Shocking Letter | Imamother

amother

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 11:05 am

Some background - DH and I have an 8th grader and we are currently considering two high schools for our DC, let's call them school A and school B.
Last night, DH and I opened the mail after Shabbos and found an envelope addressed to us with no return address. It was stamped mailed to us from a nearby city. The letter contained shocking allegations against school A and its principal, with numerous examples that the letter claimed were from multiple parents. DH and I were stunned. We have no idea who sent this letter, how they got our address, how they know that we have an 8th grader and that we are considering school A. I have not stopped thinking about this.

amother

Sapphire

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 11:09 am

Scary!

My guess is where your child is now is a 'feeder school' for school A and someone got the class list from your current school, and sent everyone in the grade 8 class letters.

amother

Plum

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 11:26 am

Anonymous letters are horrible.

silverlining3

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 11:30 am

Oh gosh. I'd be shocked as well.

amother

Slategray

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 11:31 am

There's probably competition and politics involved and a different school is trying to spread dirt on the school. I'd probably ignore the letter, or maybe quietly ask around others about it.

amother

Azure

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 12:27 pm

So do your research very well & carefully on this school.

amother

Slategray

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 12:31 pm

amother [ Azure ] wrote:

So do your research very well & carefully on this school.

And make sure that school B isn't the one behind the letter.

leah233

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 12:37 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Do you know a few parents in the school already that you can clarify this with?

Cmon be nice

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 12:41 pm

Did other parents get the same letter?

amother

Pink

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 12:55 pm

amother [ Slategray ] wrote:

There's probably competition and politics involved and a different school is trying to spread dirt on the school. I'd probably ignore the letter, or maybe quietly ask around others about it.

This! Its unfortunate that yehudi schools stoop to the tactics that non jews use which is against the torah...unfortunately, I have experience of schools behaving in ways against the torah...it disgusts me, but at the end of the day, most rabeim/teachers work hard and care and dont get sucked into these....

DrMom

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 1:18 pm

amother [ Pink ] wrote:

I've never heard of non-Jewish schools doing this.

I think the perpetrators need to own their actions and not dismiss it as "imitating non-Jews."

amother

Jade

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 1:28 pm

I would look carefully into the allegations, because while they may be be false, they may also be true and you don't want your son to be in a school that's not safe.

amother

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 2:44 pm

Quote:

Scary!
My guess is where your child is now is a 'feeder school' for school A and someone got the class list from your current school, and sent everyone in the grade 8 class letters.

Yes, that is correct - DC's school is the 'feeder school' for school A. As far as I know, DC's school only sends out the class list on paper, not digitally. If I am correct about that, then the letter sender went through an awful lot of trouble typing all the parent names and addresses and setting up a list to print all the envelopes (it was printed, not addressed by hand).

Quote:

There's probably competition and politics involved and a different school is trying to spread dirt on the school.

I find this so hard to believe. The allegations were very serious, detailed and specific and not at all related to politics. School A is also the only non-coed one in its particular neighborhood.

Quote:

And make sure that school B isn't the one behind the letter.

School B is nowhere near school A and has a feeder elementary. They do not actively try to recruit 8th graders from DC's current school. The two schools are also far from each other and differ somewhat hashkafically (but are still potential choices for our family).

Quote:

Do you know a few parents in the school already that you can clarify this with?

I am going to call someone who has two children in School A. The other parents I know have 9th graders in the school who have only been there a few months.

Quote:

Did other parents get the same letter?

I don't know and that's part of the freakiness of this - why hasn't my phone blown up about this? Is everyone just disregarding it or did not everyone get it? Again, the contents of the letter allege things about the school that are potentially life-ruining (not zexual but pretty damaging).

amother

Pumpkin

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 2:47 pm

Call a few parents in your child's class

flmommy

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 2:54 pm

Wow so crazy. I would definitely do my due diligence regarding checking into the allegations.

amother

Rose

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 2:54 pm

I've gotten an anonymous letter with horrible allegations. Not about a school but about a family. Needless to say not a word was true. I suppose the sender can get sadistic pleasure from knowing that I was haunted by the letter for years even knowing it was untrue. I hope they do teshuva because I have never forgiven.

amother

Sienna

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 3:12 pm

amother [ Rose ] wrote:

was this regarding a shidduch?

amother

Slategray

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 3:33 pm

OP, perhaps the letter is from someone that wasn't accepted to that school and is jealous?

amother

Sapphire

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 3:51 pm

OP - scanners are really good now at detecting print and converting the image in editable text.

shirachadasha

Sun, Jan 03 2021, 4:10 pm

amother [ Slategray ] wrote:

And make sure that school B isn't the one behind the letter.

Don't race to assume. Could also be school C which isn't even on your list.