QUEENS, NY [CHI] — Due to the suffering economy, many schools have found it difficult to pay their staff. Despite the financial squeeze, the Hanhala of Cheder Tzeirei Hashluchim at the Ohel made it their chief concern to pay teachers their dues before the new school year began.
Keeping up with Teachers’ Salaries
QUEENS, NY [CHI] — Due to the suffering economy, many schools have found it difficult to pay their staff. Despite the financial squeeze, the Hanhala of Cheder Tzeirei Hashluchim at the Ohel made it their chief concern to pay teachers their dues before the new school year began.
“Teachers who are satisfied with their salaries and are paid on time will be better teachers than if they are dissatisfied,” said Faivish Pewzner, a parent of a 2nd grader.
“We have close-knit parent-school relationships,” said Rabbi Yossi Geisinsky, administrator. With an enrollment of about 50 students, Geisinsky noted that the classes are kept small for the purpose of individualized attention for every student.
According to Rabbi Levi Zarchi, executive director, Cheder at the Ohel invests in the quality of education, sending its teachers to teaching seminars during the summer in order to provide them with additional methods to implement in the classroom.
With classes from pre-1A through 8th grade, the school is located down the block from the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s resting place and is geared toward the average Lubavitch boy.
Having just begun its 16th school year, the administration organized a fundraiser and scholarship program in order to help families afford tuition. Kasriel Shemtov, who, together with his father, Reb Mendel Shemtov OBM, founded the cheder and sustained it ever since, said he is pleased that parents came through to make the fundraising drive a success. Over $100,000 in scholarship funding has already been awarded to families in need for the coming year.
When a student shows qualitative growth in his own Yiddishkeit and Chassidishkeit, it is most fulfilling, divulged one teacher, Rabbi Schneur Zalmen Schapiro. “Each child is made to feel important as an individual,” Schapiro said.
For more information, please visit www.chederth.com.
Registration will be open for the 2010-2011 school year on February 15, 2010.
Isaac
What a good story. Teachers being paid, and more shockingly, being paid on time!!
duh
what exactlyis the point, they do not say what they want, are they up to date with salaries or not?
ch res
interesting i know 2 teachers who havent been paid yet
Hey Geisinsky
Hi Shuey Geisinsky in the last picture. You are adorable!
frustrated
I wish the same would be for the Cheder in Morristown
The teachers haven’t been fully paid up, yet they are ready to begin the school year regardless. The problem is that the administration won’t open the school. The whole community plus shluchim from nearby areas are left with their children at home.
yitzy
we must not forget the ehlp from Faivish and Tamar Pewzner!
Always overdue for pay from Chabad
B“H
It’s not just the schools that can get behind on pay, R”L. I work for a Chabad organization that is always behind, and they have the chutzpah to expect me to take on new work for them, when they haven’t paid me for the old work.
Being 4 months behind in pay is not unusual at this organization.
And when I courteously inquire about overdue pay, they’ll play dumb, lie to your face, or anything else that buys them some more time — “Oh, I never saw your timesheet — please resubmit it,” or, “We’ll be writing checks the day after tomorrow (which doesn’t happen),” or giving the runaround as to who is really the one who can see to it that payment is made, or worse, giving cold nasty glares to courteous requests for payment, as if there’s something wrong with the employee for asking!
Why can’t they at least be honest and sympathetic: “I am so sorry, of course we messed up; can you manage until [whenever it is that they really, realistically CAN pay up],” or “Thank you for holding on so long, it was not right that it took us so long to pay you,” or, “I had a hard time looking myself in the mirror, knowing we were behind in paying you for all of the hard work you do for us; thanks for continuing to produce such good work for us anyway,” “I understand this was a real hardship for you,” etc.
Do you think I’ll be hearing from the irresponsible parties at the institution I work for, during the first ten days in Tishrei, asking me to forgive them for their shoddy treatment? No chance!! Talk about hypocrisy! [Guilty parties, take notice!!!]
IMHO these places have no business balancing their poor planning or ineptness on the backs of the employees and their families. And if things go unexpectedly wrong for the employer, these institutions have no business playing these kinds of deceitful games with the people who work for them.
Surely it’s against Torah, too! Isn’t a Jewish Boss supposed to pay his workers promptly?
Yet it’s come to be almost a expected that one “should” put up with such mishugas: “Come on, where’s your emunah and bitachon,” or “Everything comes from Hashem,” or similar things like that.
Well, yasher koach for this cheder, mamosh. Yet, at the same time, what kind of world is this, that it’s “NEWS” when a cheder’s staff is finally paid their overdue salaries????? How sad!
Look, it’s better to be out of money but owed some, than to be out of money and NOT even be owed any. I’m definitely grateful to Hashem that I have work. Yet, that’s faint consolation when it’s almost Yuntif, and you still don’t have the money for what your family needs. It kind-of saps the motivation, to say the least.
At least this cheder realized this, and did what they had to do, to come up with overdue pay for their Morahs and Rebbes. May all Chabad institutions do the same before Rosh Hashanah!
Leshanah tovah u’m’suka!
itamar rosenblatt
go menachem mendel wertheimer!! future shliach!!
Your best sister!
GOOD JOB MORAH LEAH!!! the best Morah in the school! keep on instilling in those children Yiras shmayim.
Mechy
The article should be written about Morristown, who have NOT opened this year, because teachers and milamdim did not get paid yet for last year!!!!
Hashgocha Pratis
B”H
‘Anyone see today’s Rambam (Sefer HaMitzvos)?
Here it is:
It is forbidden to go back on our word.
did you notice the careful wording?
concern is nice,but the fact is that i know some teachers whose payments are behind at least six months! hope your concern for the teachers payments gets them bread on their table,and pays all their bills and hatzlacha rabbah to all those who are trying to support their family without getting any steady salary.
been around
whats the point of this article? ? everytime someone gets paid its going to be published here? unless its to cover up that they actually didnt get paid on time.
and to morah Leah!! your awsome! keep it up, dont give up/in.
lost in CA
For over 6 years, Cheder Menachem in LA has not missed a payroll date. This is a Lubavitcher school with great staff and a devoted board of directors who will not sleep at night if they don’t have enough money on hand to cover a payroll. Halvai all Chabad schools would learn from them how to run a moisad. U’mayhem yiru v’chein yassu.
There is no execuse for late pmt.
Any enterprise that does not pay its employees on the day that they are owed is over on 5 lo-saseis and missed the opportunity of 2 mitzvohs aseih. Not sure how any org. can justify this especially one that is in kli kodesh.
Not making a mortgage payment or an electrical bill or telephone bill will result in harsh realities but will not be over on these midaresas.