Here’s the latest:
July 11, 2007
25 Tamuz 5767
Dear Faculty and Staff,
In an effort to continue the open communication we maintain during the school year, we hope you are finding our summer updates helpful in staying informed about Hillel. We write today regarding some personnel changes that have taken place this week.
It is with great sadness that we announce Michael and Lillian Andron have accepted positions at the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center and will not return to Hillel next year. This is a wonderful opportunity for the Androns to develop a new program at the JCC, ahead of the opening of the new performing arts center. The community will benefit in tremendous ways from a program that invites children and adults from all schools and organizations. It is, however, a bittersweet moment for Hillel. As we congratulate Michael and Lillian, we also lament the loss of two of our most cherished, talented educators. No words can express the school’s appreciation for how the Androns touched the lives of students and inspired them to achieve.
Although it is always difficult to lose good teachers, we thank the Androns for the excellence they built through Hillel’s extracurricular theatre program, allowing us to look ahead from a very positive perspective. With their remarkable achievements as the foundation, we look forward to the program’s further expansion into a comprehensive performing arts educational curriculum that offers - in addition to school plays - an array of such new schoolwide courses as speech, debate and drama with talented faculty. Hillel’s performing arts program will complement that of the JCC and afford our community a range of arts experiences. As we shared at the Annual Event in May, Hillel’s Endowed Chair for the Performing Arts will ensure our students have the very best program for the lifetime of the school. Due to the Androns’ dedication over the years and now the generosity of a private donor, Hillel’s performing arts program will remain as one of the school’s strongest offerings.
Just as this week’s parasha Mattot-Massey teaches us, we are eager to move forward with your partnership while standing firm in our commitment to provide our children with a rich Jewish educational experience. This calls for excellence in every aspect - from academics and Judaic Studies to athletics and the arts. In this time of transition and always, we uphold Hillel’s promise and tradition to offer only the finest.
If you have any questions, please always feel free to contact one of us or a member of the Board. You can reach us through the school at 305.931.2831 x126; Board members also are available at Board@hillel-nmb.net. We wish you a continued safe, enjoyable summer.
Sincerely,
Dr. Adam Holden, Head of School
Rabbi Michael Druin, Associate Head of School-Judaic
64 responses so far ↓
1 Anonymous // Jul 12, 2007 at 10:15 am
Whatever! I’m dizzy from the spin.
2 Anonymous // Jul 12, 2007 at 10:19 am
“Just as this week’s parasha Mattot-Massey teaches us”
Great Dvar Torah. Just mention the Parsha and it appears that we are Jewish.
Can we look forward to more pearls of Jewish wisdom from Holden?
3 Aaron // Jul 12, 2007 at 10:20 am
I don’t quite understand the relevance with the Parsha…
4 Anonymous // Jul 12, 2007 at 10:22 am
Sure. Every second word now will be Jewish this - Jewish that.
5 Anonymous // Jul 12, 2007 at 10:23 am
That’s because they don’t either…..like I said, mention the Parsha and it appears that we are a Jewish school.
6 Anonymous // Jul 12, 2007 at 10:24 am
Post #4:
Check out the letter from the new High School principal on the Back to School section of the Hillel web site - count how many times the word Jewish is used!
7 Anonymous // Jul 12, 2007 at 10:26 am
I can’t count that high!
8 Anonymous // Jul 12, 2007 at 10:26 am
Hillel never had to use the word Jewish in the past. It was assumed, infused, lived and breathed. Now we have to prove that we are still a Jewish school by saying Jewish this - Jewish that in every sentence.
9 7 more let go // Jul 12, 2007 at 10:45 am
Seven more Hillel personnel let go. So they may not have been your teachers, but they were the people who day in and day out made the school run faithfully behind the scenes doing whatever was asked of them. Secretaries. Computer specialists. Mail room clerks. Some were assured that their jobs were secure only a few weeks ago. More big fat lies. Earlier this week, they were called in and told to pack their bags. Budget problems. Must need the big bucks to pay for the Jews in the HS and MS administration. Good people have been treated like garbarge. Good people who have given their blood, sweat, and Jewish tears to Hillel. Sacked by 3 non-Jews. One in his 60s may have a very hard time getting another job. One took maternity leave and another was promoted over her. Another one’s wife is expecting. I am ashamed to be associated with this school if this is how its personnel are treated. What is the TRUTH behind the Andron departure? We may never know. The 7 let go had to sign agreements to get severance pay. The price of silence?
10 anon // Jul 12, 2007 at 10:48 am
who was let go?
Did nobody forsee this? I really don’t understand. Didn’t this happen in Kansas? there’s a post in the archives about that.
Why are people so blind… you can’t possibly think that you aren’t next?
11 Anonymous // Jul 12, 2007 at 10:53 am
This is common in the business world. The layoff atmosphere creates a panic that sends others off to find new jobs. Very effective in cleaning house.
12 anon // Jul 12, 2007 at 10:55 am
i worry very much.
13 ANONYMOUS // Jul 12, 2007 at 11:10 am
We had speech, theatre and debate classes in the past. This is nothing new. What a lovely spin. How do they do it?
14 ANONYMOUS // Jul 12, 2007 at 11:12 am
They included Larry Beame, Wendy Levine and Ana Baker’s secretary-sounds like Jacob too. Too bad-he has a heart condition.
15 Ivory // Jul 12, 2007 at 11:27 am
How many is that now?
I feel like crying. It is beginning to sound more than scary. Reminds me of tactics that I have read about that were used in 1929-1934 during the height of the Depression.
I also have left Hillel and was not happy in the way it was done: unprofessional.
I once interviewed at a pentecostal evangelical Christian school masquerading as Presbyterians (Coral Springs Christian) and failed in the interview process because I was not “Christian enough”. The flavor on campus was, according to a woman who’d gone through the purgings of that last school year (2004-2005), Berean or Medieval, she could not decide.
I was relieved after I found out what was going on there not to be pulled in. I found that school to be unprofessional.
16 Anonymous // Jul 12, 2007 at 12:32 pm
This school has lost its heart and soul.
It´s all about the budget now and retaining power.
People are treated like garbage and no one seems to care.
I don´t know why any veteran left would assume he or she is safe.
Next April, there will be no one left to fight this battle.
As for Michael Andron, anyone who is friendly with him already knows the tzuris that Holden gave him all year long. This is no secret.
Adam Holden has caused the same problems for several others who remain and are still there so I won´t mention them now or he will surely fire them next week.
Again, it goes back to comfort zone.
If your job may be threatened next April, why wouldn´t you set up a contigency plan and get out now while you can without the headache of next year´s nonrenewal??
Anyone who is still too slow to understand that Holden was hired by the board to be the HATCHET MAN and that he will keep axing people right and left as he sees fit or will continue making them so miserable that they will quietly leave without saying a word–Rabbi Feinerman, Michelle Holcman, Michael Andron–is in such deep denial because of their fear of change
I fear for those veterans.
The veterans make the most money . That´s why they are in the most danger!
Holden can fire the veterans and replace them with cheap, inexperienced labor as easy as 1,2,3
and the board calls this EXCELLENCE???
Again, they think we are all too stupid to see through their machinations.
Sickening.
17 Anonymous // Jul 12, 2007 at 1:45 pm
What is sickening is that the Board doesn’t care! With all the months of comments, discussions, votes and public outcries - they continue to do as they please. At this point it might be best to either accept it or leave for greener pastures.
18 Anonymous // Jul 12, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Si. Es la verdad.
19 Juno // Jul 12, 2007 at 9:37 pm
Aaaaggghhh!
Maybe I should go back to public school. Hmmmm 40 kids to a class…
:^{
20 Good Wolf // Jul 12, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Maybe Holden enjoys firing people.
21 Anon // Jul 12, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Maybe they sent him to do that. He did it in Kansas, so why should florida be any different?
his resume might not show the finest academic credentials, but he has a proven track record of ridding people of their jobs.
22 Anonymous // Jul 12, 2007 at 11:25 pm
Hey - here’s a nice bit of irony:
Hillel is going to teach DEBATE.
Yet, by example, Hillel is teaching our kids that there is no such thing as debate.
Only what Adam says and what the Board says.
Teachers can be fired for expressing an opinion. Alumni and parents can be threatened. Board members tell the press that they don’t make decisions based on public opinion.
Only when they were backed into a corner by their own bylaws did the Board allow any public discussion of the issues in the election.
And then there was no debate. No challenges, no questions, no answers.
Just two minutes to squeeze in testimony of the damage that had been done.
If the Board weren’t such cowards, they would allow a public debate of the issues.
Give our students a real life lesson.
23 sara // Jul 12, 2007 at 11:45 pm
Debate (that is, debate club) is not new to Hillel. We had a team. We competed in local novice tournaments and we competed with day schools in the northeast. We did what we could do….National Forensic League schedules Friday night and all-day Saturday competitions. This administration cannot take credit for bringing debate to Hillel. There is a National Catholic Forensic League. At the rate we are going, ……………..
24 Good Wolf // Jul 13, 2007 at 7:45 am
The National Catholic Forensic League????
25 mindy // Jul 13, 2007 at 8:38 am
http://www.ncfl.org/index.html
26 ANONYMOUS // Jul 13, 2007 at 10:38 am
STOP THE PRESSES
Kathy Matz let go
27 Aaron // Jul 13, 2007 at 10:43 am
who is Kathy Matz?
28 ANONYMOUS // Jul 13, 2007 at 10:54 am
Front office h.S.- used to be Arlene Apple’s spot
29 Aaron // Jul 13, 2007 at 10:58 am
HOLDEN is to JEWISH DAY SCHOOLS as ROGER AILES is to NEWSPAPERS
30 mindy // Jul 13, 2007 at 11:08 am
New administrative positions created…BIG salaries. Other people let go.
31 Anon // Jul 13, 2007 at 11:10 am
Favoritism and nepotism running rampant at Hillel.
Go ahead, fire who you want and give other people those salaries.
32 Good Wolf // Jul 13, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Oh, no! Kathy is terrific!
33 Anonymous // Jul 13, 2007 at 11:23 pm
“Hey - here’s a nice bit of irony:
Hillel is going to teach DEBATE.”
Actually this is not ironic at all. Thank the blog for that too. An upset parent wrote on the blog that they were upset that the debate team no longer existed and voila peanut butter sandwiches…the debate team is being reinstituted. Now that’s positive.
34 Good Wolf // Jul 14, 2007 at 10:07 pm
Ironic….
I heard that when the 12th grade English teacher taught Beowulf (that archaic ancient epic) she had the kids bring in a guitar and sing the dang thing, exactly what you are supposed to do with stuff like that and then she post-tested the kids
to see if they got it and her class average went up on that project by an average of 17 points….
35 John Doe // Jul 17, 2007 at 9:29 am
I don’t particularily desire to learn Torah from a Goy.
36 anonymous // Jul 17, 2007 at 12:08 pm
agreed!
37 Ivory // Jul 17, 2007 at 4:46 pm
‘John Doe // Jul 17, 2007 at 9:29 am’
“I don’t particularily desire to learn Torah from a Goy.”
Beowulf is Anglo-Saxon and considered the height of British Literature, it does reference the Cain and Able story as allusionary only. One interesting thing about Beowulf is that you do have to sing it inorder for it to make sense, it dates to about 600 CE (common era),British Literature is essential for college prep, you also get Chaucer, Shakespeare and Blake and Bronte and Dickens and Plath. The problem with Literary Allusion is creating an environment which enables the student to “get” the Literature. Sometimes when you teach the Le Morte de Artur (King Arthur), you have to explain the significance of all kinds of allusions (qv, what is the holy grail and why was there a quest for it, etc) (why is a certain shade of blue important; or why is the Stone of Scone interesting) but do the allusions in such a way that the student is supported (in this case Judaically) by not poaching the religiosity even slightly. In any Brit Lit text a good teacher will find all kinds of stuff, some appropriate for any school, some to approach with caution and some things not to do at all because of a variety of reasons.
As the word Goy derives from a term that means “stranger” or “foreigner” please be aware that some people are not keen on it.
38 Anonymous // Jul 17, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Ivory and John Doe, you are talking about 2 separate issues. Please do not confuse them.
39 John Doe // Jul 20, 2007 at 6:48 am
Ivory -
What have you been smokin ???
40 Ivory // Jul 20, 2007 at 8:13 am
John - Don’t smoke, don’t drink but I do clean my home obessively.
I am deeply offended by the way so many staff have been dismissed.
41 traub // Jul 20, 2007 at 8:56 am
[Editor’s note: Comment removed for being off-topic and needlessly inflammatory]
42 sad parent // Jul 20, 2007 at 9:16 am
Traub #41: The people on this blog are fighting to preserve Hillel’s core values, judaically and morally. This cannot work if people post personal attacks. Let us keep to the issues at hand and not join in the despicable behavior of disparaging those associated with the school.
43 traub // Jul 20, 2007 at 9:42 am
It should not be considered a personal attack if the individuals charged with operating our school demonstrate a lack of core values both judaically and morally.
44 Anonymous // Jul 20, 2007 at 9:44 am
People’s personal lives, for better, for worse, are irrelevant as far as this cause is concerned.
The only issue at hand is what is being done to save teachers and Judaics at Hillel from the destructive practices of the board, Mr. Holden and Michael Druin.
45 Anonymous // Jul 20, 2007 at 9:46 am
Bill Clinton, as a husband, was morally reprehensible, but was still a great President.
The person you speak about #43 has NO bearing on the decisions that have been made to DESTROY this school and, therefore, should be left out of the discussion.
46 anonymous // Jul 20, 2007 at 9:59 am
Taking into account all that has been posted about Rabbi Druin and Adam Holden, it is not clear why quesioning the finance departments knowledge of past wrong doings, personal behavior, and conduct with regard to covering up both is any more disparaging than anything else that has been written.
47 Anonymous // Jul 20, 2007 at 10:07 am
any more disparaging or any less disparaging?
your meaning is unclear
48 Anonymous // Jul 20, 2007 at 10:09 am
No one has discussed personal lives of any board members or administrators - for the record. Only actions that pertain directly to the school situation.
49 anonymous // Jul 20, 2007 at 10:11 am
The school either has a moral compass or it does not. It starts at the top. If we accept that people’s personal lives are no indication of how they conduct the business of our Jewish Day School, #44 and 45 would be correct. How damaging was it to this country when our leadership demonstrated a lack of moral fortitude? Clinton looks like a great leader today because the morality and lies of the current administration look worse.
Decisions at Hillel are made on the basis of who plays the game and who does not and to play the game, one has to have a certain lack of integrity which clearly affects all decisions. Being a good teacher, an individual of fine moral character (Rabbi Kaplan) and one who leads by example for our children did not seem to matter when decisions were made that affected our teachers and the needs of our children.
50 anonymous // Jul 20, 2007 at 10:23 am
If the current and past Hillel board(s) were concerned about the ethics, morality and legality of the conduct of the individuals charged with running Hillel and making decisions that clearly affect our children and teachers, the school today would be a School of Excellence. We would not have faced the fiscal problems with which we are dealing, the school’s capital campaign would be well underway and we would not have a need for this blog.
51 Anonymous // Jul 20, 2007 at 11:36 am
A very valid point indeed.
52 anonymous // Jul 20, 2007 at 12:09 pm
If the individual charged with data administration is living with the person in charge of finances, does that not raise a question of conflict? If we don’t want to consider the morals or Jewish ethics and values of our administrators or the standards and examples they set for our teachers and students, then should we not at a minimum consider the value of the data and its administration? Or consider that they report to one another and Holden doesn’t care?
53 Anonymous // Jul 20, 2007 at 12:10 pm
True.
54 Anonymous // Jul 20, 2007 at 12:12 pm
This blog has been filled with personal attacks on Holden, Druin, Papir and Dach. To now decide that there is no relevancy to individual conduct is puzzling.
55 Anonymous // Jul 20, 2007 at 12:20 pm
How are we defining personal attacks?
This website has not been looking into matters involving the personal lives of Holden, Druin, Dach, or Papir.
If you are defining personal attacks as attacks against these individuals for the decisions they have made at Hillel, then yes, they’ve been personally attacked in that way.
If anyone wants to look into the way the executive director conducts the finances of the school or whehter there is conflict of interest because he is involved with the person who is in charge of data administration then that is fair game so long as it is expressed in terms of what is best for Hillel.
From my understanding the executive director is extremely sympathetic to this cause, and like all the teachers and employees of Hillel, is stuck between a rock and hard place, because ALL HILLEL EMPLOYEES at the end of the day, are forced to answer to Adam Holden who seems forced to answer to NOBODY.
56 Anonymous // Jul 20, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Correction-he answers to the 3 people who hired him and cover his tush.
57 Anonymous // Jul 20, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Correction–he answers to anyone on whose side he believes will prevail and work best or cover for him. The betterment of Hillel is not the priority. There were many teachers and parents who stuck their necks out to maintain their own integrity. There are ways of marching to orders and there are ways of being true to Jewish ethics, values and procedures.
58 Anonymous // Jul 20, 2007 at 12:43 pm
I was speaking about who Holden answers to but as for what you say regarding who the exec. director answers to, if what you say is true, that is sad indeed.
Many have stuck their necks out at great personal risk to themselves to do what’s right.
Many teachers and employees, however, have not been able to stick their necks out publically because if they do they will be the next ones axed by the Hatchet Man.
59 Good Wolf // Jul 21, 2007 at 7:01 pm
And many of us already have…
60 anonymous // Jul 22, 2007 at 10:27 am
#44 and 45-do you really believe it to be true that an individual’s conduct in their personal lives has no bearing on how they conduct themselves professionally? Is it possible that people behave more ethically and thoughtfully in business than they do in the personal lives? In all of the comments posted on these blogs, we talk about saving Hillel and saving our teachers. If we ignore the personal behavior of the individuals charged with that responsibility and think it has no bearing on how decisions are carried out or how those individuals conduct themselves at our school, we are making a mistake. Do we not want our children surrounded by people like Rabbi Kaplan, Debbie Heber, Debbie Galitzer and Rabbi Lefkowitz, whose integrity is beyond reproach? Why would we not have the same expectations from our administrators and board members?
61 Anonymous // Jul 29, 2007 at 9:29 am
Anonymous // Jul 23, 2007 at 10:21 am
The IRS apparently received notice years ago about the “contributions” that were being taken as donations on the part of the donors even though we were supposedly receiving back our own tuition money that was paid (with a bonus on top for the transfer of our own funds back to the school–Marshall then took his percentage for “raising” our own money). The IRS did nothing even though the auditors at that time walked off the job when they couldn’t identify where cash paid as tuition was going (not directly into operating accounts).
The COO needs to be pressed for the information. He supposedly is “sympathetic” and “helpful” to this “cause” but the reality is he works both sides of aisle to suit his own needs–particularly since Holden was willing to cover up the fact that the COO has been living with the Data Administrator for almost a year even when she was reporting to the COO (they’ve since had that reporting changed on paper).
163 Anonymous // Jul 23, 2007 at 10:24 am
The people who were engaged in the problem that caused the original coverup years ago are still there, the COO is aware of everything that goes on, knows what is happening but opts to cover for all of them–maybe to save his job which is understandable–but he is not the man he appears to be–press him to turn it over. The stakeholders have a right to all of the data and information. This is a 501(c)(3). Nothing should be off limits to requests for information.
62 Anonymous // Sep 2, 2007 at 1:28 am
NK of HBHA in Kansas City is/was an inept accountant. Holden knew it and did nothing. On other matters, Holden lied and I have an affidavit that verified it is/was a lie.
[Editor’s note 12/21: Anonymous, are you happy now? Next time, give me a real email address so that I can verify your comments’ authenticity. And move on. This website has been dead for months. Comment #41 was rightfully removed. I’m not so sure about this one.]
63 Anonymous // Sep 2, 2007 at 10:19 am
As far as I’m concerned, the worst lies Holden has told is in terms of the things he denies to the board …he tells our teachers one thing and he denies ever saying such words when he speaks to board members.
He is no longer firing people outright. He is just slashing their salaries and making them miserable enough to leave on their own.
He’s gotten a little smarter in this regard. It’s harder for people to prove he’s a liar.
What about his blatant lie that the theater program cost Hillel 300K to run a year?
The man is certainly a big fat liar.
I heard he’s pretending to be nicer now. Good. His niceness has no one fooled but it still makes for a more pleasant environment. Perhaps someone told him to step in line and play the game.
64 Good Wolf // Sep 2, 2007 at 4:32 pm
Hmmm..
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