Temple Emanuel Kensington

[Anonymous]

Any more current thoughts on Temple Emanuel? Tuition cost, and any input on the following?

04/22/2019 Complaint 13A.16.07.01 The complaint alleged on April 12, 2019, the director was seen dragging a child by their wrist down the hallway. The complaint alleged that the director on several occasions has yelled at students and grabbed them by the wrist and yanked them by the arm. Staff reported that they did not visually witness the incident on April 12, 2019, but some heard yelling at an inappropriate level. It was confirmed that on another occasion, a child was grabbed and pulled by the arm forcefully, due to the child's behavior; and at times, the Director does yell or speak in a way that can be intimidating. Specialist requests that all staff are reoriented to COMAR 13A.16.07.01. Corrected

A thorough investigation was done with regards to the above allegation and the Director handed in his resignation shortly after the complaint. Many parent meetings were held for transparency purposes and parents and Temple staff played an active role in hiring a new Director. The new Director is actually the former Pedagogista who has been at the school for years and is beloved by both families and children alike. Her style of open and welcoming leadership changed the whole culture and atmosphere of the program and it continued to flourish before schools were closed. We left last year so I cannot speak to the current tuition costs, but they were very reasonably priced compared to other programs, with an even cheaper rate if you were a member of the Temple (we were not). The one issue that we had to contend with a s a family was the lack of racial and cultural diversity in the student body. We chose the program specifically due to the Reggio Emilia Approach which is woven into the the fabric of the program in an authentic and meaningful way, but diversity is sorely lacking (although all families are more than welcome). The lack of diversity is to be expected when looking at the the fact that the program is steeped in the teachings of Judaism, but just be warned that if diversity that is something that is high on your list, then this program might not be the best fit for your child and your family. It's lovely in all other ways.

Thank you so much for this thoughtful response! It is very helpful to give more color to the incident and how the program is going forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Any more current thoughts on Temple Emanuel? Tuition cost, and any input on the following?

04/22/2019 Complaint 13A.16.07.01 The complaint alleged on April 12, 2019, the director was seen dragging a child by their wrist down the hallway. The complaint alleged that the director on several occasions has yelled at students and grabbed them by the wrist and yanked them by the arm. Staff reported that they did not visually witness the incident on April 12, 2019, but some heard yelling at an inappropriate level. It was confirmed that on another occasion, a child was grabbed and pulled by the arm forcefully, due to the child's behavior; and at times, the Director does yell or speak in a way that can be intimidating. Specialist requests that all staff are reoriented to COMAR 13A.16.07.01. Corrected

A thorough investigation was done with regards to the above allegation and the Director handed in his resignation shortly after the complaint. Many parent meetings were held for transparency purposes and parents and Temple staff played an active role in hiring a new Director. The new Director is actually the former Pedagogista who has been at the school for years and is beloved by both families and children alike. Her style of open and welcoming leadership changed the whole culture and atmosphere of the program and it continued to flourish before schools were closed. We left last year so I cannot speak to the current tuition costs, but they were very reasonably priced compared to other programs, with an even cheaper rate if you were a member of the Temple (we were not). The one issue that we had to contend with a s a family was the lack of racial and cultural diversity in the student body. We chose the program specifically due to the Reggio Emilia Approach which is woven into the the fabric of the program in an authentic and meaningful way, but diversity is sorely lacking (although all families are more than welcome). The lack of diversity is to be expected when looking at the the fact that the program is steeped in the teachings of Judaism, but just be warned that if diversity that is something that is high on your list, then this program might not be the best fit for your child and your family. It's lovely in all other ways.

Thank you so much for this thoughtful response! It is very helpful to give more color to the incident and how the program is going forward.

We have one graduate of the school and one currently enrolled. I agree on the diversity comments although there have been efforts to diversify the teachers as well. Overall, the school is amazing and their efforts around the pandemic closures have been really great. The Temple is still working to improve its communications and transparency after the former director left and has instituted much more parental involvement in the school which is wonderful. I highly recommend it after having attended other preschools as well.