Lakewood Girls high school

amother

Pewter

Tue, Jan 05 2021, 5:27 pm

small bean wrote:

I think all schools unfortunately have this issue today. We all have to daven that our girls find good friends as that is all that matters at the end.

I agree 100%- it is 2021. But when there is such a issue it would be best to discuss concerns with the hanhala instead of spreading information anonymously on the internet. I don’t think anything constructive can come out of that, especially when it’s not an experience every girl is having.

amother

Black

Tue, Jan 05 2021, 5:48 pm

small bean wrote:

Its funny at first I really didn't cate but now I'm so nauseated by the whole thing.

Here's how I see the schools.
Bais Shaindel - pro established school with mix of girls, con very big
Bais Yaakov - pro established school con elitest mentality that filters to the girls
Bais Kaila - pro established school with mixed girls con - a lot of internal hanhala issues
Oros - pro very serious school con not warm
Bnos bais yaakob - pro warm and fun con hanhala keeps changing over
Chedvas pro it's about the girls, con it's very fluffy
meon pro very warm con very specific kind of family
Aderes pro regular bais yaakov school con not established
Shiras devorah pro established school con parent body is a shnit.

wow thank u for this. where r u applying

amother

Ivory

Tue, Jan 05 2021, 5:55 pm

I apologize. I read my response and it was a little passive aggressive.
I’m interested in knowing what grade your daughter is in.
Chedvas opened up to be a feeder school to Bnos Brocha. They would be very happy to just stick with their girls and are looking for a continuation of the crowd they currently have which in my opinion is mainly frum, out of town girls and families. Frum, not necessarily yeshivish. (Problem is in this town people Think you need to be yeshivish to be sincerely frum) They emphasize warmth, love of yiddishkeit, tznius in clothing and behavior and a genuine relationship with hakodosh Baruch hu.
While Bnos Brocha focuses more on emotional growth vs academic, Chedvas is bringing the academics up for the girl that wants it. Mrs Jaffe is a brilliant woman who brings everything she teaches to life. The depth of her knowledge astounds anyone who listens to her. The teachers she hired are in touch with today’s girl. There is one teacher whom my daughter keeps saying - when I grow up, I want to be like her.
Internet and devices are a problem in every school since March/April when covid hit and one by one many parents gave in.
My daughter has no device and neither do her many friends. There are girls that do and that’s the case in every school. Chedvas is dealing with it while other schools are hiding under a rock.

amother

Lavender

Tue, Jan 05 2021, 6:03 pm

small bean wrote:

I think all schools unfortunately have this issue today. We all have to daven that our girls find good friends as that is all that matters at the end.

I know bais shaindel was having huge issues with this sort of thing 10 years ago. I’m guessing it hasn’t gotten better. This is what happens when the vaad insists every school help accept those students that didn’t get in. Remember that every school is required to accept x percent of vaad slots. Girls from the homes being described in this thread are often the ones not accepted. So they end up spread around among all the schools.

amother

Azure

Tue, Jan 05 2021, 6:27 pm

amother [ Pewter ] wrote:

This is a not a forum where I look to effect change in a school— for that parents do speak with hanhallah irl.

This thread sharing information discussing schools pros and cons for a very specific purpose of helping parents find a best place for their daughter.

I imagine, in every school issues that are typical are not experienced equally by all students, and therefore what?

amother

Pewter

Tue, Jan 05 2021, 6:29 pm

amother [ Lavender ] wrote:

This is what happens when the vaad insists every school help accept those students that didn’t get in. Remember that every school is required to accept x percent of vaad slots. Girls from the homes being described in this thread are often the ones not accepted. So they end up spread around among all the schools.

I highly doubt it’s the 1% of the school (vaad slots) that causes a spread of negative influence.

Let’s be real- many girls from yeshivish homes who don’t fit the system are a major source for this. Unfortunately that number has grown in recent years.

amother

Copper

Tue, Jan 05 2021, 6:54 pm

small bean wrote:

Its funny at first I really didn't cate but now I'm so nauseated by the whole thing.

Here's how I see the schools.

Bnos bais yaakob - pro warm and fun con hanhala keeps changing over

That's true. But the Winklers were there from the beginning, adding a certain sense of stability and their characteristic homeyness.

small bean

Tue, Jan 05 2021, 8:00 pm

amother [ Copper ] wrote:

That's true. But the Winklers were there from the beginning, adding a certain sense of stability and their characteristic homeyness.

True but there's still start up pains in a 13 year old school so it's their con. I think it has potential to be a fantastic school.

amother

Turquoise

Tue, Jan 05 2021, 8:48 pm

small bean wrote:

True but there's still start up pains in a 13 year old school so it's their con. I think it has potential to be a fantastic school.

I met their principle and she seemed very warm and loving to her students. Really impressed me. However I am still not sure how to figure out what an academic school in Lakewood is. Ive heard in general that it is lower than NY, can anyone confirm?

amother

Plum

Tue, Jan 05 2021, 9:01 pm

amother [ Turquoise ] wrote:

As a born and bred Lakewooder, my advise is to ignite the academic factor. All the schools learn basically the same thing with only very very minor differences. The schools who claim to be more "academic", are really just schools with more pressure on getting good marks and maybe a bit of a heavier (home)work load. The classes are not on a higher level it anything. When I was in school, there were only 3 highschools. We shared much of our teachers. The way I would have described the schools at the time, (quite a while ago), was that, in Bais Yaakov it would be embarrassing to get lower than an A, in Bais Kaila, it would be embarrassing, although only slightly, to fail, and in Bais Shaindel it wasn't even embarrassing to fail. I went to B.K, and in my experience, it was the best for the intellectually curious. There was less shutting down of sensitive questions and we had a lot of "hashkafa" talks and arguments. Obviously there more motivated and less motivated girls in every school. So personally, I do not think that academics should be a large factor in determining which school is the best fit.

amother

Sienna

Tue, Jan 05 2021, 9:35 pm

amother [ Turquoise ] wrote:

HS teacher here, incomparably lower in the english dept.
but equal or higher in the hebrew dept

amother

Mustard

Tue, Jan 05 2021, 9:50 pm

I’ve taught high school in both NY and Lakewood. The secular academic level is def much lower as there are no regents. That automatically lends to less pressure to teach to par With a solid and leveled core curriculum.

It’s not fair to compare the two. Having said that, I am familiar with local high school and agree that the “academic pressure” and level in many schools is created by how much pressure is created to get “top” marks.

Another area you should seriously consider is class-size. Some of the local high schools have upwards of 40 students ,some even more than 45 students per class, which is tremendously detrimental to a majority of the girls. I have spoken to teachers firsthand about students that are great girls but because they weren’t part of the top five in the class, a teacher that may have taught a specific girl a couple of times a week and did not know the student after an entire year! That would scare me as a parent...

amother

Cerulean

Tue, Jan 05 2021, 9:57 pm

small bean wrote:

As of this second, bais kaila, oros, aderes. But that might change.

I know of a few people who are applying to Bnos Leah so they can apply to 4 schools, they don't expect to get in, but now they can say I applied to 4 schools

small bean

Wed, Jan 06 2021, 7:59 am

amother [ Cerulean ] wrote:

I know of a few people who are applying to Bnos Leah so they can apply to 4 schools, they don't expect to get in, but now they can say I applied to 4 schools

I will only apply to a school that I'm comfortable sending to. I just feel like it's wrong to do that.

Chayalle

Wed, Jan 06 2021, 10:21 am

amother [ Cerulean ] wrote:

I know of a few people who are applying to Bnos Leah so they can apply to 4 schools, they don't expect to get in, but now they can say I applied to 4 schools

I know a few people who have applied to BY for that reason. Since it's hard to get into, it's an easy 4th choice that is not likely to play out. And if it does, then they figure it's an okay option.

amother

Aqua

Wed, Jan 06 2021, 10:42 am

amother [ Turquoise ] wrote:

Secular studies is lower. There are no regents pushing what is taught. And there are no options to earn college credits in high school - (which is a shame I graduated high school with a lot and learned some problematic subjects in a kosher environment).

Chayalle

Wed, Jan 06 2021, 11:35 am

amother [ Aqua ] wrote:

Yes I agree with this. I went to a top academic high school and I do feel we learned at a higher level than any of Lakewood schools, both secular and Hebrew. However I do think that many students don't get the full benefit of such a school. It sort of catered to the academically capable student and ignored the rest. In some ways, a school that can address the needs of every student is much better.