LA schools... | Imamother

amother

Dodgerblue

Tue, Aug 09 2016, 11:40 am

Can anyone describe the schools? I know there are a bunch. What is Emek like? Yeshiva ketanah? Ohr Eliyahu? Maimonides?

My husband is more right wing MO, I lean closer to yeshivish (left wing yeshivish?). we want excellent education, including secular. We don't have TVs, do have professional degrees...
Before housing decisions are made I want to know if there is a school for us.
Toras Emes is out because awful academics. Yavneh and Hillel are too left for us.

tichellady

Tue, Aug 09 2016, 10:18 pm

Maimonides is not for you. The families who send their kids there are modern orthodox- the classes are coed. Does not seem like what you are looking for. I have no issues with the school- I would send my kids there just saying it's not at all to the right. Yavneh is definitely more to the right than Maimonides.

I would call yeshiva ketana and ask if you can talk to some of the parents there. My impression is most of the people who send their kids there are frum and work. Most of them probably have tvs and some form of higher education. I don't think there are any kollel families in the valley because I don't think there is a kollel there. It's a new school and I don't think they have so many grades, so that may be relevant depending on the ages of your kids.

amother

Turquoise

Tue, Aug 09 2016, 11:54 pm

amother wrote:

I think Ohr Eliyahu is perfect for you

No matter which school you choose, try to connect with parents from that school and ask them about their experience.

I've heard a lot of people who LOVE Ohr Eliyahu, and a lot of people who don't.

I think that given your level of religiosity, you're going to have a hard time anywhere besides Toras Emes or Ohr Eliyahu.

IY"H I will be choosing schools in a few years. I will probably choose Toras Emes for the religious aspect and try to supplement academics at home.

SRB

Wed, Aug 10 2016, 2:59 am

My DS will enter preschool next year so I'm currently interviewing schools to find the best fit. We recently toured Ohr Eliyahu and Miamonodes. Where will you live?

Miamonodes is MO and zionistic. They have a new building. Most kids live in the Pico Robertson area and Beverlywood. Secular classes are coed. Religious studies are NOT coed. The principle of the school is very frum. Many teachers are frum. They have a new STEM lab for the upper grades - I was impressed. The studies are 50% secular, 50% religious. Most kids go to on to high school at YULA (MO) & some to Shalhevet (conservative). Boys don't go to Sunday school.

Ohr Eliyahu is more to the right and probably a better fit for you. Many BTs send their kids there. It's located in the La Brea area. Nice building. Boys go to Sunday school starting 4th grade. No coed classes. The major focus is midos not how many gemoras you learn. They encourage parents to be involved and grow too - some parents go to Shirim at the school. Kids are more "sheltered" then at Miamonodes - like school rules about no tv characters at birthday parties. Generally boys go on to high school at Yeshivah Gadolah & MBY, girls to Bais Yakkov.

We didn't consider Yavneh. It's MO but probably not as left as Miamonodes. We didn't consider it for a couple reasons. IMO there's too much academic pressure and too much gashmious but again that's just my personal opinion and there are many very happy families there.

Pm me if you want more info. Good luck!

amother

Dodgerblue

Wed, Aug 10 2016, 11:04 am

Thanks all! I don't want to out my SN as it isn't public yet so won't PM now. We haven't found a place to live yet so don't know valley vs Pico (but don't mind the Pico to la brea commute). It would be for the next school year not next month :-). Kids will only be in kindergarten then (2017) and we might have to move mid year.

Toras Emes is way too right for us, too little academics etc.
Yavneh is too gashmiyus and too left for us.

I heard that some don't like Ohr Eliyahu- it's not as academic as it used to be. How academic is it? Why else are people upset? I like the stress on middos but I do want an education. I hear it's quite expensive too. Anyone know how much?

It feels like there are boxes and what does one do if you don't fit any?

tichellady

Wed, Aug 10 2016, 1:13 pm

amother wrote:

1. I really don't think the LA Orthodox community is full of boxes. I would say most people are not " in the box" at all. There is no school that is perfect. I think you are over-thinking this. LA has a lot of good options and chances are your children could thrive at more than one school.

2. Figure out where you want to live first. Can you afford to live in Pico-Robertson, La Brea area, or North Hollywood? It's very expensive. North Hollywood is the least expensive, but still not cheap. You may not be able to afford to live in Pico-Robertson in which case that decision will be made for you just based on finances.

3. Your kids are very young. You can start them in one school and then switch. It's not a big deal. If you want to live in the valley start them in a school in the valley (Emek or Yeshiva Ketana) and see how that goes. Don't schlep them at this age from the city to valley or valley to city, unless there is a strong reason to. If you want to live in Pico, then it sounds like Ohr Eliyahu is your best option. Start them there and see if you like it or not. There are so many individual factors- depends on your kid's personalities, depends on the kids that happen to be in their classes, depends on who is the teacher that year, etc. so it's hard to know if a school works until you try it. And it may be great for one child and not for another one of your children. For pricing, just contact the schools directly to discuss.

There are always going to be some people that don't like a school. I would be concerned if every parent was thrilled with every aspect of the school. People have different opinions, needs, and concerns. Visit the schools and see what you think for yourself. Speak to a few parents and get a sense of what they love and don't love about the schools. That's all you can do. Good luck!

tichellady

Wed, Aug 10 2016, 1:17 pm

SRB wrote:

All the Jewish studies teachers and principals at all the schools are very frum. People don't go into chinuch if they don't take Judaism seriously. The question should not if they are frum, but if you agree with their educational philosophy, if you like how they run the school (how they handle middot, bullying, problems with parents/teachers) and student and parent body is very relevant.