TLS EXCLUSIVE: (U/D) The recent uproar in the Tiny Tots-Board Of Education saga has caused much confusion as to what exactly is – and is not – taking place. To avoid further confusion, TLS requested that the BOE members – in attendance of last nights meeting – give over the facts from the official viewpoint, on video, without anything being mistakenly distorted.
Attending the exclusive interview this afternoon, were BOE members Chesky Seitler, Isaac Zlatkin, Yoni Silver and Carl Fink.
Upadated 4:10 p.m: Tiny Tots offered the following response:
“Tiny Tots has the required licenses to run the preschool programs and has had these licenses for the past few years. All our teachers that work in the program have the proper certifications. We stand by our reputation of being the premier preschool in Lakewood. It was evident last night when all the parents told the superintendent that they do not want to place their children in a district run program.”
“Tiny Tots has enjoyed the support of our board members in the past and is hopeful that together we can come up with a resolution to the current issue. We are open to all suggestions and look forward to a speedy resolution.”
As usual, TLS will continue to bring you the latest on this developing story.
IS EVERYTHING BEING SHUT DOWN OR JUST THE SPECIAL-ED PART OF TINY TOTS?
Thank you to the LAC guys! Keep it up!
HI , I USE KOSHER NET WHICH BLOCKS YOUTUBE IS THIER A WAY TO MAKE VIDEO AVAIL TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE PROPER SHMERA ON THIER COMPUTERS ???
this is a whole different angle that I am hearing now .
It seems that BOE members are sincere at taking care of the children and its not their fault that TT closed .
Thank you so much Mr Seitler, Mr Zlatkin, Mr Silver and Mr Fink.
my question is … is this program mandated by state law or available when there is money for it? what is it that tiny tots fall short of as far as the state is concerned? is it that program specifically?
Is there any way you can post a transcript of the vidio for those that can’t access it
do they have any credibilty left?
I may have a suitable site. Who do I contact?
#5 TT didn’t have the license to run this program.
The board members clearly said their hands are tied in terms of fighting the state there are fundamental things that TT didn’t have.
My impression is that the Board members are woking hard and trying to do best under this circumstances. Its TT who didn’t have the license and from the video it sounds like BOE members are trying to fix the mess that was created by the State.
Is this acceptable under the sunshine laws
I agree with # 9 to blame the BOE members for a mess the state created its not fair especially if BOE members are trying to fix this.
This while issue had nothing to do with the Boe members,The state came in AND MADE THESE PROBLEMS.The Boe members are trying yo make a bad situation even better than before.Keep it up Guys,Finally someome working for the people.
Seitler, zlatkin, silver, fink for twp committee. These guys actually bend over backwards and take their ungrateful, unpaid public work very seriously!
BOE members aren’t to blame but TT is a great program and as a state certified teacher and having worked for TT for a while now, I can assure you that TT takes every measure to be in compliance.
I close down a local persons business and then I hire all their employees and then I go and ask them to rent me the building? chutzpa
It defiantly does have to do with the BOE members if catapult would of kept it then we wouldn’t be having these issues but since they new better I don’t know where my kid is going next year
Taking Tiny Tots in house and makning it a “mirror program” is a great idea. It will furhter upgrade the standard, while maintaining that wich is already in place. Kol Hakovod to whoever is involved and really working for the children.
I just hope the teachers stay the same. They are really incredible! My daughter had a teacher (I’ll use her initials in case she does not want the publicity- M.G.) who was fabulous! She really understood her individual strengths and waknesses and fostered tremendous progress. She was always available and offered concrete, practical guidance whenever necessary. She was proffessional, collaborated with the therapist working with my daughter and really gave our daughter an amazing year. I’ve had other teachers and professionals working with this daughter and one of her older siblings and this teacher is head and shoulders above the others. If the program is toremain somewhat the same, the teachers must be invited back. Thank you board of Ed. members for the time and effort you are putting in to make this program as good as it was.
If they are able to “create” a similar program and it is true that Tiny Tots does not have the required licenses, then why cant’t they certify Tiny Tots now and continue with their high high quality program which my child has been the beneficiary of for several years now. To me it seems that this is a vendetta against TT for whatever reason which must have been instigated by someone von the BOE or possibly in the School administration.
who called the state????????
#13 you don’t have your facts and are feeding misinformation to the public. The state routinely checks all the premises and did it last year.
The came to TT in April and found it not having essentially things.
All the parents agree to the BOE members proposal and everything would stay the same the main person at TT Mrs Moses was already hired by BOE to lead this program and hopefully soooon she will present to the parents .
we need to presser tiny tots to sub lease space to the boe so the program will work and all the children would be taken care of
I don’t understand at the 3:00 mark it says tiny tots failed the building inspection and teacher qualification and than said they are trying to sublet the same building and keeping the same teacher – I’m very confused.
At the end they said everyone should call tiny tots and pressure them to sublet the building. Isn’t that a bit like rubbing salt in the wound? I found it to be a bit condescening in tone.
I want to add that I am not a tiny tot parent just someone following this unfortionate story from the beginning.
The facts are not being presented right. The newly elected BOE members are trying very hard to lower the budget by making spending cuts. They figured why sub contract to TT if they can service it themselves. They forced TT to come down on their price by threatening to bring the program in house. Once they brought up that idea the superintendent felt it was a great opportunity. After TT came down on their proposal and the BOE agreed the superintendent was not too happy to let go of the program so the only solution was call the state. Didn’t we read here the states audit of the BOE so don’t we shut down the BOE. I wonder what the states report of the Public School system would look like, with 6 failing schools. So why not 7. 7 failing public schools and guess what we get to pay for it too. Do you think the startup expenses for the Public School program will come for free. Take one look at the expense of running a Public School versus a private school. And by the way its definitely worth throwing 200 kids under the bus after all we all might save about $15. Brilliant move. I can’t understand what took us so long to finally get such a wonderful Board.
How was the river ave building not up to par when the state came down and now they want to lease it??
whose is taking responsibility for this new program? Do you realize there are kids lives at stake?
u are basically saying that you will take tt’s program and call it your own. isn’t that gzaila?
Everyone please keep in mind the Boe have no problems with Tiny Tots .It is the state making the problems.
This is just incredible. These four BOE members have no Busha to go on a video and ask the oilam to “pressure the CEO of Tiny Tots” to further their agenda. Where in halacha does it say what they are doing is correct?
Maybe the lesson to be learned here is to make sure that you hear more facts before accusing others and pointing fingers in the wrong direction.
Like it or not , agree or not you must commend the BOE members for reaching out to parents and discussing the issue in an open and forthright manner. It seems they are trying to the best of their abilty to accomodate the parents.
They didn’t need to have a meeting last night or post on scoop to clarify or wpork out issues with parents.
Keep it up.
A breath of fresh air!
Shkoach!
Wish BS could do the same.
To ALL.
The state had a problem with the licenses and the upkeep of the building on Monmouth ave. not River ave.They also had a problem with the teaching licenses and curriculam of Tiny TOTS
So if the BOE takes it over and officialy its a public school does that mean we can send there at no charge???
I am not understanding. U say in your statement that tt. Should. Be pressured to sublease u the river ave location. I thought ‘it was not up to par’. U say u will keep the teachers. I thought they were ‘not properly licensed’. U say u will mirror image the program. Supposedly its ‘not up to par’. Am I missing something? There seems to be an agenda here.
Why are the BOE members in such a rush to abandon TT? This smells fishy..
i would like to know why we just cant fix the prob at river ave and give tt back the contract why are we throwing tt under the bridge….
ultimately the state has said no to TT. All the yelling and screaming in the world wont change that fact!
Who is tiny tots owned by?
At the end of the day the state did not authorise the boe to give this 4million dollar pre school program to tiny tots.The board would be totally negligent to defy the wishes of the state and do it anyway and risk losing all the money to pay for it.Yes it is sad that Tiny Tots will lose a great deal of profit but ultimately there ids nothing they can do.It is useless to vent Tiny TOTS ANGER AT THE BOARD MEMBERS WHO ARE POWER LESS OVER THE STATE
The BOE may not have been the ones that initiated this but the reason why we voted them in is for this reason, so that in a crisis such as this they will be able to use their position to do what is best for the community. It is apparant that there the local ps will not do any better than TT and there is no reason why they should be taking it in house if the facility, teachers and curriculm remain the same. Who are we out to harm here?? Collectively we should be contacting the state or local superintendent to share our thoughts, not the ceo of tt to persaude them to lease the building they use to run a highly successful program. How can this still be up in the air less than 2 weeks before school starts if the program is to run smoothly?
I would like to know who owns Tiny Tots.
As of former Bd. of Ed. President of a different town, I am wondering why there is no account of what, if anything, Tiny Tots management is doing to resolve the State’s objections. A contractor that the State has alleged to be deficient would normally be in Trenton with the appropriate paperwork, witnesses, and lawyer to resolve the issue. In particular, the issue of the adequacy of teacher certifications is something that could be resolved rapidly. The Board, at least, seems to regard the facilities and curriculum allegations as minor, since it proposes to use the same facilities and essentially the same curriculum. I’ve read elsewhere in TLS that Tiny Tots has denied the State’s allegations. Is Tiny Tots doing anything at the State level to get them reversed? I would generally regard this as a contractor’s responsibility and an urgent one.
in reply to
“To ALL.
The state had a problem with the licenses and the upkeep of the building on Monmouth ave. not River ave.They also had a problem with the teaching licenses and curriculam of Tiny TOTS”
It appears that many have posted comments do not want to listen to reason, just want to point finger of blame. I understand the frustration ,however thats not going to resolve the issue.
to even state that the State is at falt of causing this is unresponsible they have pointed out things that are unacceptable, are they supposed to turn a blind eye and not do their job?
What is confussing is why can’t some of these issues be corrected to meet the states standard. that question has not been answered, or is it more that is not being disclosed?
You guys are doing a great job. Keep up your hard work we all are great full for your time and effort.
It is time to get all of the information on this issue out to the public.
The state must have a compelling case for them to deny Tiny Tots funding for the upcomming year. It is, and has been encoumbent on the owner to prove their case to the state, and now the District. If the owner will not or cannot prove that their certification levels are in place, their curriculum meets state standards, their teachers and instructors are properly licensed, and their buildings can pass inspection, then they are not authorized to perform these services. This is to protect the students and parents.
The state has informed the District that TT is defecient, and will not be considered for funding. The District has said that they have the necessary resources to provide the services in-district, and at the same time be sensative to the cultural needs of the student body.
Let’s see who the owner of TT is. Let’s see the list of defeciencies. Let’s see the location and curriculum of the proposed in-district service.
Only then will we know the proper course of action, and only then will we be able to determine who is, or is not working in the best interest of the students.
All of the taxpayers of Lakewood Township told the BOE to cut expenses. Let us not be suprised when they attempt to do so.
in response to Bill Hobday says
very valid questions & concerns. I do not understand that the BOE has not divulged what was brought to light by the state other than saying they do not meet the “standard”
and yet they are looking to use the same location & teachers???? how can that be?
doesn’t add up ~ we seem to not have all the facts here!
The BOE members are unfortunately displaying inexperience by just folding and not asking the state for a review of the facts. TT has been approved by the state for many years. If they suddenly discovered some concerns TT should be allowed to rectify the minor deficiencies and all our parents would benefit. Instead the BOE members have bought the States version of the events without insisting on clarification.
As a working mom i rely on Tiny Tots for their excellent service in taking care of my baby. I drop off my baby every morning on the way to work and have peace of mind. Knowing that he is in excellent hands with constant supervision. If they close down i will go crazy please do all you can to keep this excellent institution open.
I understand this video clip was released to portray the BOE as transparent.
As part of the transparecy, please provide a list of deficiencies with which Tiny Tots failed and is therefore being closed down. if there is an issue with the tiny tots location how can the BOE use it?
If this is legitimate, wouldn’t tiny tots be given time to cure the deficiencies?
Perhaps if the rest of the public school system was privatized, Lakewood’s taxes would finally be reduced and the 6 failing schools will start performing.
We should work on privatizing the rest and not giving more contracts to the already failing Public School Lakewood Board of Ed district.
Keep up the great work Tiny Tots. Hopefully this pass as well.
Lets keep in mind that if TT will close down for all the people who send their children to TT privately and that will create a problem for those parents. I wonder if these new BOE members care about that?
How about helping TT fix the problems something is very fishy here??
GO tiny tots GO! Keep up the GREAT work.
replying to this statement
“Perhaps if the rest of the public school system was privatized, Lakewood’s taxes would finally be reduced and the 6 failing schools will start performing.
We should work on privatizing the rest and not giving more contracts to the already failing Public School Lakewood Board of Ed district.”
Thats not an option you cannot privatize public schools !
the next step would be for the state to step in and run them until things straightened out as they have done in other failing schools in some cities in NJ
Just wondering if there was anthing our state senator could do to help?
I would like to use this forum to express my appreciation to Tiny Tots. Their warmth, professionalism and dedication towards each child is truly one of a kind. I hope these issues can be worked out so I can continue to be a proud Tiny Tots parent.
What about the approximately 45 families that rely on TT for parnasah? Did the BOE members think about the likelihood that most of them will not be employed for long by the BOE. Relying on promises to keep their jobs seems naive. With all the turmoil in Lakewood regarding our schools not receiving enough tuition to stay open, do we really want to thrust another 45 families into despair? I feel that the BOE members should retract their video statement until someone like the mashgiach approves of their position.
tt is a great mokom torah !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The state will absolutely hold back the money, they recognize what the determination is, and if the Private Schools do not want their children in the Public Schools, then they will also loose, YOU CANNOT HAVE IT BOTH WAys, the state, will not, allow the funds,
in response to #58 “the state will absolutely hold back the money, they recognize what the determination is” If there’s a will, there’s a way. With the help of the talented board members that were recently elected, the Lakewood community is trusting that they will be able to work things out with the State and not let the community down. After all, that is the reason the community elected them in.
In response to #53 “Thats not an option you cannot privatize public schools !” If that is not an option, the lease we can do is to prevent even more programs from being run by the failing district and allow Tiny Tots to continue doing the excellent job they have been doing for the past 5 years so that all of Lakewood’s children can continue to benefit from their superior services.
In response to “The state will absolutely hold back the money, they recognize what the determination is, and if the Private Schools do not want their children in the Public Schools”. IF THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY. THE WHOLE LAKEWOOD COMMUNITY IS WAITING AND RELYING ON THE TALENTED BOARD MEMBERS TO WORK THINGS OUT WITH THE STATE so that the children of Lakewood will continue to thrive under with the excellent program tiny tots provides to those who desperately need assistance.