Baltimore - Bnos Yisroel v Bais Yaakov

amother

Steelblue

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 9:13 pm

I went to BY and send my girls to Bnos. I really think both schools are great and it's great for us parents that we have more than 1 option (not like when I was growing up) because it forces both schools to be better.

That being said, I am hearing this second hand but directly from my niece that this happened to, my niece is in BY high school and wanted to be in a certain part of production. She didn't get in and when she went to the teacher who made the selections to ask why or see if she could get in she was told that "they only wanted 'cute girls' in it." This from a teacher/staff member!!! I was super super shocked. This is shameful! It made me happy that my girls are in Bnos. My daughter does not have the best voice (decent, but not the most talented) and was thrilled to get a solo in the performance.

amother

Khaki

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 9:36 pm

I send to BY and have other connections to BY. BY and Bnos are the same and different. Bnos will only have 2 classes per grade, 50 girls per class (although there was a time when a grade had to be separated into three classes, it was a long time ago and I’m sure I don’t know the whole story since I don’t send there). BY has more classes but smaller amount of girls. In BY every principal in every division knows each girls name. It doesn’t matter if you are a past present or future student. Everyone knows everyone’s name and can say something positive about each girl that day. BY has amazing extracurriculars; they participate in stem programs with schools from other states and consistently come in first. The basketball team is also good. And so are all of the other teams-debate, etc. The teachers are so approachable and you can always call or email. For production every girl is involved. This includes the special needs girls. There is no them and us. One unified group. Girls help other girls and not because they’re forced to. One of my daughters in high school says she knows everyone in her grade and they’re all friends.
There is a technology policy at BY, available on their website. I think it’s pretty basic, like no email addresses allowed for girls until 7th or 8th grade and no chatting allowed at all. If a girl has a cellphone it’s typically a flip phone and it’s tagged and given to the office in the morning and you get it back to drive home.
I find that BY is the most caring school. I have every principal’s cellphone number. Teachers that have had my daughters still ask about them. BY goes above and beyond for every girl.

amother

Steelblue

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 9:56 pm

I think you miswrote. Bnos does not have 50 girls per class (!!!). They do not even have 50 girls per grade! I think their class size is also 20-22 max, often less, same as BY.

The availability of resources is a point to note. In fact that's the one thing that makes me wonder if we'd be better off at BY. One of my girls does need more help and gets it from the learning center at Bnos but I do wonder if BY would be better equipped to help her because they have more experience/resources. I didn't know she'd have these learning issues when we started at Bnos so it wasn't a cheshbon and I can't see switching her at this point. We really are very lucky to have two great schools here.

amother

Fuchsia

Fri, Apr 28 2023, 2:19 pm

amother Khaki wrote:

I am not sure where you get your numbers. My daughter has the biggest grade in Bnos and she has 24 per class--total 48 per grade. Most classes cap at 20-22.

You mention your daughter knows all the girls in her grade. My elementary school daughter in Bnos knows her whole grade and most of the grade above and below, plus some in the younger and older grades, including middle and high school. That's the flavor of a small school--there is comradery among the grades. The principals know every kid and all their needs. My daughter was falling through the cracks a year ago and before I even noticed, I got a call from the principal with her concerns and game plan. BH she's flying this year. The principal randomly stops me by dismissal to comment how well my daughter is doing. When my 2nd daughter was in nursery, her morah picked up she couldn't hop and had great suggestions. She's still in preschool and they thought she needed additional reading support and the school jumped in before she fell through the cracks.

Bais Yaakov is a great school. The size was really the only reason I didn't want to send. I went to Bais Yaakov. But it's a different school than where I went. It doubled if not tripled in size. My neighbors sends to BY and has girls the same age as my daughter. They are happy there. Their daughters happily play with my daughter--there is interaction between girls from both schools.

You need to check both schools and see for yourself.

amother

Burlywood

Fri, Apr 28 2023, 4:33 pm

My girls are in BY and I don't have personal experience with Bnos but I have friends who send there. It seems like hashkafically the rules in Bnos are more to the right of BY. BY is liberal leaning compared to other Bais Yaakov's. But BY attracts a more Yeshivish crowd for some reason. Both schools though have a student body from a wide rande of homes, unlike the boys yeshiva's that are more homogenous in the hashkafos of the parent body.

I do have to agree and add my 2 cents that BY is more into the "with it", "in the box" girls. All the hot shot jobs like G.O, Discovery.......go to that type. Every girl gets a job but the "with it" girls are favored. And I know some of the posts are old, but some groups for production like dance are still hard to get into if you aren't very with it or you are not friends with the heads. It's not based on your ability as much. Bnos will give all types a chance at almost any job.

I have a lot of siblings living in Lakewood, Monsey and I don't think BY is less academic than their schools at all. BY is very tracked so if a track is too academic for a girl, they have the option of moving to a lower track. My girls don't feel pressure academically and are bH good students. You can't go wrong at either school. In BY types tend to stick with types socially, can't say about Bnos. What I find amazing about BY is that even though girls from across the spectrum attend (the very modox families send to Ohr Chadash for elementary and then either transition to Beth Tefillah, Yeshiva of Greater Washington or BY for HS) is that hashkafically, the girls turn out either the same or frummer than how they came in, I haven't met anyone who feels their girls turned out less frum because they were exposed to more modern girls. The modern ones are influenced by the frummer ones, not the other way, says a lot about BY!

amother

Khaki

Fri, Apr 28 2023, 7:31 pm

amother Fuchsia wrote:

Everything you said about Bnos is exactly the same as BY.
And remember, most of the teachers from Baltimore who teach at Bnos went to BY.
I’m happy we have choices. And for us the fact that there are more classes per grade is an amazing benefit. Each girl really gets to shine since there are so many levels-it isn’t just high and low, it’s high, medium high, medium, etc. and if you need academic help it’s there and not stigmatized.
For productions I haven’t experienced only friends getting parts or into dance. Everyone is involved and everyone gets to be in what she wants to be in.
There are no wrong choices. Both schools are great. I’m happy with BY.

amother

Teal

Sat, Apr 29 2023, 10:55 pm

Mevakesh wrote:

How do the hashkafos of the girls/families compare? Specifically in terms of technology - smartphones, social media, movies?

Really similar. Both schools share a very large range of frum to more modern in terms of the hashkafic spectrum. One difference to keep in mind is that BY is a much larger school (7 classes per grade approximately) so there might be more variety as the years go by in terms of your daughters' class makeup. In Bnos, there are only two classes to choose from.

Because there are other more modern schools to send to, BY and Bnos are schools that are a big mix but have a right wing hashkafa from the administration and the majority of girls are to the right of the hashkafic spectrum as well.

amother

Marigold

Sun, Apr 30 2023, 12:21 am

The hanhala is right wing, certainly.

However in the high school, there is a gap in Baltimore. There is no local school between Beth Tfiloh and BY, hashkafically speaking. Many girls in this group travel to Silver Spring. However, some who might otherwise attend a more modern school (like if Ohr Chadash had a girls' high school) will wind up in BY.

I think Bnos has a narrower range largely because it's much smaller. If you're coming from, say, New York, then BY will have a bigger mix of students than what you're used to, but I wouldn't want to exaggerate that either.

One might be better than the other for a particular girl, but I don't think there's any way to say BY is objectively better than Bnos, or vice versa.

amother

Fuchsia

Sun, Apr 30 2023, 10:31 pm

amother Khaki wrote:

Actually very few of my girls' teachers ever went to BY. Many are not originally from Baltimore or went to Bnos themselves.

amother

Broom

Tue, May 23 2023, 10:13 pm

Will either of these schools be good for a girl in elementary with ADHD? So accommodating but also helping her grow and shine. We live in a different city and were thinking of moving to Baltimore.. so last year's teacher wouldn't put her in the front of the class and she got distracted. This year's teachers put her in the front and she is doing so much better!
Yes, my daughter is on meds, doing well. No real behavioral outbursts etc, one teacher didnt realize anything was different until I called and asked how she was doing (teacher missed the before year transition meeting). Academically is on par, just needs some minor adjustments and a warm and friendly morah...