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Thursday, August 11, 2011
Why Does it Cost So Much to Educate a Jewish Child?
50 comments:
Computers in every classroom? Smart boards? Nonsense. I say this as a professional physicist. Computers in the classroom are pretty much useless from an educational standpoint and detrimental in many ways. Should computers be available in school libraries if possible? Sure. Education in computer skills? Probably a good idea, particularly if not every family is expected to have a computer.
- August 11, 2011 3:22 PM
I think there's a minimum to which technology can be cut without leaving students unprepared for further education. Many will go into environments where the other students will have gone to schools where technology was utilized extensively; it's one thing to be a little behind, another to be at a serious disadvantage. You do need computers in school and you need to teach kids how to use them.
I think "specials" such as art, music, and PE are really not what's driving expenses and are good for students. Even if you go to the trouble of hiring a full time teacher for these subjects (really only feasible in larger schools) it's not a huge amount spread over all the kids. Unless schools are overinvesting in facilities, providing an art class once a week is not a budget buster--and given levels of physical fitness these days and the length of the yeshiva day, PE is probably the last non-academic thing we should cut. (And I say this as someone who loathed it.)
MO schools do deal with the scheduling/utilization problem: they don't have all the kids doing kodesh in the AM. So the teachers are all doing a FT job for a FT salary. Of course, said FT salary is generally higher than in a BY/yeshiva... and less in-demand subjects at HS level will always demand PT teachers paid by the course (for example, I know schools that offer AP psychology; no one's ever going to have 5 classes of that, so one teacher may be employed PT by 3 different schools).
Special ed is a huge, huge problem. It's a touchy subject, because it covers such a huge spectrum--you wind up with the problem of kids who will be mainstreamed or part mainstreamed in public school. Do we accommodate those kids or not? Where do we draw the line on kids we can help, and ones whose needs are too complex and need the resources only public (or specialized private) school can provide? I don't know the answer. I still know many parents of special needs children who had to go outside the yeshiva system, and yet the choice of programs in that system is wider than ever. There's also a wider culture of getting kids all the help we can, which transfers into the yeshiva environment. But there are programs costing $40-50K a year. This is not sustainable, IMO. The "solution" in the NY/NJ area is to get the state to pay a large chunk of the costs, and it's become easier to do thanks to court decisions--but I have a lot of unease about it.
OTOH, I think it's too easy to romanticize the "good old days" of no social workers, no psychologists, and no special ed. I think perhaps we have gone to the other extreme, but the old way failed a lot of children.
- August 11, 2011 3:44 PM
First of all, very good summary of the article.
This article drove me up the wall, it is maddeningly frustrating to read. It's a laundry list of every single thing that drives up costs in the schools along with a shrug of the shoulders that this cost can't be cut and that expense can't be lowered.
Some of the cost drivers I just find infuriating. He admits full time salaries are simply given over to rabbis for doing part time work. Some rabbis make even more than this by being coordinators. In other words, for part time work you get a full time salary, for full time work you get a full time salary plus a bump. Then you have the layers of administrators who apparently are paid to micromanage. The 5 minute per student argument is absurd. The top people deal with big picture issues, you don't have the CEO standing at the company's elevator bank greeting each employee in the morning. Teachers should be worrying about each student and bringing specific issues to the administrator. The entire organizational infrastructure is upside down.
There also seems to be a vicious cycle of school charges more, parents demand more, school answers demands, school charges more, etc. This is just sad. If it's really true that parents simply don't care to save money, then fine, carry on. But, I keep hearing complaints about tuition. Maybe parents are just complainers and would rather have more services provided than more money in their pockets. If that's not true though, the schools should be cutting/reorganizing services and educating their parents about how much money these cuts will save them.
As much as the parents want everything, the schools want to be everything for everybody. Find an area to excel in and focus on that. There's just no mission statement, no sense of purpose beyond "Be the best in everything for everyone!" All that does is increase costs.
The technology in the classroom is such a waste of money. Smartboards? Explain to me how this is better than a simple chalkboard. Show me the qualitative and/or quantitative difference it makes. The kids learn math better? Unless the kids are learning computer programming on those computers it's a waste. In an MO school every kid has a computer at home. They know how to type and do word processing. They probably know more than the teachers. To have 200 computers and 2 full-time IT people with a backup server, etc. is a huge waste of money.
Another problem with the article and every article I've seen from rabbis and administrators is they entirely focus on the Judaic/religious aspect of the school as if half the school day (and it's teachers, subject matter, quality, etc.) doesn't even matter. That's beyond disturbing; especially from an MO school. All the cost cutting also is on the secular side. Fire secular teachers and bring in Internet learning is the new mantra. The Judaics/religious side is such a good ol' boys club. God forbid the guy you went to sleepaway camp who is now a rebbe take a paycut or get fired. God forbid the guy who was your chavruta in Israel work a full day to earn his paycheck instead of just mornings.
Finally, for all these extra costs, I see no better quality of education. The kids who graduate from my alma mater go on to the same high schools and colleges I did, they get the same jobs, same percentage is religious. The kids are the same vilda chayas in school, still can't speak or understand Hebrew, still repeat the same midrashes and rashis, etc. But, we all feel better about ourselves, so that's something.
Also, I love this age-old canard:
"But people who choose to go into teaching and who will be really qualified are also probably qualified to go into many other professions. And they will not choose education if the compensation isn't reasonable."
- August 11, 2011 5:14 PM
- rejewvenator said...
I said it there and I'll say it here. If 75-80% of your expenses are compensation, you CAN'T bring costs down substantially without dealing with compensation.
Either staff needs to be paid less, or teachers need to teach more students. Simple. You can do it on the internet, of raise the ratio of students to teachers in live classes.
So here's the question: let's say a school doubled the ratio so that there were 30ish kids in a class, instead of 15ish, and tuition went down by 25%. Would you send your kids there?
- August 11, 2011 5:51 PM
25, yes. 30 is getting tight in terms of what your typical teacher can handle. (I went to public school and depending on the grade and class, we had anywhere from 20-30; there was a noticeable difference at the top end of the range. I did not go to a rough school and I was in honors classes, so class control should have been towards the easier end of the scale.) Of course, with everyone wanting their own schools where everyone is exactly their hashkafa and separate classes and and... good luck getting enough kids to achieve a class of 25, much less 30. I would certainly prefer a larger class to using virtual education a la K12--there's a reason I choose to send to school rather than homeschool. (I would also send to public school before I homeschooled.)
I do think that personnel costs are the issue, but I am not sure how we can reduce them substantially. Do we really want to say to teachers that they should work for the love of it, and forget being able to live in a frum community (much less the community they teach in, much less pay tuition at the schools in which they work)?
I think that ultimately, the answer is that providing private school education costs money, and the current model is simply not realistic. Either we need another source of funding, or we need to abandon the idea of universal yeshiva education from preK to 12. We can't make it free. Even if we lowered costs from $20K to $12K, it would still be an enormous burden on families.
- August 11, 2011 6:15 PM
I said it above, but if the parents are truly driving costs and refuse to compromise on anything, then let them figure out how to pay the ever-increasing tuition. If they care so much about minor hashkafa or smartboards or single-gender classes or whatever, then let them put their money where their mouths are.
I agree with you that I do NOT want Internet learning. I wouldn't let my kid be a guinea pig for the schools trying to figure out how to save money. I care a lot more about my kids' secular education than religious. And let me be clear on that point, I want my kids to be religious, I want them to follow normative halacha, etc. but I don't see that as the same as having a religious education. I can teach my kids all about davening and the holidays and Shabbat and kashrut - they learn that at home. In school they learn rashis and mishnas, and gemara. You don't REALLY need that to be frum. Maybe it makes you more well-rounded and more scholarly (doubtful, as I barely remember anything I learned K-12). The point being, let my kids learn some rashis and mishnas and such through the Internet. If they can't remember the gemara "me'amatai korin at shma b'arvin" (When may you start saying shma at night), they can pull up the shul's calendar and look up the time themselves. If they can't read, don't know history, math, or science...that's another matter.
I'd really like to see what the teacher's salaries are. Every teacher I know says the salary and benefits stink. And these are MO teachers. So, either they're all lying or the schools have so many teachers that in the aggregate it's the vast majority of the budget. I suspect most teachers get shafted while a select few are very well compensated (including administrators).
I don't see what's so bad about not being compensated well in a field you really want to be and enjoy. Who's forcing you to enter a low-compensation field? The people I know that teach either really, really love it and couldn't imagine doing anything else despite the low compensation and other problems or simply fell into it. I know social workers who had to get expensive masters degrees and they earn around $30k. There are more lucrative options out there, but people don't always choose professions based on compensation. Shockingly, some people would rather do something they love.
- August 11, 2011 6:36 PM
In response to the question about teacher salaries in yeshivas: The typical salary for a whole-morning kodesh or whole-afternoon chol teacher is about $20,000/yr, in my experience. Full-day teachers are obviously paid more. In MO schools, full-day teachers are sought-after because the school can pay 1 full-day teacher less than 2 half-day teachers. However, in many more right-wing schools, full-day teachers are rare because LK teachers must have the right pedigree (ie, they must have been educated by the same school system that they teach in so the hashkafot match perfectly), and secular ed teachers must usually be drawn from a different pool. (This is a discussion in and of itself). One extra point about half-day teaching: Teachers are expected to complete so much work outside the classroom (mark, assign grades, create lesson plans, plan curricula, meet with parents, meet with students, meet with teachers and administrators, buy classroom materials, set up and even clean classrooms, extra-curricular activities, and more) that half a day in the classroom becomes a full day of work in total.
- August 11, 2011 8:01 PM
You have to remember that the parent body has a range of opinions as to what they are willing to pay for. If you have larger classes, you can cut down on costs, but only if you don't cause a noticeable fraction of your families to leave. Same thing for reducing the range of class offerings. I once took an informal poll of the parents in my kids' grades. (about 12 years ago when tuition was less than half the current price) Most (about 60%) would have preferred to get rid of "extras" for a 20% reduction in tuition. But when it came to defining "extras" there was nothing that more than about 20% could agree was an "extra". It's kind of like the polls where "Congress" as a whole gets 15% approval but most voters approve of their own Representative. The fact is there are plenty of parents who were willing to pay for smaller classes, special ed, extracurriculars, field trips, the security guards that I thought were kind of silly, and only a small number who would volunteer to pick up the functions of the business office in exchange for lowered tuition. While parents in the abstract favor reduced tuition over "extras:", all those extras seem to be there because a lot of parents want them.
In areas with multiple schools, the schools do seem to respond to market signals. Even if those signals aren't the ones you prefer.
I sugggest you try asking the parents who are grousing about tuition whether they would be willing to increase class size 50% for 25% lower tuition and see how many are. Then ask how many would be willing to volunteer 5 hours a week to replace the business office in exchange for whatever fraction of the budget that would free up (Figure it takes about two hours of volunteer time for 1 hour of someone who works full time to cover for the fact that volunteers don't know the job as well and don't show up all the time) Find two or three other "extras" in your school and see what fraction of the parents you talk to want to get rid of them in exchange for a realistically lowered tuition. (no, getting rid of the art teacher won't save 20% of the budget)
- August 11, 2011 10:35 PM
On further read, I realize, I wasn't entirely clear above. Each of my proposed "extras" had a number of parents willing, nay eager, to do without it it for reduced tuition. But each also had plenty of parents that considered it vital.
One other point. A school is a buisness with high fixed costs and low marginal costs. The economics of such businesses almoist always leads to some decisions that seem idiotic at first glance. (Think airlines charging more to fly from A to B than A through B to C)
- August 11, 2011 10:58 PM
The school's tuition CAN cover costs, including staffing, ASSUMING the tuition is collected. It is not. If you have 25 kids at 10K a pop, that's 250K. Pay two teachers each 25K, you've got 200K left. Use 100K for the share of the principal, office staff, etc. costs, you've still got 100K left to pay for rent/mortgage, paper, electricity, janitors, and insurance...But in a class of 25 kids, I bet you have 10 kids paying 10K, 10 kids paying 6K, and five kids paying 1K or nothing. That gives you a total of about 160K, and as soon as you pay the two teachers, you've got a little over 100K to cover everything else instead of 200K. It is simple math.
- August 12, 2011 4:55 AM
What can be cut from the school budget:
1. in elementary school, once kids have been taught to daven, have rotating parents supervise group davening for a large group of kids with one teacher to handle problems or discipline. this cuts teachers' work hours and salary.
2. NO DAMN YEARBOOKS! Take pictures of the kids, type up some memories, stick it in a photo album, the end. My elementary school charged $100 per child and we fund-raised all year to cover the rest instead of using ticket money from the school play for the school.
3. teach regular teachers to incorporate art and music and cut those teachers out.
and many more ideas....
- August 12, 2011 5:00 AM
While I don't agree with how Rabbi Teitz argues that all extras are necessary and all salaries have to be high, and I don't agree that separate classes and morning limudai kodesh are more important than an affordable product, I think the tone of the criticism is too negative.
As other commenters have noted, the increase in services is mostly consumer driven. The market has spoken that as a whole, it wants yeshivot to have bells and whistles (and some of the "extras" are not extra at all, but are standard in public schools). If the market demanded a cheap, no-frills yeshiva, such a product would exist already.
All arguments for affordable schools are based on the idea that yeshiva is a necessity. This is blatantly untrue. The government offers a (mostly) decent education for no additional cost to the consumer, in the form of public schooling. There are plenty of rebbes and morot available for after-school tutoring.
If the product (religious private schooling) is unaffordable, please consider a cheaper alternative. This is not to say that today's yeshivot are efficiently run, but until a cheaper product is available, consume what you can afford.
- August 12, 2011 10:19 AM
Also, yeshiva tuition isn't high because of kids with Down Syndrome (who almost always attend non-sectarian programs). The kids with dyslexia who (according to Rabbi Berger) need Jewish education because they will be functioning members of society are the biggest clients of yeshiva resource room. Kids with major needs like Down Syndrome and cerebral palsy are irrelevant to the cost of yeshiva tuition, because almost none of them attend mainstream yeshivas at all.
- August 12, 2011 10:26 AM
But I do think there is a break down in authority and I also believe few kids today get knots in their stomach thinking of what will happen if Dad finds out.
Do you really think so? I don't see this, and I'm older than you so I can remember back a decade farther than you. This may be the case in the frum world, where parents have many children and don't have the time or patience to deal with so many kids.
In the non-frum world, I don't necessarily agree. In disadvantaged communities things are as bad as ever. But there were plenty of spoiled rich (non-frum and frum) kids around when I was growing up.
- August 12, 2011 10:42 AM
I'm kind of torn between whether parents actually want all these extras (and therefore the schools are just meeting a demand) or whether the schools just think the parents want them and are meeting a demand that doesn't exist. I think what Mike S. said above is most likely true - you have coalitions of substantial minorities that actively demand certain extras. I think most of these extras are really necessities (e.g., you need a school psychologist, you need a resource room). The real extras likely don't add all that much to the overall tuition (having art, music, or sports teams).
The real issue I have is with the admission that the schools pay, at least rabbis, full-time salaries for part-time work. And the backwards thinking that it is an administrator's job to think about and deal with every student in the entire school for at least 5 minutes a week. It demonstrates the schools are mostly employment agencies for Yeshiva University and other rabbi mills. It's just a good ol' boys club which rewards those with the right connections. Further, the schools simply don't understand how to run an organization. There aren't proper hierarchical roles and management. There is literally millions be wasted on this kind of inefficiency. A school with 12 administrators each earning over 6 figures is alone spending over $1.5M at least on those 12 employees. If half your staff is being paid full-time salary for part-time work there's several hundreds of thousands more wasted.
So, the kids want field trips and plays and color wars (sounds like camp to me, but what do I know?) - fine. That maybe adds $500 tops to each kid's tuition. But all the real inefficiencies likely add several thousand to the bill. Yeshiva is another word for private school. It will never be cheap, but it doesn't HAVE to be so expensive. The schools just don't care - it's more about providing gainful employment for your friends and colleagues than saving the parents money - after all, anyone who can't afford it gets a scholarship, so what's the problem?
I'll just add that I really don't buy all this talk about needing to pay teachers/rabbis so much to retain the best and the brightest. In my 13 years in yeshiva K-12 I really only had a handful of truly great teachers who were worth their weight in gold. The vast majority were merely OK. Another handful were horrific. You want to pay the very best a lot, I support that. But it seems everyone is perceived as being "amazing" and compensated accordingly.
Finally, no idea how this talk of compensation jives with the comment above about $20k starting salaries. Something's amiss.
- August 12, 2011 10:50 AM
But it seems everyone is perceived as being "amazing" and compensated accordingly.
Lake Wobegon lives...
- August 12, 2011 10:59 AM
- Miami Al said...
JS, Tesyaa,
There is no group called "parents." At the main school in Miami Beach, the parent body includes:
Traditional Jewish families with 1-2 kids in the school, they usually pay full tuition, sending the kids from K-5 or K-8. These parents pay their bill in full, never ask for anything, and generally leave when their child's Rebbe starts pushing the kid to harass the family to be more religious OR when they start getting harassed because they pick their kid up in gym clothes one time when they are running late. These families support a huge portion of the budget, but since they don't live in the Frum community, nobody pays attention to them.
The "chump" type families, 2-4 children, dual income, struggling to get by despite high incomes. They don't ask for anything, they mostly struggle to manage child care and careers around the constant stream of half days. They aren't demanding extras, they are trying not to bounce tuition checks. A few of these families are the "struggling" class where they make slightly less and get SOME tuition assistance, but otherwise look like the "chump" class.
Those groups comprise the bulk of the tuition revenue, a LOT of the families, and NONE of the cost drivers.
The socialites -- these are "wealthier" families, though here it isn't rich hedge fund guys, it's some real estate, it's some well paid medical specialties where they had kids "late" (a specialist surgeon with first child at age 35 or 37 is in a totally different income bracket than if fist kid came at 23 - 25). The wives tend to "volunteer" where volunteering is showing up and harassing the business office about whatever their pet issue is. These families tend to "give more" in donations, but not a huge sum, and these are the BIG drivers of expensive extras. With their donations, they pay as much as they would to prep school, so they want prep school amenities (here the price difference is about 25%, in North Jersey, it looks like 50%). This group probably drives costs more than they contribute, but since they are machers, they are listened to.
The "beggar" class. This is the group where the women "work" in the school in make shift jobs to get tuition breaks, but you can't rely on them because they don't show up regularly. They pay "what they can" when the husband is working, which is infrequent.
Because they are at the school all day, they drop in to talk to administrators about their kids. They are involved in everything, eating up administrator time. They use up tremendous amounts of labor being accommodated. Since they are there, they "help out" stuffing envelopes or whatever because they are there, and therefore are seen as "big contributors."
That last group is a BIG driver of costs, even if people don't notice. If you bumped class sizes up 2/class and held tuition, your strugglers/chumps would go back to work and not notice. Your socialites would grumble about how much they give to the school, and the "beggars" would basically disrupt the classes until it was changed.
Most of the "beggars" know to cover their hair at the school, even if their kids watch television all day Shabbat. They are seen as "frummer" than the chumps, and therefore listened to as well.
That was my observation as to who demanded more services.
- August 12, 2011 11:32 AM
Al, I hate to use the term "beggar class" because it sounds disparaging, and therefore those using the term can be dismissed as unempathetic or unfeeling. However, what you describe is very common in NJ. Most of those in this group are actually the frummest people in the school; their husbands are rebbes (not necessarily in the same school), and they have lots of children, so naturally cannot afford tuition. Since they are frummer than the average parent body, and have more children, they feel entitled to special treatment for all they are doing for klal yisroel by teaching Torah and having so many Jewish children.
Many are baalai tshuva or grew up MO, and sincerely bought into the koolaid that having lots of kids and being in klai kodesh makes them special. I think it's wonderful that they are so sincere, but no so wonderful how they expect others to underwrite their holy lifestyle.
- August 12, 2011 11:47 AM
Al, as has been pointed out before, all classes of parents make demands, but because their needs are different, their demands are different. This gets us to the point where no one can decide which is an extra and which is a necessity.
To the frum-but-poor "beggars" (hate the name, but OK), changing limudai kodesh to the afternoon for half the school is religiously unacceptable. So is the idea of coed classes, even in the younger grades.
To the socialites, lack of smartboards would be big problem.
Chumps claim they want no frills, but as educated professionals, they would start to complain (I hope) if secular academic standards were compromised (while the "beggars" wouldn't care much since limudai kodesh is their priority).
I am NOT in favor of homogeneous schools, but it sure makes it harder to accomodate everyone when multimillionaires' kids are educated in the same classroom as WIC families.
- August 12, 2011 11:56 AM
I agree with tesyaa that each group of parents has different demands. I think the big mistake the schools make is only listening to the demands that increase costs instead of demands that would lower it. For example, the school is much more likely to listen to those that insist on gender separation and limudei kodesh only in the mornings. You could have 20% asking for gender separation and LK in the mornings and 20% asking for the opposite, but the former will be listened to. It's ironic since it's likely the latter that will be footing that bill.
I do disagree on the emphasis "chumps" (those with high earning career(s) that pay full tuition and still struggle with expenses) place on secular studied. I've been appalled that no one seems to blink when all the proposals for reducing tuition stem from cost reductions on the secular side. It seems the chumps would rather try experimental educational models for secular education than the same approach for limudei kodesh. They'd rather have larger class sizes for math and science than larger class sizes for gemara and chumash. They care much more about having rebbe role models (who are well compensated) than having PhD or masters level math and English teachers.
For the life of me, I don't understand this.
- August 12, 2011 12:10 PM
One of my biggest issues with the post was the whole "creating full time jobs for Rebbes." Rabbi Teitz claims that the school needs to give the Rebbes full time positions in order to attract top talent, but then also states that the Rebbes that they are hiring are incapable of teaching 1st grade English. Are they top talent or not? At least for the younger grades, a good teacher is a good teacher. If they can teach chmuash, navi and gemara well, then surely they can teach English. Unless, of course, they don't know how to read and write English on a first grade level, and then how can they possibly be "top talent?"
- August 12, 2011 12:41 PM
The most obvious solution would be to insist any new rabbi that is hired must be able to teach a dual curriculum. Don't want to teach a dual curriculum, you get paid on a part-time basis based on number of hours in the classroom. They already do this with public school teachers who moonlight in the afternoons. "Top talent" should mean something more than a friendly guy who can give a halfway decent shiur. Word will quickly get around that if you want to become a rabbi and earn a decent living you have to be able to teach a secular subject. The serious candidates will take education classes and subject-matter courses. YU and similar institutions will change their programs.
But, like I already said, the schools don't want to do this. They're employment agencies and good ol' boy clubs. All this gets masked in some rhetoric about limudei kodesh being so important and treating rabbis with the proper dignity and respect they deserve (which doesn't apply to math and history teachers for some reason).
- August 12, 2011 12:58 PM
The piece that bothers me most is the workfare-ness of the whole thing. At the end of the day, I'm paying to educate my children in a manner that is actually worse than what they could get for free. The supposed bonus - Jewish Education.
Unfortunately the quality of the secular education is horrid. Worse, I'm paying for it to be this way.
- August 12, 2011 1:04 PM
It's basic economics--supply and demand. So long as there is a steady SUPPLY of students and a DEMAND that they be given a yeshiva education, all of this will continue. Yeshivas have no incentive to change how they run things because they don't have to. However, if more families "voted with their feet," I'm sure we would see some cost-tightening measures. If more parents investigated public schools, charters, and even co-op homeschooling, they could give themselves options.
- August 12, 2011 1:27 PM
- Miami Al said...
The worst part is, the crabs in the bucket don't even realize that they are pulling people down.
Every family that shows up to Shul and sends their kids to a public school or other alternative is pressure on the Yeshiva to be more cost effective. Even for families that would NEVER consider an alternatively, they are benefited by people that choose other options.
By disparaging those families, attacking them, and basically trying to run them out of the Orthodox world -- intentionally or not -- you weaken the substitution effect and make your day school experience more expensive.
As this post points out, inadvertently, is that tuition is set to whatever the school can extract, and the schools are profit maximizing institutions, and the profits are channeled to Rebbes to overpay them to give them full time pay for part time work.
- August 12, 2011 3:19 PM
The real answer is for parents to make more money.And there are so many ways to do this,that it just boggles the mind. For example, women could make extra cash selling shaitels or left-over cholent door to door.... Men coming home from work can find a job at a nearby gas station. And for the really enterprising, try working at a medical school as a cadaver.People with special God-given gifts,such as the ability to wiggle their ears or touch their nose with their tongue, could share their talents in subway stations or on street corners.At the very least, they could entertain at annual yeshiva dinners in exchange for a break on their kids' tuition. Kids,themselves, could make money from other kids by eating weird things on an "I dare you " basis.Heck,give a kid $100 and 60 days,and he'll eat your old garden hose.
Now for some serious talk.Diaspora life is slowly(maybe not that slowly,either) but surely falling apart.Could it be that someone up there is trying to send us a message?
- August 12, 2011 4:48 PM
And life in Israel is not falling apart? Have you seen the protests there? How long do you think the working people who go to the army will be willing and/or able to support the chareidim who don't work and don't serve?
But tuition is cheaper.
- August 12, 2011 4:57 PM
Check it out! Will change the face of Yeshiva education. You should do a post on it.
- August 13, 2011 10:25 PM
I'm appalled that the yeshivas need to create "make work" for rebbeim rather than have them teach a full day. This "coordinator" business doesn't sit right with me. It's lacking in yashrut all right. In TA in Baltimore, rebbeim teach a full day, one grade in morning, another grade in afternoon. It has always been that way. What's with the rebbeim only being needed for half a day yet being paid for a full day for goldbricking? My family member is a rebbe at TA Baltimore and he has always worked an honest full day for minimal pay, supplemented by tutoring and bar mitzvah teaching - he works at night to be able to survive. As his son once said, "I only see my father in shul on Shabbos."
Why can't schools in the posh NY suburbs copy the plebian Baltimore model, where limudei kodesh and secular are going on all day, on a schedule that lets rebbeim receive a full day's work? This is simply wrong, to charge parents high tuition for rebbeim who are only working half a day.
I also find the computers and smart boards to be one of the excesses that posh suburbs "need" and flyover cities such as Cincinnati and Cleveland don't.
You can pick up the computer on your own. You don't need any special training. A teacher who can't teach without a computer can't teach. And this is all to impress the parents? Who are these parents who need to be impressed?
How lovely to live in Baltimore or Cincinnati, where such luxuries are seen for what they are, gashmius without purpose.
- August 14, 2011 3:48 PM
- JRKmommy said...
As others have noted, the most glaring point for me was this need to make work for PT teachers. Have odd-numbered grades do Judaic studies in the morning, even-numbered grades do it in the afternoon. Problem solved.
How large is a school that needs THREE social workers? What on earth are they doing? Are there other community resources that are available for counselling? Finally - has anyone really looked at the factors that REALLY get kids in trouble or keep them out of it?
I disagree with the notion that all special ed is an extra. I'm happy and relieved that my son's school was able to give him the extra reading boost help that he needed in grade 1, so he's now reading at grade level. The notion that the community will turn its back on its children if they don't fit the mold or have any special needs makes it sound like they are disposable. Instead, I'd suggest looking at ways to make maximum use of government funding, and even looking at forms of enhanced supplemental Jewish education designed for special needs students in public schools.
- August 14, 2011 5:57 PM
- EDT said...
I would like to clarify a point that was misunderstood in my article. I do not propose that any teacher get paid for work not done. My comment about teachers approaching $100,000 dealt with teachers who either teach a complete day, which means from 8:00 through to 5:30 PM with only a lunch break, or teachers who also have other school responsibilities.
Paying a half-day teacher close to $100,000 is unconscionable.
- August 14, 2011 6:30 PM
Even for a full time teacher,$100,000 seems high and above market, particularly for someone who probably works less than 180 days a year. There may be some public schools in NJ that reach that pay scale, but in most communities only a very few teachers will ever make close to that, and then those are usually those with advanced degrees and 25 years of experience. Where I live, $100,000 is more like what a superintendant in charge of an entire school district who works year round and has a doctorate in education or Phd earns.
- August 14, 2011 6:42 PM
- EDT said...
The teachers I had in mind each have 20+ years of experience. Also remember, that a teacher's day does not end at 5:30. That's the end of the easy part of the day. There are still preparations for class for the next days, assessments to create, to make sure they are fair, and to grade. Communication with parents and students also takes place out of school. While the teacher might only work 180 days, the hours per day are considerably longer than most people calculate.
- August 14, 2011 6:48 PM
- EDT said...
JRK - 820 students, two campuses, three social workers, one full-time, the others part-time (two full-time equivalents). No down time for any of them.
Hardly excessive.
As for flipping schedules, parents carry considerable weight in these decisions. It is a change in philosophy for many of them, not simply a scheduling consideration. If the change would translate into 20% of the school leaving, it leaves little choice but to keep things in place.
- August 14, 2011 6:52 PM
- JRKmommy said...
Would the Jewish community ever unite behind a proposal to use public school resources, such as this:
I see it as the only logical way to ensure that Jewish education remains accessible for the middle-class, and to ensure that Jewish education doesn't become something that only the Orthodox or wealthy do.
In Toronto, where school receive no public funding, 1 in 3 Jewish students attends a day school. In Montreal, where secular studies are funded, 2 in 3 Jewish students attend a day school. It's realistic to conclude that a proposal like this could double enrollment.
- August 14, 2011 6:56 PM
About flipping schedules, parents carrying a lot of weight - this sounds like a straw man argument. If you tell parents that full efficient use of resources will result in a tuition reduction of 20%, parents' objections to schedule (whatever they may be) will magically disappear, except for a few professional malcontents.
- August 14, 2011 8:12 PM
- EDTeitz said...
Observer - in an area where there are other options, quite a few parents, not just the malcontents, will vote with their feet. And for a school that is on an exceptionally tight budget, those families might be the difference between staying open and closing down.
It's not as simple as it looks.
- August 14, 2011 8:23 PM
Rabbi Teitz,
Thank you for taking the time out of schedule to respond to our comments.
Could you comment on two points:
1) What is a typical salary for a teacher who teaches only limudei kodesh or only limudei chol? I find it hard to understand how salary and benefits are 75-80% of a school's budget when all of the teachers I know seem to be earning woefully low salaries. Could you provide further clarification on this point?
2) Why are schools always in such a precarious financial situation? It seems this is true even in good economic times. I have to assume there are some very intelligent business people drawing up the budgets and projections. So, what exactly is it about a yeshiva that makes it always exist on a razor's edge?
- August 14, 2011 10:36 PM
Frankly, until our schools really comply with financial transparency I will always wonder "where does the money go." Yes, we care all honest Yidden, but then why the fear of open financial accountability? Makes one wonder!!
- August 14, 2011 10:49 PM
EDT 6:52 - If the change would translate into 20% of the school leaving, it leaves little choice but to keep things in place.
Unless all the schools make the same change (to save the entire community some money).
- August 15, 2011 6:30 AM
Flipping Kodesh and Secular or combining classes is not just an issue of 20% of the parent body. The moment anything like that is proposed, there will be cries of Daas Torah, and a venerable Godol from another city will be quoted as saying it's assur, and that the shlumpfs doing the work to keep the school open don't have the right to decide what kind of floor wax to buy without asking a shaila. So the expensive demands of the group of parents that by and large isn't paying for them are presented as non-negotiably from Hashem. Difficult to argue with that.
Ultimately, the situation won't change until the Gedolim decide it must and push forward a solution. Unfortunately, it appears there's no hope of that happening.
Another thing not stated explicitly, but alluded to, is that Rebbeim make double what Moros make.
- August 15, 2011 1:52 PM
- Orthonomics said...
Rabbi Teitz,
I'm uncertain why some of your posts aren't getting posted through blogger. I just wanted to say something that is hopefully informative. One of the things I do, from time to time, is create readable financial reports. One thing that is helpful to ensure that the reports are more readable when it comes to things like fundraising, is to match the event against its costs, so the bottom line of that event is quickly realized without a calculator and extra reading. In fact, this is the way a 990 reads for such events. Therefore, script purchase income and expense lines would be matched and the bottom line (not including overhead) would be presented to the board (and public).
It isn't uncommon, from my estimation, for boards to see less detailed reports than the business office sees, so that they can deal with the numbers. If I were presenting to parents, I would present in a different fashion than to the CPA. Yes, the bottom line would be the same, but the presentation might be a bit different.
Just my 2 cents as I see you value transparency.
- August 15, 2011 4:59 PM
Dear EDT,
I am not sure I understand your comment on teachers receiving $100,000 per year...you must be referring to NY City Public school teachers...likewise, with the 20 plus years experience...Teacher turn over rate is extremely high in Yeshivot.
I am married to a Yeshiva teacher, who is in her 4th year, and she makes a little over $20k/year BEFORE TAXES, TRANSPORTATION, AND HEALTH PLAN COSTS. To note: she knows as a fact that she is one of the better paid teachers at her school. She has been at the school longer than most of the non-limudei kodesh teachers at the school. In the summer the school tends to get behind on paying wages, not to mention during the year.
She has friends who also Yeshivah teachers, and I have a close neighbor who is also a Yeshivah teacher...the consensus among them is that the pay stinks. One friend was let go from their teaching post on the last days of school, almost without notice, not even giving her a chance to look for another job at the height of the hiring season for Yeshivot.
Another friend had been hired at a desperate time, and was promised a certain amount of wages WITH A CONTRACT. During the school year, the school came to her, and told her they were going cut back her wages. She went to her Rabbi, and he admitted to her that she could take it to Bet Din, but would not likely succeed.
The Chutzpah that I have heard [by the individuals to whom it has specifically happened] shown to current and former teachers in Yeshivot is very disgusting...and not befitting the 'religious' nature of the schools.
Personally, people need to wake up, stop playing religious games with Hashem, and learn what it means to be Yirat Shamayim. Not all minds are equal, not all are equally spiritual, but we are all expected to do justice, and walk humbly with our G-d...ie have yirat shamayim. This is what children who go through the Yeshiva system need most. This is the legacy that we need to pass on. And the thievery and hypocrisy doesn't teach them this important lesson.
Be well.
- August 15, 2011 9:04 PM
- EDTeitz said...
I'm sorry that you have had and heard of such horrible experiences. But let me assure you that that is not the case everywhere.
My school is in NJ. We have teachers who have been with us for over 40 years. We have never missed a payroll, and God willing, never will.
The number I was talking about is for teachers in my school, with over 20 years of experience. The teachers teach every period of the day, from 8:30 to 5:30 with only a lunch break. They also do other projects.
I agree that some school act horribly inappropriately, but do not judge all school by the few who are "bad apples."
- August 15, 2011 9:44 PM
- Mr. Cohen said...
Most synagogues are empty and unused between 9 AM and 5 PM weekdays.
Use synagogues as classroom space to teach Torah studies, instead of spending millions of dollars on new buildings.
Synagogue basements could be used as classroom space to teach secular studies, for the same reason.
- August 15, 2011 10:49 PM
- AMRILUSAGUY said...
Why do teachers have to be used for only a half a day. In grade school most of the teachers worked a full day. The General Studies Teachers taught 8 periods a day, morning and afternoon. Same with most of the Hebrew Teachers. Why cant this be done?
- August 16, 2011 8:53 AM
- EDTeitz said...
I'm not sure if this is proper protocol, but for those interested, I was afforded the opportunity to post a guest column that further explains my first article. It can be found at http://200kchump.blogspot.com/2011/08/chump-blog-exclusive-guest-post-from.html
- August 16, 2011 10:31 AM
Will check your post there and hopefully link later. Thanks! No problem with protocol. Time is not on my side today.
- August 16, 2011 11:37 AM
Whoa! $100k/yr for a jewish school teacher? I'm moving to Elizabeth!
If anyone is interested in more info on TYPICAL administrator and teacher salaries, read this study http://peje.wikispaces.com/file/view/Compensation+Presentation+new.pdf
Unfortunately, this study only included full-time teachers and administrators, who make up only a small percentage of the total faculty at many schools. (For example, in my E/M school only 1 teacher and 2 administrators out of 44 total are full-time.)
- August 16, 2011 3:39 PM
NYC teachers barely hit $100K (it's the last step on the table: MA+30 and 22 years in). There are districts in the suburbs that have a median salary close to $100K, and I think a couple cases over that, but this partly reflects the fact that many teachers in these districts have been there for decades. I do know of Long Island teachers who hit $150K--I believe it required 30 years and coaching multiple sports.
Then again, in a county where a cop (no college education required) can make $90K base after 6 years and hit $100K base not long after, it's not exactly fair to single out teachers.
- August 16, 2011 5:46 PM


text:
"I'm designating the Stonewall National Monument as the newest addition to America's national parks system. Stonewall will be our first national monument to tell the story of the struggle for LGBT rights. I believe our national parks should reflect the full story of our country – the richness and diversity and uniquely American spirit that has always defined us. That we are stronger together. That out of many, we are one." President Obama
Friday, June 24, 2016
President Obama Names Stonewall Inn First National Monument to LGBT Rights
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Noida Campus
Madhyam Campus, C-56 A/5, Sector-62, Noida (U.P.) 201301Phone No:(0120)-4549357
Campus Incharge
Courses being offered
Dr. Avinash Bajpai,Campus In-Charge
● M.Sc. Electronic Media[M.Sc.(EM)] ● M.A. Mass Communication [MA(MC)]
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● M.Sc. Media Research [M.Sc.(MR)]
● M.A. Advertising & Publications [M.A.(APR)]
● B.A. Mass Communication [B.A.(MC)]
� Copyright 2016 Makhanal Chaturvedi Rastriya Patrakarita Evam Sanchar Vishwavidyalaya
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text: investing money online. Love is like a butterfly. The more you chase it, the more it eludes you. But if you just let it fly, it would come to you when you least expect it. In words, love can be read. In actions, love can be measured. But others don't know that even in silence, love can be heard. No one can go back and make a new beginning, but anyone can start from now and make a happy ending. When you find a dream inside your heart, don't ever let it go.... for dreams are the tiny seeds from which beautiful tomorrows grow. Smile when in leisure. Smile when in pain. Smile when troubles pour like rain. Smile when someone hurt your feelings, coz you know, smiling always starts the healing! Every teardrop is precious so better make sure that if you drop some, its worth crying for, coz you can never pick them and put them back to your eyes. Love wisely! Life they say is touch and go. Some people you know may only be there for a time. Some may go away but people who find you special will always find ways to stay. One measure of friendship consists not in the number of words that friends can discuss, but in the number of words they need no longer mention. 28034


text: Oxytone is Oxymetholone from SB Labs. Each tablet contains 50mg oxymetholone as the active ingredient. Oxymetholone (and therefore Oxytone) is the strongest oral anabolic steroid on the market today. The power from it is incredible. Its also one of the more liver toxic steroids. Its not recommended to go over 5 weeks on this steroid. One tablet per day will more than do the job. You should never take more than 2 tabs per day of oxytone. You should also have something to treat the estrogen it will produce as a by product. And of course PCT should be used after taking Oxytone.


text:
FeelGood Artist to Watch: Brian Larsen
Every once in awhile i come across a musician whose music is not only unique but inspiring and with a great voice to match so i couldn't resist sharing this with you all. A random tweet from Brian Larsen actually caught my attention and come to find out he's more than just someone on twitter with some inspiring tweets (@Brian_Larsen) but also a great artist you should be on the watch for.
"Honest, heartfelt indie pop/rock songs are woven organically into "Building," the highly anticipated second solo album from singer-songwriter Brian Larsen. Addictive melodies laced with sophisticated, finger-picked progressions and a captivating voice candidly share moments in the coming-of-age of this rare talent." – http://bit.ly/x5c3m0
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Create and support positive music, the world definitely needs more of it. 🙂


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Radio Frequency Power in Plasmas:
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The papers presented here report on the use of radio frequency (RF) waves for heating and driving electrical currents in magnetically confined plasmas for fusion energy research, including ITER, as well as on important applications of RF waves in related fields such as plasma processing, accelerators and medical devices.
AIP Conference Proceedings report findings presented at many of the most important scientific meetings around the world Published proceedings are valuable as topical status reports providing quick access to information before it appears in the traditional journal literature
Für dieses Produkt wurde noch keine Rezension verfasst. Bewerten Sie dieses Produkt jetzt als Erster!


text:
Shield :
Plans w/ Digital
Plans and templates
Armory collection
Description of the
Kite Shield is a perfect project for a high school student learning
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These plans, part of the armory collection,
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Click on the image to the right to see a copy of the first page
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Leave them here
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your school is and leave a link if your shop has a web page.


text:
How would you like to get physically refreshed and spiritually blissed in 2018?!
Why not join me for a CRUISE with the inspirational Dr. O! If you don't know Dr. O you're in for a treat. He is a Jewish Christian mystic who has a vast understanding of Spiritual Dimensions and the Nature of God.
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Our Infant Center BAMBINI MONTESSORI, caters infant from 1 month old to 2 1/2 years old. Here we have a low ratio of teacher to student. With our low student to teacher ratio we are able to give the best care and the attention that your little one deserve.
5 years before September 1. We can accommodate kindergarten children as long as they reach 5 years old.


text:
Calling All Local Bands
Attention Sioux Falls local bands! GET READY TO ROCK N ROLL! Now's your chance to play our upcoming show at The District on June 1st! Have fans vote for your band to open this show by tweeting us and/or leaving a comment here. The top two groups with the most comments will be offered the opportunity to open for us! Voting lasts until May 16th at 10:00pm CDT. We will announce the winners on Thursday, May 17th at NOON CDT


text:
169,xxx orig owner 2003. Orig. engine 2nd clutch (only because a spring broke, disc had plenty of life)
Replaced: ball joints, tierods, wheel bearings2x times, radiator, belt, waterpump2x, sway links (all4), compliance bushings3x.
K20A3 with Kpro and minor mods
Knock Sensor and Radiator were my major replacements.
2004 silver ep3 185214k miles and running strong!...will soon replace motor mounts and upgrade to type s sway bars!
2004 NHBP, sitting at around 130,500 now. Orig motor/trans/clutch, minor mods. I'm the 2nd owner, babied it the last 11 years and 110,000 miles. Was about to sell it but my 9yr old daughter wants me to keep it for her. Guess this means time to put money into a little restoration and mods. :)
04 Civic Si - nhbp
12 Accord EXL v6 - cbp
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text:
Dad was saying something about body surfing the other day which triggered a memory of these hand templates I found surfing the net awhile back when searching for info on traditional Hawaiian wood alaia surfboards.These guys look like they might be fun to make and try out. They should enable the surfer to plane along the wave a little easier.
Could it be the next project???????


text:
A Mission Plan Emphasizing Genomics, Proteomics and Chemical Biology. Founded in 1965, the Molecular Biology Institute, or MBI, is an interdepartmental organized research unit (ORU) within the Life Sciences Division of the College of Letters & Sciences. The Institute is designed to bring together UCLA researchers in the now broad area of molecular biology. Faculty from the College of Letters and Science and the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry and
- Category:
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text:
Coded Pictures was established by producer Karen Katz. So far, the company
has produced the short film The Mood (directed by Fredrick Bond, winner of
the Soho Shorts Festival in 2006) and Moving to Mars, a feature documentary
charting the experiences of two Karen refugee families from Burma. Directed
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night film at Sheffield Doc/Fest 2009 and also screened at IDFA. It played a part of the acclaimed True Stories strand on More 4. Focusing on documentaries and fictional features, the company is developing several projects on a wide range of subjects.
Sara Semere
Adam Butcher
Mike Le Marechal
Jim Peterson
Matt Hird
Karen Katz
Karen began her career as an assistant to Paul Hamann, then head of BBC documentaries. After a ten-year career in the industry, initially in sales and acquisitions at Miramax but later as a head of development at Trademark Films, she set up Coded Pictures to produce her own work. Moving to Mars, shot in Thailand and Sheffield, was her debut full length feature. With numerous other doc and feature ideas hidden up her developmental sleeve, she's now looking forward to the release of her feature film Junkhearts.
Kara Alberts
Producer's Assistant


text:
It's in my hair! It's in my hair!
on 2004/06/01 at 12:01 am
Chapter: Chapter I: Three Hours
Characters: Brownie, Dekelcia Feff, Reflex, Udel
Location: Lesser Faydark
It took me a while to draw this one and I wanted to make the dialogue good. This comic also has something that the other strips are weak at, working with the other strips in the comic! The text actually goes with the other pages instead of just the pictures! I so happy.
Oh and next page… The two stories join together, Candie and Udel + Dekelcia all on one page! 😀


text:
I've made some of my favorite inktober 2017 drawings available as prints on my Etsy page. Or vote for a chance to win your favorite print for free here.
This is the road home. I am thankful. It's Thanksgiving after all.
As we drive home, we are nearly there and I take in the Palouse hills, now almost black with fertile soil. They tell the story of harvest, brought in during summer months. I notice the subtle green of the winter wheat beginning to sprout. The blue of the sky. The epic clouds. And, off in the distance, my beloved Moscow Mountain.
There was a time I would guffaw at that nomenclature. My Portland, Oregon family and friends would agree with my original observation: "What mountain? Those are foothills!" But that ridge is the backdrop for the town that has been my home over half my life.
And in that half of my life, I have more to be thankful for than I can ever write down or illustrate in a million books. I am grateful. Not just for the winter wheat, blue for the sky, and the color green (as one sage once pointed out), which is glory enough. But I'm thankful for the man that I met here and married, the extended family I inherited from him, the children God blessed me with, the friendships formed and cultivated in the fertile soil of the Palouse, the music sung, the prayers offered, and the laughter. So much laughter.
I can look back at the first half of my life with thankfulness too. That half had the backdrop of a "real" mountain, Mt. Hood. That is the ground where I was planted. The subtleties of the soil in the green Willamette Valley are still in me, body and soul, like a wine that has taken on all the flavors of it's environment: the hospitality of my mother during holidays, my family's love for one another, a whole day dedicated to processing the corn we harvested, making clam chowder and sharing it with dozens of friends, eating fresh vegetables out of the garden, and playing with my best friend all summer in bare feet (despite the gravel road).
The soil I've grown in has not been without large stones to deal with. And I know there will be drought and frost, and other adversity to face in the future. But the vines with the most hardship to overcome make the best wine.
So I am grapes from the Willamette and I am wheat from the Palouse. I am thankful, so thankful, for these things that have potential for wine and bread. I have been blessed. And I know it. I have been drenched with the early and the latter rain of grace.
It is all very good. And I am thankful.
I loved illustrating, Little Mouse Finds A Friend. My favorite thing about the book is the subtle mix of science and story. There are fun bits of scientific facts throughout, without overwhelming the narrative that focuses on friendship and family relationships. But at the end, the hunger for more science, brought on by the appealing aroma through the story, is satisfied with a bullet list of interesting facts and anatomically correct paintings of the Atlas moth and it's caterpillar.
Jeni Leidenfrost cleverly combines story and science together in an enticing blend that is delighting elementary children of all ages. Find out more about this charming tale, and the characters in it, at LittleMouseFamily.com.
We had a simply lovely time at book launch party for Little Mouse Finds A Friend. Author Jeni Leidenfrost and I visited with friends, new and old, and signed many books near the delightful childrens' book section at BookPeople of Moscow. We had samples of the braille-only version of the book as well as the original illustrated version with braille added. There were balloons and t-shirts, lemonade and cookies, laughing and story-telling. It was the best kind of party. Many thanks to our publisher Jason Farley of Jovial Press for being a good sport and modeling the Little Mouse T-shirt. (Photo credit: L. Leidenfrost and H. L. Wilson).


text:
Irked creditors are following the money from the 2007 leveraged buyout of Tribune Co. right to the stately acres and 27-hole golf course at the mansion-turned-museum commemorating the life and times of deceased Chicago Tribune publisher Robert R. McCormick, new court documents show.
The non-profit Cantigny Foundation that runs the 500-acre estate sold nearly $184 million worth of Tribune stock in connection with the deal. The LBO that saddled Tribune Co. with billions in debt meant a nice bump to the Cantigny Foundation endowment, allowing it to further its mission of providing the public the opportunity to hike, golf and examine the artifacts of the First Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. (McCormick was Colonel McCormick.)
Also in the cross-hairs of creditors in Tribune's Chapter 11 case is the billion dollar-plus McCormick Foundation, which sold $1.5 billion worth of company stock in the LBO transactions, for a $963 million profit, according to tax records. It dishes out millions annually to civic charities around the country. [Click for MORE]
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Thursday, June 11, 2009
Tribune Creditors Follow the Money
to the McCormick Foundation
Posted by JOUR M02 Writing and Reporting for the Media at 1:36 PM
Labels: McCormick Foundation, Tribune Co.
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text:
Friday is work day for me so all I had time for really, really early this am was to assemble a
card I made from yesterdays class. I chose to the tiger lily that I painted because I actually liked the way it turned out. So here is the completed and very simple card and tonight I am gonna
play with those paints. I even got my Peerless Paints in the mail today and YAY tomorrow is Saturday!


text:
The Marquee Group launched the Financial Modeling Accreditation Program ("FinMAP") in 2015 to provide participants with a unique opportunity to demonstrate their financial modeling proficiency through an intensive modeling exam within a controlled environment. Participants who passed the exam achieved the FinMAP Accredited Financial Modeler ("AFM") status.
On May 31, 2017, The Marquee Group in partnership with ModelOff, announced the formation of the Financial Modeling Institute (FMI). The FMI is a global institute that delivers and administers certifications in financial modeling. The FMI offers three levels of certification, increasing in difficulty as candidates obtain each subsequent level: Advanced Financial Modeler (AFM); Chartered Financial Modeler (CFM); and Master Financial Modeler (MFM).
The Marquee Group would like to congratulate the following individuals who have successfully completed the exam and achieved their AFM status. Beginning in 2018, all FinMAP AFM holders will automatically be grandfathered into the FMI and hold FMI AFM status. The FMI will work to ensure a smooth transition for all FinMAP graduates.
For more information about the FMI, please see the press release and the FMI website.
November 2015
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Matthew Vines, CFA, MBA, AFM
January 2016
Ian Orfanides, CFA, MBA, AFM
April 2016
Zhengyan (Sally) Ji, CFA, CPA, CGA, AFM
Tarun Joshi, P.Eng, AFM
Sourav Kumar, CFA, AFM
Victor Song, MFin, AFM
Michael Widlicki, AFM
Kyle Shun-Yip Wong, MFin, AFM
July 2016
Farid Madhani, CFA, AFM
Mustafa Masud, CFA, AFM
Steve Shi, AFM
Vicky Xie, MFin, AFM
November 2016
Jonathan Garbe, CFA, AFM
Andy Chongwu Guo, AFM
Sherwin Li, P.Eng., AFM
Selina Ye Lu, CFA, FRM, AFM
Carter Smith, AFM
Brendan Stephenson, AFM
Qianyu (Athena) Wu, MFin, M.Ec., AFM
January 2017
Kevin Brownlow, AFM
Chiranshu Kumar, CA, AFM
Mariya Maksymova, AFM
Ariel Olyan, AFM
Abed Pathan, CPA, CA, AFM
Weiqiang Qian, CFA, AFM
April 2017
Alexander Gurinovich, MBA, CPA, CMA, CFA, AFM
Adler Sears, MFin, AFM
Michelle M. Zhu, AFM
July 2017
Enrique Carrera, AFM
Paul Quick, MFin, AFM
Quan (William) Vu, AFM
Wendi (Link) Xia, AFM


text:
Acrylic Extruded Opal Rod Dia.8 to 18mm
Extruded acrylic opal white rods are available up to 18mm, and are supplied with a highly polished, brilliant surface and pure opaque white colour
Acrylic rod and tube provide good optical clarity, excellent UV properties, high impact resistance, and superb weathering ability. Rods are available in a variety of custom and standard thicknesses and sizes.
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Dia. 8mm 16mm 18mm
Length 1m 2m
- Signs
- Model making
- Splash backs
- Point of sale
- Retail Displays
- Digital Print
- Jewellery Making
- Arts and Crafts
- Electrical Insulation
- Furniture
- Lighting
- Technical Components
- Promotional Products
Shop Material
- Acrylic Retail Displays
- ABS (Acrylonitrile, Butadiene, Sytrene)
- Aluminium
- Foam PVC
- H.I.P.S (High Impact Polystyrene)
- Plywood
- Polycarbonate
- Vinyl Roll
Global 372 Acrylic Pty Ltd
4/284 Musgrave Road
Coopers Plains
Queensland Australia 4108


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Whenever any new update or algorithm is released, a lot of speculations begin as for how things will be or what kinds of changes
Tag: linking
Signs that say you need to disavow a link to your site
Backlinks can be a double-edged sword! While links from a quality website can pass off SEO juice and boost footfalls to your site, there's
Internal Linking- An important part of ranking (SEO)
Internal linking is a term used to describe the links within one website or blog. I have been hearing about the internal linking from


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Dival is set to host its first annual Safety Power Morning. The event will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn & Rensselaer Facility, Troy, NY on March 10.
Featured speakers will discuss personal stories detailing accidents that changed their lives, and how they could have been avoided with proper safety precautions. There will even be a safety game show where you will experience safety training in a completely new format. The session will take a look at safety on and off the job, and will include lots of laughs, smiles and audience participation.
Marlin will be showcasing our digital signage products at this year's Power Morning. Stop by and see how our Electronic Communication Station (ECS) can help you build and maintain a culture of safety within your company. With industry-specific safety content, you'll always have new messages to keep your safety program fresh and interesting, while addressing your most important issues.
Click here to learn more about the event.
Click here to register as an attendee.


text: The 1-star Hotel Citra offers comfort and convenience whether you're on business or holiday in Yogyakarta. The hotel offers a high standard of service and amenities to suit the individual needs of all travelers. Wi-Fi in public areas, car hire, room service, car park, laundry service are on the list of things guests can enjoy. Desk, television, shower, non smoking rooms, air conditioning can be found in each guestroom. Take a break from a long day and make use of garden, massage. Convenience and comfort makes Hotel Citra the perfect choice for your stay in Yogyakarta.


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Member: Abdelghani Zine
Company: Zineglob SARL
Location: Morocco
Industry: Beauty & Personnel Care
Gold Supplier member since: 2012
Website: https://zineglob.trustpass.alibaba.com
1. How did you hear about Alibaba.com?
Through the internet.
2. How has your feedback been through Alibaba.com?
3. How many inquiries and how many orders do you get from Alibaba.com every month? Which
countries are your clients mainly from?
It varies, about 60 inquiries and 25 orders per month. Mostly from the US, Asia and Europe.
4. What's the most impressive order or the most surprising order you got through Alibaba.com?
An order for over US $150,000.
5. What's the difference between before and after you joined Alibaba? Please list some data for reference.
Before, our approach was to produce high quality products that met our objective to cater to the needs of our loyal customers. After joining, we concentrated on how to respond to customer needs, and how to improve our products to get higher sales. Alibaba takes care of finding potential buyers.
6. What's the biggest advantage of e-commerce?
Our products will be sold worldwide.
7- Company introduction
We are an experienced food and cosmetics manufacturer with over 12 years of product development history. We are a very professional and trustworthy supplier, and we make it our goal to satisfy our customers.
Zineglob is a top argan oil manufacturer, we produce argan oil-based cosmetics and beauty products that are very useful in the hospitality industry. Our cosmetic treatments are 100% organic and natural.
Our production process is 100% pure and we hold internationally recognized certification. We have satisfied and loyal customers in Europe, Asia and America. With the help of Alibaba, we have had success on the international market. To improve our service further, we have a team of designers that can offer customized labelling and packaging to our customers.
Our company first joined the Alibaba platform in 2012 after seeing an advert on the internet about how Alibaba can help companies to sell their products on the global market.
We have greatly improved our company since joining Alibaba and most of our orders come from the platform. We receive over 60 inquiries and about 25 orders per month with Alibaba. We often receive orders for more than US $250,000 and our products have successfully entered the US and European markets.
By joining Alibaba, we have been able to achieve our goals and become a serious player on the international cosmetics market. Alibaba.com is an excellent platform for e-commerce and provides us with many benefits and advantages.
"Get 22 times more inquiries than Free Members with a Gold Supplier Membership!"


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Hi Guys,
My name is cameraaddict (Mike) and I am fairly new to Photography. I have just joined Cambridge in colour today. I live in Yorkshire UK.This is my first post!!!! My main interests are, landscape, macro and family photos. I have a 18 - 55mm lens which came with the camera (Canon 400D) and would like to know what lens will give me very good images.
Many thanks.


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WordPress Ecommerce Plugins that Speed Up Redesigns (Practical Ecommerce)
"In "7 Ecommerce Design Trends for 2014," we addressed factors that will likely influence ecommerce redesigns in 2014. These include the popularity of images, video, and other rich content, and the continued rise of mobile. If you run a store from a WordPress platform, implementing design changes is easier with the ready availability of plugins and themes. In this article, I'll review plugins and themes that make redesigning a WordPress ecommerce site much easier."
How Amazon and mobile commerce are challenging B2B companies (Internet Retailer)
"Retail ecommerce leader Amazon.com Inc. and mobile commerce are setting higher standards for how companies must sell to other businesses through e-commerce sites and mobile devices, Forrester Research says in a new report titled, "The New and Emerging World of B2B Commerce." In a world where customers research and buy via several traditional and non-traditional channels, companies engaged in business-to-business ecommerce need to offer an Amazon-like, customer-friendly model, the report says."
Checkout abandonment: mobile UX examples to help boost conversions (eConsultancy)
"The question is, what can be done to reduce basket abandonment on mobile? In truth a large proportion will continue to drop out simply because they use mobile for product research, however there are still ways of shortening the purchase journey on mobile so shoppers are nudged towards a conversion rather than dropping out. To give some inspiration for mobile designers, I've rounded up some of my favourite UX features from various mobile commerce sites and apps that might help to limit user frustration and abandonment rates."
Check up on your Checkout: 12 Tips to Create a Seamless eCommerce Purchasing Process (EYEMAGINE blog)
"There are countless possibilities as to why these folks bail on their orders, but there are steps you can take to cut down that number and increase conversions. One huge step? Streamlining the ecommerce purchasing process. For shoppers who have made it as far as the checkout, it is important to make this process as seamless as possible. Here are 12 tips to ensure that your ecommerce checkout eliminates any snags for the customer and builds their confidence in your site."


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Paintings tend to be a purely visual art form, but this museum exhibition is adding an additional sensory element to engage visitors in a new way. Soundscapes is exhibiting at the National Gallery in London, England from July 8th to September 6th, 2015. Renowned composers added an auditory aspect to existing masterpieces.
Six contemporary musicians created soundscapes for the museum exhibition, which recontextualized paintings with music and sound. This gave the pieces a new layer of beauty beyond the visual for guests to further interact with. Bringing in a new sense offers an entirely new experience, even for returning patrons.
Other museums in Europe asked people to engage with art in a new way by incorporating touch with tactile additions for the visually impaired.
Sensory Painting Exhibits
More Stats +/-
Living Classical Paintings
Interactive Art Museums
Robotic Museum Guides
3D Printing Labs
Interactive Museum Beacons
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Museum Exhibition Soundscapes Adds Music to Painting Masterpieces
- By: Alyson WyersJul 24, 2015
References: nationalgallery.org.uk & springwise
References: nationalgallery.org.uk & springwise