner’s sign has no picture, just the following request: “If you like what we do, please tell a friend. If not, please tell us.”

  How often do we stop patronizing a particular business without ever letting the owner know what they did (or didn’t do) that caused them to permanently lose the privilege of serving us?

  Isn’t it our responsibility, as a fellow human being, to let the store owner know what they could have done better for us, and what they should do in the future to ensure their continued livelihood?

  In short, no. It’s not our responsibility, especially if the Complaints Department carries an assault rifle. And even in the case of the store that requests our feedback, both positive and negative, not everyone is comfortable providing such criticism.

  So while doing so may be classified as passive aggressive, and while taking the time to communicate your complaints to the owner might be the more “mentchlach” thing to do, the truth is that if you are an unsatisfied with the service you receive at a particular establishment, there is no moral requirement to speak up.

  With one exception.

  If you are pulling your child out of the local Jewish day school in favor of another, you owe it to the other children in the school to speak up and to make sure your voice is heard.

  Over the past few weeks, I’ve heard from a number of people who are unhappy with their children’s schools, and have made plans to go elsewhere. Yet very few of them have taken the time to sit down with the principal and say, “I’m leaving. Here’s why.”

  Perhaps you’re not comfortable dishing out criticism.

  Get over it.

  Perhaps you assume, based on your past complaints, that they know full well why you’re leaving.

  Suffer through the explanation one last time.

  Perhaps you’re afraid the administrator to whom you’ve been directed won’t listen.

  Find someone who will.

  If not the principal, there’s a president. If not the president, there’s an education committee chair. If not a committee chair, there’s an executive director. But you have to find someone.

  Because if we’re going to ensure the future of our children’s Jewish education, it’s essential that we speak up and say what’s on our minds.

  And after we’re finished, after we’ve sat with the school official who will listen, and we’ve gone into great detail and gotten it all off our chests, spoken our minds, spilled our guts…

  …only then is it time to shut our mouths.

  Completely.

  There is no need to tell all of our friends why we chose to pull our child out of the school. There is no need to give other people reasons to follow suit.

  Because just as it is our collective responsibility to ensure that our Jewish schools are provided with the information they need to better themselves, and to ultimately improve the quality of the education they offer, it is also our collective responsibility to refrain from speaking Lashon Hara (gossip) about those same Jewish schools. We have nothing to gain and everything to lose from inciting people to cease their support of the local Jewish day school, even if that school has proven that it does not fulfill our particular needs.

  Our day schools are going through a variety of crises. Some are now forced to compete with a “Jewish” school that charges an unbeatable tuition rate: free.

  Another, in its latest stage of growing pains, is facing challenges in keeping lines of communication open between administration and faculty, and between the board and the parent body.

  Some schools are still young, with so much they haven’t mastered yet. Two are opening their doors for the very first time this coming August.

  Without our feedback, both positive and negative, how will they ever improve?

  Did they make you angry? So angry that you’d like to pull your kid out and leave without a word to the administration, but with no shortage of words for anyone else who will listen?

  Here’s what my wife and I tell our kids at home in situations like that: Deal with it.

  Because while you may have been wronged beyond repair by a numbskull principal, a moronic board member, or an imbecile of a teacher, the remaining hundred or five hundred or thousand kids in the school never did anything to hurt you.

  And in the end, they are the ones who stand either to benefit from your words, or suffer from your silence.

• 48 Juno // Jun 22, 2007 at 10:23 pm

  47 anonymous // Jun 22, 2007 at 8:45 pm

  brilliantly on target article!

• 49 anonymous // Jun 24, 2007 at 12:52 am

  If we do not speak up - then it is only ourselves we can blame!!

• 50 Anon // Jun 24, 2007 at 11:33 am

  Agreed. I think this web site has spoken out a whole lot.

• 51 robyn baltuch // Jun 25, 2007 at 5:09 pm

  The alumni page of the Hillel website has been corrected and now says Jerome M. Levy

• 52 admin // Jun 25, 2007 at 5:16 pm

  Thanks Robyn.

• 53 Anonymous // Jun 26, 2007 at 7:33 pm

  Thanks for taking care of this Robyn.

  JUST LIKE I SAID, THE SQUEAKY HINGE GETS THE GREASE.

  We all need to keep making noise until every situation gets addressed properly.

  It’s like Avi Frier says, even if you’re going to leave, DON’T LEAVE QUIETLY.

• 54 Anon // Jun 26, 2007 at 8:35 pm

  “Do not go gentle into that good night.
  Rage, rage against the dying of the light. ”

  –Dylan Thomas

• 55 Juno // Jun 27, 2007 at 9:22 pm

  53 Anonymous
  And we need to be loud!

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