Chicago Boys Elementary Schools

amother

Wed, Jul 23 2014, 1:34 pm

So I grew up here, but still in a query.

I know its a little early... but registration opens in what- Nov? Dec? not that many months to have a decision....

So I know the two options are Yeshivas Tiferes Tzvi and Veitzner Cheder/Yeshivas Ohr Boruch.

My brothers went to YTT and my parents are happier now then they were at the start, many moons ago, but there are still some things they don't like.

DH is kinda leaning to Cheder, but I have some reservations.
Truthfully I have reservations of both schools- each for different reasons and im not sure which one is "better".

With Cheder im not so sure about the Yiddish part of things. Can anyone tell me how "bad" it is for someone who has no knowledge of Yiddish- other then a bissil? (I know good joke haha)

Also will it be getting bigger with the new chassidish kollel(im) that are joining the community? One of its pros is that its currently a small school with one class per a grade. but that may also be a con because theres no way to choose teachers or if theres a problem between classmates... Also will the influx of Yiddish speaking Chassidim cause the school to become more chassidish? Now its not really all that chassidish and most kids dont know much yiddish before coming. does it seem like that will change?

Another thing is that I heard that they dont have as many resources for children that need extra help as YTT does. Now I hope that wont be a problem, but realistically based on family and stuff theres a decent chance that a son of mine will need a resource room. Maybe not, wouldnt mind if the gene skips my family, but maybe better safe then sorry? or if it becomes a problem then switch down the line?

YTT is bigger and not as warm I dont think (from the hanhala level- not talking about rebbe/class now)

they do have more resources and options. and theres no Yiddish. But I know of a number of people that had a hard time working with the hanhala.

Anyone have any input? particularly with the areas im concerned about? TIA

melbee

Wed, Jul 23 2014, 4:06 pm

I looked at both schools and chose JDBY/YTT in the end. A friend of mine sent to cheder and doesn't speak Yiddish which used to not be a problem, but she said there were boys in the class who spoke only Yiddish, no English, for the very first time in the school's history. The teacher had to repeat each sentence in both languages to ensure everyone understood, and as a result the kids did learn more Yiddish than normal, but learning a subject took longer. I'd imagine the new kollelim are sending to the cheder which, although I haven't heard anything official, must be moving or changing the school soon to accommodate as when I visited they were full to capacity (and were very honest about that fact). This is not to say it is not a great school, there are a lot of things I liked about it very much. But in the end, we felt that it was likely our son, who is naturally very quiet, may get lost in the class and so we went to JDBY/YTT instead (who's class sizes are roughly the same, but they have always had 4 nurseries, so they are more experienced in catering to a larger class size - approx. 20 kids with 2 Morahs and a TA). We had a few other reasons for our choice, which I can elaborate on if you need but only via PM.

I have to say, my son had the best experience at the nursery in Bais Yaakov. He will be entering YTT in the fall so I can't speak for them officially yet, but everyone I know who sends there really likes the rebbeim and sings praises about their program. Hatzlocha! I know it's a hard choice. Please let me know if I can be of any help.

And since you asked, people usually start visiting after Sukkos, registration starts after Channukah.

amother

Wed, Jul 23 2014, 4:12 pm

melbee wrote:

I know for a fact that the cheder bought the ICJA building. not moving in just yet- first have to wait for ICJA to move to THEIR new building.

amother

Wed, Jul 23 2014, 11:40 pm

As a parent who chose YTT over the cheder, I can tell you that I've heard wonderful things about the cheder in the last few years. We chose YTT b/c hashgafically it was a better match. As my husband said at the time after visiting both schools, "The Rebbeim at YTT look like me and like I want our boys to look and share our mesorah." My boys are almost done with YTT, and between all of them ,they have had almost every Rebbe there except the newer ones. I cannot say enough about how warm, kind and supportive the Rebbeim are. Some of the English teachers are better than others, but for the most part, always willing to talk to a parent and work with a child. My sons have learned so much from their rebbeim, that while YTT isn't a perfect school (I haven't found one yet in any town), I'm happy that is where we sent all our sons.

The yiddish would've been a problem for us once we got to more complicated material. I speak some yiddish, but not my husband. I didn't want to have to translate every homework sheet. Also, for a child with learning challenges, a third language might make things more difficult. I do also think that the make up of the younger grades is more chassidish than it used to be, certainly more than 5 years ago.

Melbee - you are so lucky, the Pre-1A rebbeim are the best!

amother

Thu, Jul 24 2014, 9:58 am

My boys went to the Cheder and I'm still very involved there.

A lot has changed since we enrolled our oldest son, both at YTT and the Cheder. Back in those days, neither one was really a very good school. Everybody's heart was in the right place, but they just didn't have the people who knew how to build really good schools. Now, boruch Hashem, I think both schools are very good and you won't go wrong with either one.

So a few things about the Cheder from someone who isn't Chassidish:

Unless your child has a real problem with language, Yiddish won't be a problem. They realize that most of the kids don't speak Yiddish at home, and you won't be translating homework sheets or anything like that. My husband knows "yeshiva Yiddish" and I don't speak Yiddish at all, and it was no problem. My sons all speak Yiddish well, and my youngest is really fluent. My oldest son found it a big advantage in mesivta and beis medrash. Most of the gadolim and major names in the yeshivish world still give speeches in Yiddish, and my son found that sometimes he was the only one in his shiur who could understand.

The special education resources don't vary. The Cheder has something like five full-time people working with kids. One thing I liked is that they made sure that special education services carry no stigma. Even the best students get referred to the resource staff when they're having trouble with something, so by the end of 8th grade, almost everyone has gotten help at one time or another.

I would say that the biggest advantage of the Cheder right now is that they are incredibly educationally innovative. They really push the rebbeim and teachers to take complete advantage of all technology. One of my youngest son's rebbeim seemed to live at the Walder Pavilion. In fact, some of the curricula they've developed is being sold to other schools. They are very into presenting material in a variety of ways to make sure all the students grasp it.

Another advantage of the Cheder is that, right now, they have very deep pockets. After being selected as the Torah U'Mesorah school of the year a while back, they've attracted a lot of big money, including even non-Jewish money. So they have the resources to provide whatever students need.

On the minus side, it's become really hard to get into the Cheder. Last year they had to turn down 30 percent of the applicants because of space considerations. Hopefully this will ease once they're in the ICJA building. Also, in the upper grades, your husband will be expected to learn with your son every night. This can be difficult if your husband travels or works late hours.

My advice is to visit and apply to both schools. Either way, I think you'll be happy.

amother

Thu, Jul 24 2014, 2:28 pm

thank you melbee and amothers for your input!

Cheder amother above- do you think the influx of chassidim to the community will change the way Yiddish is dealt with?

b"h my oldest son (at this point) seems to be very bright k"h. but he is also very active. which is normal for his age... but I can also see him being the type of kid that needs to be busy or he will end up disturbing the class. Anyone with a child like that in either school in the last 5 years that can tell me how equipped they would be to handle that?

Also between my family and dh's family we have a number of LD issues that COULD appear like dyslexia, reading issues, processing issues, ADD, sensory, etc. do both schools have similar resources to deal with these kind of things?

Also would you say the parent body at Cheder is more yeshivish then at YTT or its really a mix? Dh went to the "yeshivish" elementary school where he grew up (also had 2 options)- where there were yeshivish kids in both schools, but not many not yeshivish kids in his school. Would that be a good description of Cheder vs YTT or not so much. (well yeshivish + chassidish for cheder)

thanks again so much! I really appreciate all your answers!

Coke Slurpee

Thu, Jul 24 2014, 5:22 pm

I send to YTT and several other schools in Chicago. I did do a short stint in cheder for one of my kids.

I definitely think that the influx of chassidim will definitely change the parent body of the Cheder. Right now the Cheder is only yeshivish with some chassidish. As more chassidim send their kids it will definitely lean more to the chassidish and some of the yeshivish families might leave. If there is going to be a significant increase in chassidish families the school will definitely lean more towards chassidish. Also with their move to the new building in a few years they will definitely have parallel classes which I think is an advantage.

YTT is a mix of yeshivish and not yeshivish.

In my opinion I think the hanhala of YTT is more flexible than Cheder.

I can't tell you about the resources at the Cheder, but YTT's resources are amazing and I have not found their to be any stigma.

amother

Thu, Jul 24 2014, 10:17 pm

I'm one of the previous amothers who sends her boys to YTT. I have a very bright, can't sit still son with sensory issues, who is not ADHD. The school was very involved and agreeable when I decided to have him go through and entire evaluation process in 2nd grade. It was my idea as he was functioning well enough in class. We learned a lot and now that he's almost graduated, we still have the same list of behavioral interventions that we had initially and all the Rebbeim get them at the beginning of the year and for the most part have been very willing to follow them. They have also helped with myriad social issues with my other children.

I don't think any school is perfect, but as long as you go in with your eyes open, either school is good. I would tell you that sometimes the "feel" of a grade can change depending on who the kids are that are in it. I know there are different grades at the cheder that have different make-up. Maybe find out where people like you and your sons are sending. For us, this answer was clearly YTT. I don't find so many non-yeshivish (certainly by OOT standards) families at YTT, I don't think more than at the cheder, certainly not in 4-8 classes where I know both student bodies. For the most part, the kids go to the same shuls and same camps. The chassidim send to the cheder, although there are some older families that still send to YTT.