oorah , or sometimes oorah kiruv rechokim , hebrew for " awaken and bring in those who are far " ( a reference to educating non-observant jews ) , is an incorporated orthodox jewish kiruv ( outreach ) organization founded in 1980 " with the goal of awakening jewish children and their families to their heritage . "

it is a united states based 501 ( c ) 3 non-profit organization .

oorah ( organization )

and memorable campaigns for any jewish organization are no doubt those produced by and for oorah . but who are the people behind oorah ? do you ever wonder ?
independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary ( i . e . , not affiliated with a national , regional , or geographic grouping of organizations ) .
oorah staten island is a program of the larger oorah organization . oorah’s various programs and events enrich the lives of jewish families throughout the us with meaning and values . and staten island is where it all began .
non - jewish workers shorted weeks of pay . haredi outreach organization oorah claims contactors owe workers the money , but oorah also admits to owing those contactors at least $ 30 , 000 .
© 2018 jewish little star preschool is a division of oorah , inc . ; a 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) tax exempt organization .
copyright © 2018 kars4kids is a 501c3 organization . your donation will benefit kars4kids , a national organization dedicated to addressing the educational , material , emotional and spiritual needs of jewish children and their families .
due to an error on this organization ' s form 990 , we are unable to display program information .
haredi kiruv organization and its bogus subsidiary for ' at risk ' youth are again linked to shady dealings .
the group ' s board of directors does not provide adequate oversight of the charity ' s organization and staff .
oorah owns cucumber communications , and claims that
every penny
of profit goes to oorah ' s activities .
if you donate to an organization called kars4kids , it ' s a huge red flag that the money isn ' t going to an organization with that name ,
said lindsey nichols , spokesperson for guidestar , a national charity information websites .
haredi missionary organization under investigation for not paying workers hired to remodel its boys camp . oorah claims a subcontractor is the true employer but it also admits it owes that subcontractor money .
we should commend oorah for establishing an organization of this magnitude which sustains itself by maintaining a high level of professionalism and fundraising , permitting it to exist on small donations through grassroots efforts .
where does the money go ? ninety percent of the monies donated go to a sister organization , oorah , a new jersey - based charity that operates jewish youth summer camps in new york .
the attorney general’s report also highlighted the relationship between kars4kids and oorah . as our website clearly states , much of our charitable programming is done in conjunction with our sister charity oorah , also a nationally recognized jewish nonprofit organization . oorah’s programs include mentorship and youth programs , school placement and tuition assistance , summer camp , holiday and family events .
oorah declined to respond directly to these allegations while litigation is pending . however , in court documents the organization’s attorney , israel vider , argued that congregation oorah is operating as a religious corporation by running educational programming at the synagogue . oorah runs a preschool and kindergarten in the building , as well as weekly religious programming for adults and teens .
since its humble beginning , oorah developed into a multifaceted nonprofit organization offering social , educational , and religious services to thousands of families throughout the world . oorah’s dozens of programs have broadened rabbi chaim mintz’s impact , continuing each year to carry out his vision with care and dedication .
little star is a project of oorah , a non - profit organization serving the jewish community for more than three decades . oorah was established by rabbi chaim mintz , a pioneer in jewish education and outreach who continues to oversee oorah’s many important and highly regarded programs . oorah cares for men , women , and children of all jewish backgrounds and affiliations , providing for the physical , emotional , and educational needs of our community .
we should recognize how unique , in our age of hype and self - promotion , is the kind of avodas hakdoesh performed under the radar that defines this organization . hiding under our noses in plain sight is a remarkable organization that is bringing thousands of men , women and children tachas kanfei hashechinah .
oorah’s public image couldn’t be farther from the truth . a successful educational and outreach group , the only area in which this organization is lacking , ironically , is public relations . they spend considerable amounts on marketing strategies but forget to include an important piece of the picture : who are the individuals behind this unusual organization ? what are they doing when they aren’t playing fiveish ?
the lakewood , nj - based kars4kids is a front for joy for our youth , which itself is a front for oorah , a haredi missionary organization . the saint louis post dispatch reports on the deceptive advertising used by kars - for - kids , and the questionable business practices of oorah :
the trial portion of the jewish foundation school / rabbi joseph jacob orthodox day school ' s federal lawsuit against haredi kiruv organization oorah is ended today in brooklyn with a victory for rjj . rjj – which previously won a beit din decision that oorah ignored – sued oorah for almost $ 400 , 000 in back tuition the beit din ruled oorah owes for non - orthodox students it entolled in rjj by promising students ' families free tuition .
will oorah lose its irs 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) status ? will oorah ' s board be prosecuted ? only time will tell .
again , j . o . y . gifts all of its money to oorah . oorah is a sectarian missionary organization whose sole declared purpose according to it ' s irs filings is
kiruv ,
jewish religious outreach , and related educational scholarships to orthodox jewish schools . and oorah gives less than 38 % of its income to those causes and shows extremely high expenses .
kars4kids , they learned , is the primary funder of a new jersey organization called oorah inc . that provides religious - based services to orthodox jewish children . kars4kids paid $ 65 , 000 in fines in each state in 2009 .
continue reading
rjj v . oorah / kars - 4 - kids
»
over the last few days we have been examining a series of articles on kars4kids and oorah , inc . and the potentially fraudulent activities of both organizations . we had been going on a working theory that the entire organization was one big ponzi scheme .
torahmates is a program of oorah , a national jewish outreach organization with dozens of programs for families and individuals at all stages of life . oorah brings together a diverse and vibrant community of growth - oriented jewish families . oorah’s programs include thezone summer camps for boys , girls and teens , chillzone , an afterschool program with groups across north america and in israel , little star preschool in staten island , holiday and weekend events , school placement and yeshiva tuition assistance . learn more about oorah’s programs .
joy for our youth , it turns out , is the legal entity behind kars4kids . it has its own website , which requires donors to do more digging to find the connection to oorah , which is simply described as
a national nonprofit organization .
a long - running case in the new york state supreme court between a small staten island synagogue and the large charedi outreach organization that operates kars4kids now includes allegations of tax fraud .
the greater oorah family offers many opportunities and programs ! by joining oorah staten island , you’ll also join the larger oorah family with all that is has to offer , from thezone camp to year round events and retreats . learn more about our other programs .
* i label oorah missionary because it targets children below the legal age of consent .
this week , i also turned down an ad , not for harris ' s book , but for oorah , the haredi missionary * organization . i did so because of oorah ' s questionable fundraising tactics . ( please scroll down to the bottom of the linked page and read upward . this post will be at the top , above the other oorah posts . ) perhaps that will get media attention one day , although i doubt it .
a handful of brooklyn - based charities are concerned more about their own bottom line than they are about those who may have hit rock bottom , according to an independent charity evaluating organization .
proceeds benefit joy for our youth . j . o . y . is an international organization providing for the physical , emotional , and spiritual needs of distressed and at - risk youth .
oorah ' s for - profit subsidiary , cucumber communications , is shown with a total income of $ 208 , 609 . even though oorah claims that
every penny of profit
is given to oorah , ooorah ' s irs filing shows that cucumber transferred only $ 144 , 391 to oorah . cucumber also shows assets of $ 367 , 301 .
welcome to the oorah family ! browse our resources and programs to enhance your jewish life .
all thanks to oorah . you have touched our lives like an angel from the sky .
oorah sent the above e - mail to its list today . note what it says :
young israel congregants accuse the nonprofit oorah of using synagogue to hide ‘questionable financial dealings . ’
young israel’s attorney , solomon rubin , calls oorah’s claims “identity theft” and argued that enforcing the $ 1 million arbitration award would amount to the court “assisting” oorah in this alleged fraud .
plaintiff oorah , inc . (
oorah
) , a nonprofit organization , brought this action against marvin schick , the jewish foundation school (
jfs
) and the rabbi jacob joseph school (
rjj
) ( collectively , the
school
) seeking to enforce an alleged non - disparagement agreement . the school counterclaimed , arguing that oorah had breached an agreement to pay a set tuition over a certain number of years for students it enrolled and , in the alternative , that oorah was unjustly enriched at the school ' s expense . 1
in a years - long dispute between a small staten - island synagogue and the charedi outreach organization best known for its operation of kars4kids , a court ruled this week in favor of the synagogue .
low wage workers brought from lakewood , new jersey to oorah ' s camp in upsate new york in 2010 to renovate the camp were not paid for their labor . oorah claimed a subcontractor was responsible for the wages . but oorah also owed that subcontractor a large amount of money .
the young israel of eltingville , a struggling 40 - year - old modern orthodox congregation , is battling oorah inc . , the lakewood , n . j . - based outreach organization that operates kars4kids , for control of the synagogue building . the two entities first locked horns earlier this year after a 2007 agreement to sell the building to oorah went sour . the synagogue is now fighting to overturn an arbitration award from a religious court stipulating that they synagogue owes oorah $ 1 million .
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that the kars4kids website is registered to rabbi eliyohu mintz , who also heads up oorah . oorah ' s president is rabbi chaim mintz , a senior official at the yeshiva of staten island .
2 . other evidence of oorah ' s understanding that the debt had been satisfied was admitted . oorah ' s witnesses were allowed to testify that they believed that the dispute between the parties had been settled , and oorah ' s attorney was permitted to reference this understanding in his closing argument .
now , concern over oorah’s application to the irs to attain synagogue status is taking center stage . young israel of eltingville is claiming that oorah inc . formed a separate entity , congregation oorah , to falsely obtain tax - exempt status , thereby allowing oorah to shield potential “questionable financial dealings” from public scrutiny . ( according to irs code , religious congregations do not have to file an annual tax return . )
because the jury found oorah liable for breach of contract , it did not reach the alternative unjust enrichment counterclaim . 3 nevertheless , oorah argues that the unjust enrichment counterclaim should not have been presented to the jury , and that the evidence of oorah ' s assets introduced to support it was unfairly prejudicial .
mintz says kars4kids was not trying to hide anything behind the multiple charities . joy for our youth was the original name of the organization founded in 2000 to support jewish youths . but kars4kids turned out to be catchier .
kars4kids is affiliated with oorah , which currently has a moderate concern cn advisory . for this reason , we have issued a low concern cn advisory on kars4kids . for more information , please see the advisory on oorah and the new york post article that describes the events that led to oorah ' s advisory .
kars4kids and oorah inc . , an affiliated not - for - profit organization , lost $ 5 . 25 million – nearly as much speculating on real estate in 2010 as they spent on programming . oorah , the operation’s program arm , spent only $ 6 . 3 million of the $ 29 million collected by kars4kids on program expenses in 2010 , despite the fact that the organizations hold a combined $ 39 million in assets .
only by drilling down will donors learn
your car donation to kars4kids will benefit joy for our youth , an organization dedicated to addressing the educational , material , and emotional needs of disadvantaged jewish children and their families .
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accordingly , oorah ' s motion for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial is denied .
late last year , the matter was complicated by allegations that oorah was using the synagogue as a front to commit tax fraud . young israel of eltingville claimed that oorah inc . formed a separate entity , congregation oorah , to falsely obtain tax - exempt status , thereby allowing oorah to shield potential “questionable financial dealings” from public scrutiny . ( according to irs code , religious congregations do not have to file an annual tax return . )
oorah is the best ! meeting everyone by the torah mates retreat was amazing and the constant support is great .
throughout the years , oorah sponsored jewish summer camp attendance for oorah tuition scholarship recipients . this enabled the children to remain in a positive jewish environment during the summer months . in 2003 , oorah was offered the keys to a functioning jewish summer camp . the camp was a hit with jewish girls from across new york and new jersey .
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your car donation to kars - 4 - kids™ will benefit joy for our youth . j . o . y . is an international organization providing for the physical , emotional , and spiritual needs of distressed and at - risk youth . …
oorah’s mentorship throughout the year gives kids and teens of all ages the tools and guidance they need to develop into productive and engaged members of the community . the entire family is positively impacted through the oorah family events and programs .
summer camps are a place for children to develop skills and responsibility in a safe and fun environment . in keeping with oorah ' s mission to provide year - round activities and educational programming to jewish children and their families , oorah helps provide this opportunity for your child at a fraction of the cost other camps charge . at an oorah camp , the staff is able to tailor the activities and the educational programming to the unique needs of oorah’s families and children .
founded by a simple tzaddik , rav chaim mintz , mashgiach of the yeshiva of staten island , oorah takes a cradle - to - the - grave approach to kiruv . the mintzes don’t just introduce a jew to torah and leave them there to fend for themselves . they , and the organization they established , remain connected with them and their family , for the rest their lives , providing regular support to those who become frum . in essence , oorah becomes their extended family .
posted at 02 : 36 am in crime , litigation , etc . , haredim , kosher business ? , oorah kars4kids
in its exemption application to the irs , congregation oorah said that its congregational leader is rabbi chaim mintz , the founder of oorah . the application states that mintz is “usually available for shabbath [ sic ] and jewish holiday services . ”
you can read all about oorah / joy for our youth / kars - 4 - kids and their troubles here .
the deceptive children ' s charity , kars - 4 - kids , which presents itself as nonsectarian , claims it helps
children who were on the streets .
yet the money it raises goes to oorah , a linked organization that , according to the ny post , claims an
80 % success rate
at keeping the children it helps away from goyyim .
the attorney general investigated kars4kids at length and did not see any reason to take legal action against the organization . in fact , the report makes clear that there has never been any question of diversion of funds from the charity . while like any healthy organization - especially one whose revenue stream comes largely from car donations - marketing and advertising is a necessary expense to enable growth , kars4kids’ administrative expenses are low by any standards . our executive salaries are public and show there are no pockets being lined here .
in 2006 , oorah purchased and renovated the former golden acres resort in gilboa , ny creating a fully equipped summer camp with top amenities . in 2009 , oorah purchased the nearby scotch valley resort and created another state of the art camp facility in the former ski resort . oorah now has adequate facilities to service many more jewish girls and boys from across the us , canada and even israel . oorah also sponsors discoveru , a unique program for jewish singles age 18 - 26 .
oorah , the lakewood - based haredi missionary organization whose deceptive advertising practices were exposed by the saint louis post dispatch , distributes less than 38 % * * * of its income to the childrens programs it champions . according to the most recent irs 990 filing available ( download oorah _ 2003 _ irs _ 990 . pdf ) , oorah had gross revenues of almost $ 2 , 000 , 000 yet used only $ 741 , 639 of that revenue for outreach and for underwriting jewish education . almost $ 741 , 000 went to cover expenses and another $ 482 , 000 was held as
assests
and not disbursed .
oorah operates little star preschool on the premises , which it identifies as a parochial school . courtesy of yi of eltingville .
oorah , inc . v . schick | case no . 09 - cv - 00353 . . . | 20120824554 | urltoken
early on july 10 , ice agents arrested 31 immigrant workers doing construction and maintenance jobs for two subcontractors at a children ' s summer camp in gilboa , new york , just north of the catskill mountains and southwest of albany . the camp is owned by oorah inc . , a jewish nonprofit educational organization . ice spokesperson michael gilhooly said on july 11 that the investigation was continuing .
the catchy jingle advertising kars4kids charity began blanketing radio airwaves across the twin cities around thanksgiving . the ditty ends with :
we ' re a recognized 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) charity organization , so you ' ll receive a maximum tax deduction .
on wednesday , the supreme court of the state of new york granted permission to the young israel of eltingville , a small 40 - year - old modern orthodox congregation , to vacate an arbitration award from a religious court stipulating that the synagogue owes oorah , the lakewood , n . j . - based outreach organization that operates kars4kids , $ 1 million . the arbitration award , had it been enforced , would likely have forced the congregation to foreclose on its building and surrender all of its assets to oorah .
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cuomo subpoenaed 16 organizations and individuals , including kars 4 kids ( oorah ) , lechaim for life , and cars that help .
there have been allegations of financial improprieties against oorah and its closely affiliated charity kars4kids in the past . in 2012 , the organization — which runs summer camps and provides scholarships to jewish families — lost a $ 375 , 000 federal lawsuit over scholarship money that oorah allegedly promised ( but never gave ) to students at the jewish foundation school in staten island . in 2009 , the organization paid tens of thousands of dollars in settlements to the state attorneys general of pennsylvania and oregon over its failure to disclose that the funds raised through its vehicle donation program benefited children of a specific religion . in 2010 , the new york state attorney general announced that his office had subpoenaed joy for our youth — the name under which kars4kids is incorporated — as part of a broader investigation into charities that accept car donations .
for years , oorah , and its closely affiliated charity kars4kids , have faced allegations of financial improprieties . in 2012 , the organization — which runs summer camps and provides scholarships to jewish families — lost a $ 375 , 000 federal lawsuit over scholarship money that oorah allegedly promised ( but never gave ) to students at the jewish foundation school in staten island . in 2009 , the organization paid tens of thousands of dollars in settlements to the state attorneys general of pennsylvania and oregon over its failure to disclose that the funds raised through its vehicle donation program benefited children of a specific religion . in 2010 , the new york state attorney general announced that his office had subpoenaed joy for our youth — the name under which kars4kids is incorporated — as part of a broader investigation into charities that accept car donations .
oorah , j . o . y . and kars4kids are all run by rabbis chaim and eliyohu mintz . kars4kids and j . o . y . serve as front - organizations for oorah , allowing oorah to raise money from non - jews and from jews who would not support oorah ' s programs . kars4kids and j . o . y . gets those people to give money to what appears to be a non - sectarian charity that aids children who are really in distress – homeless , abused , abondoned , etc . – but in reality all the money is gifted to oorah for orthodox jewish missionary activity . kars4kids is also using a kirbycard e - mail address . kirby card is owned by cucumber communications which is a totally owned subsidiary of oorah . cucumber claims :
the report is a bit unclear , but what oorah / joy for our youth / kars - 4 - kids did ( and still does to some extent ) is portray their organizations – all controlled by the people who control oorah – as helping all needy kids , when in reality almost all of the money goes to oorah – a haredi missionary outreach organization whose aim is to put non - orthodox jewish kids in haredi yeshiva schools . kars - 4 - kids hides this from the public , uses deceptively designed commericals , and practices what many – including at least two state attorneys general – say is illegal bait - and - switch advertising practices to get donations .
there are so many organizations out there competing for the same charity dollar that in order to have a chance of getting those funds , we have to be able to communicate to potential donors what it is about our organization that sets it apart and makes it worthy of support .
oorah started with a distribution to staten island residents ; shabbat packages to provide residents with a shabbat flavor , and holiday packages to enhance their holiday experiences . oorah expanded with various other programs , such as chillzone weekly learning sessions , thezone summer camp and holiday retreats . staten island acquired torahspot , its own building , with on - site programs and events . when you join the oorah staten island programs , you’ll join the larger oorah family and enjoy all that it has to offer . see a full list of programs .
joy has the same new jersey address and the same principal officer , eliyohu mintz , as another charity , oorah . according to the attorney general in pennsylvania , joy
has contributed substantially all of the funds it has raised to oorah in the past .
oorah , the lakewood , new jersey - based haredi kiruv ( ' outreach , ' missionary ) organization that specializes in convincing non - orthodox jewish families to kids to enroll their kids in haredi yeshivas and day schools , made what was supposed to be a humorous fundraising video that features a haredi comedian , shlomo hadarshan , in blackface playing controversial civil rights activist and msnbc host rev . al sharpton . but the video has now been marked private on youtube , even as a picture of the sharpton blackface character still appears on oorah ' s website .
the 2015 budget for their ads ? seventeen million dollars , according to charitywatch , which is even more than kars4kids gave to oorah .
i am sure that many of you reading this article didn’t know about what i have shared . you probably also didn’t know that at a recent “ shabbat with oorah” family shabbaton , over 600 people attended and enjoyed the blessings of a shabbos together with oorah volunteers .
additionally , as the car donation proceeds get passed along from kars4kids to oorah , oorah itself has fundraising and general administrative costs to pay for , which it does primarily with the grant money it receives from kars4kids . therefore , the proceeds kars4kids generates from car donations get another “hair cut” when they make their way to oorah . fortunately , oorah’s cash - based program spending percentage was 74 % in 2015 , which is above charitywatch’s reasonableness benchmark of 60 % . even with oorah’s very reasonable rate of program spending , though , once oorah’s and kars4kids’ overhead expenses are considered in aggregate , only about 38 % of kars4kids’ donated car proceeds were spent on bona fide programs in 2015 . in other words , based on the average resale value of about $ 365 for a car donated to kars4kids in 2015 , less than $ 139 actually went towards benefitting “kids , ” who , as a reminder , are mostly jewish youth that participate in oorah’s orthodox jewish outreach programs .
according to oorah ' s website ,
oorah , which means ' awaken , ' was founded in 1980 with the goal of awakening jewish children and their families to their heritage .
the site is full of articles , stories and testimonials which seem to imply that the physical and spiritual support and private religious education offered by oorah are intended to persuade secular jewish families to take on a more orthodox jewish lifestyle .
oorah - what the marines taught me about fundraising - hire a cfre ! robin l . cabral , ma , cfre | development consulting solutions
posted at 11 : 26 am in crime , litigation , etc . , haredim , oorah kars4kids , outreach , religion , religion & state
oorah , which means
awaken ,
was founded in 1980 with the goal of awakening jewish children and their families to their heritage .
young israel president max robek said he has never seen members of congregation oorah attend services . courtesy of y . i . of eltingville .
oorah , inc . , plaintiff , v . marvin schick , the jewish foundation school , and the rabbi jacob joseph school , defendant .
at the jury trial on the counterclaims , the school maintained that oorah had breached a contract to make tuition payments for the 2007 - 2009 school years and , in the alternative , that oorah had been unjustly enriched by using its philanthropic relationship with the school to solicit donations .
we did not want to throw anything out there that might otherwise implicate an organization in untoward activity without a wee bit more information . today we received a letter which was sent from the “public relations director” of urltoken to their employees and friends . while we cannot attest to the providence of the letter , we can state fairly unequivocally that in our view it represents an effort on the part of oorah to control the damage of recent press .
the last time i was in eretz yisroel , i bumped into rabbi mintz . he told me that he was in yerushalayim to check up on oorah’s post - yeshiva program which helps oorah - sponsored students through their yeshiva years as they learn in israel . i had no clue that rabbi mintz maintains a satellite oorah office in israel with a full - time staff and volunteers who arrange trips and shabbatons , and offer their talmidim regular home - away - from - home counseling and guidance . that is the degree to which oorah views its responsibility to bnei ub’nos yisroel .
the court determined that oorah ' s claim would be tried separately from the school ' s counterclaims , the former in a bench trial and the latter before a jury . a three - day jury trial on the counterclaims commenced on january 9 , 2012 , and oorah was found liable for breach of contract in the amount of $ 357 , 100 . a bench trial on oorah ' s claim was held on march 12 , 2012 . after hearing limited testimony , the court determined that no binding non - disparagement agreement existed and the equitable relief oorah sought was improper .
joy ' s 2003 tax filing with the irs - the most recent available - reports that its only only grant that year , for $ 207 , 000 , was made to a nonprofit group called oorah inc . tax records for both joy and oorah list the same new jersey address .
at first blush , jefferson township ' s attempt to block tax free status for oorah ' s kids camp seems unjust and doomed to failure . but that may only be at first blush . a deeper look may favor jefferson township ' s claim that oorah is not a true charity .
oorah simultaneously drafted a similar note to the arbitrators . at the bench trial , counsel explained that , based on this note , oorah was seeking to enjoin the school from disparaging or making false statements about oorah . bench trial tr . at 12 - 13 . the court found that no enforceable non - disparagement agreement was in place and , even if it were , it could not merely enjoin the school from engaging in libel or slander .
the radio advertising spots refer listeners to the group ' s web site at kars4kids . com . as of tuesday , the site said car donations benefit joy for our youth , which it describes as
an international organization providing for the physical , emotional and spiritual needs of distressed and at - risk youth .
as the founder and director of oorah , rabbi chaim mintz has taught , nurtured , and guided many thousands of families and individuals over the years .
the arrested workers were from mexico , honduras , guatemala , el salvador and the palestinian territories . five were living at the oorah camp , authorities said ; the rest lived at the belvedere country inn , a three - story restaurant , bar and hotel complex in nearby stamford , and were transported to the camp every day in two vans . earlier in the summer , all were living in the camp . eliyohu mintz , a director of oorah , said on july 10 that the organization was not aware that the workers lacked employment authorization . [ the daily star ( oneonta , ny ) 7 / 12 / 07 ]
a few weeks ago , i met with some people at oorah’s headquarters in lakewood , nj . like many of you , i had viewed the organization as a goofy bunch of people with a catchy radio jingle and great advertising . i knew that they were into kiruv and had a camp or two , but i didn’t really know why they needed so much money and what they did with it . intrigued , i took advantage of an opportunity to discover the answers firsthand .
the best thing about urltoken is that all the good phone deals these days you need an internet connection . with cucumber you get an unlimited plan and you don’t need an internet connection . i am very happy with their service and i am happier that the money is going to fund such a choshuve organization . 1800 - cucumber
over 500 jewish children and teenagers attend oorah’s highly subsidized overnight kiruv camps , boyzone , boys teenzone , girlzone , girls teenzone , and discover - u .
# 3 : this is a cop out . no big sponsors started oorah off . rabbi lipschitz’s point is don’t imitate , be creative on your own !
oorah is endorsed by almost every leading rabbi in the orthodox world . in most states , this is criminal fraud , and it certainly violates irs rules .
oorah fired back , arguing that it does use the facility for religious functions because it is connected to a jewish day care that is run on premises .
according to robek , stadler is still a member in good standing at the young israel , despite negotiating the sale agreement with oorah that spurred the lawsuit .
oorah invested the money and then lost the money . and we think that , too , is something important for people to know ,
swanson said .
this dichotomy , whereby oorah is so well - known for its advertising , yet less known for its world - changing and global kiruv efforts , is striking .
oorah is filling a need in kiruv that many other orgs . leave out—accompanying the baalei teshuva on their journey in order to create successful long - term outcome .
“we are still hoping this can all be resolved amicably , ” said robek . “i just don’t believe in a situation where oorah will agree to leave . ”
so , go out and run the race . and , even though it is your organization that is doing the hard work , take some lessons from the marines and treat your donors like the superheroes that they are . after all , the marines are making this sacrifice for our country , just as our donors are making another kind of sacrifice for our organizations .
on this one , oorah and kars4kids wrote the story for us . this is a hat tip to the director of public relations for making our lives that much easier .
joy is a registered international , 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) , non - profit organization providing developmental programs for at risk youth . joy provides food , clothing , shelter , health and wellness , education , after school programs , special training , mentoring , tutoring , private counseling , summer programs , and guidance to children from the ages of six to eighteen .
on . we have been with oorah for about 5 years and just love it ! ! ! always willing to put in that extra mile whether it is learning or listening .
* * * by way of contrast , in 1998 , the last of the five probationary years preceding the irs decision on whether or not to grant permanent tax exempt status , oorah raised $ 262 , 657 and gave away $ 238 , 207 , just over 90 % of what it raised . download oorah _ 1998 _ irs _ 990 . pdf
a federal court has found that oorah failed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars of tuition scholarship money it owed to the jewish foundation school / rabbi jacob joseph orthodox day school .
in the recent decision , a judge agreed that sidney stadler , the synagogue representative who bartered with oorah in 2007 , did not have the authority to enter into the arbitration agreement .
especially costly were kars4kids’ and oorah’s real estate investments in an alleged ponzi scheme in which they were victimized and lost more than a combined $ 7 . 6 million in 2009 and 2010 . to put the $ 7 . 6 million in context , oorah’s total cash spending on jewish youth programs was approximately $ 12 . 2 million over that same period . the real estate developer behind the alleged investment scheme , which reportedly caused $ 200 million in total losses , was sentenced to 22 years in prison . even though kars4kids and oorah were victims , some donors may seriously question the judgment of eliyohu mintz , the principal officer of kars4kids and oorah , and their other respective board members in deciding to risk donated charitable funds on real estate speculation .
in 2013 , a religious court , or beit din , ruled that the synagogue owed oorah $ 1 million after a dispute arose regarding the use of the property for the congregation’s services . congregants later objected to the presence of rabbi chaim mintz , the father of oorah’s acting president rabbi eliyahu mintz , as one of the judges on the beit din . ( a representative from oorah said that rabbi chaim mintz did not serve on the beit din that adjudicated the case , though the court decision says he was one of the arbitrators . ) in an effort to evade the potentially crippling arbitration award , the synagogue petitioned to vacate the award , arguing that the synagogue representative who originally entered into the agreement with oorah in 2007 had no authority to do so . )
for example , tax statements show that joy for our youth raised $ 24 million in 2009 , spending $ 7 million on advertising and $ 12 . 7 million for a grant to oorah .
when money passes from one charity to another , typically an additional layer of overhead cost takes a second bite out of donations , leaving less cash available to be spent on the programs donors intend to support . for example , based on these charities ' 2008 overhead rates , a $ 100 donation to joy that is then granted to oorah would result in $ 35 left to help children . in its 2008 tax form , joy reports spending just over $ 14 . 6 million , or 65 % of its $ 22 . 5 million budget , on programs - - which at face value appears to be a reasonable amount . however , nearly all of this program spending , $ 14 . 5 million , consisted of a grant to the charity ' s affiliate organization , oorah . this grant made up most of oorah ' s funding in 2008 , according to that charity ' s tax form , on which it reports spending 46 % of its budget on overhead . donors who only look at joy ' s reported program spending without taking oorah ' s overhead expenses into account might get the impression that more of their charitable donations are going to benefit kids than is actually the case .
oorah has the endorsements ( download oorah _ rabbinic _ endorsements . pdf ) of many haredi gedolim and rabbinic leaders , including many who sigined the rabbi slifkin ban , and a who ' s who of modern orthodox leaders as well , including yu ' s rabbi modechai willig , the ou and yu ' s rabbi menachem genak , and the beit din of america ' s rabbi michael broyde .
the 2007 agreement said that oorah would pay off the property mortgages and other expenses in exchange for owning the building , with the understanding that the synagogue would continue to run services on the property .
established in 1996 to help those children who were on the streets with no one to turn to for help . the dire situation of many young children was at dangerous levels . joy stepped in to fulfill a need for children who had no where to go and no one to turn to for help . joy has blossomed into an international organization helping to alleviate the problems of hundreds of children , and finding solutions that work .
1 . oorah initially brought claims for breach of contract , promissory estoppel , and confirmation and enforcement of an arbitral award . compl . ¶¶ 57 - 71 . the school counterclaimed for breach of contract , quantum meruit , and unjust enrichment . answer ¶¶ 18 - 28 . only oorah ' s breach of contract claim and the school ' s counterclaims for breach of contract and unjust enrichment survived summary judgment .
kars4kids’ low rate of program spending is also particularly concerning given that the vast majority of kars4kids’ program expenses consist of grants to its “sister charity , ” oorah , which runs the “educational , developmental , and recreational programs for jewish youth and their families” funded by kars4kids , per its mission . about 93 % of kars4kids’ cash - based program spending in 2015 was in the form of a grant to oorah in the amount of approximately $ 16 . 9 million . by comparison , kars4kids reported spending about $ 17 . 1 million on advertising and promotion in 2015 – about $ 150 , 000 more than its cash grant to oorah . furthermore , as a percentage of the funds kars4kids generated from donated vehicles ( including boats & planes ) in 2015 , its grant to oorah represented only about 46 % of those total funds raised .
when organizations like oorah , delineate all the wonderful ways our tzadakah dollars are being used it not only validates the importance of giving tzadakah but shows how transparency in our mosdos can be a true kiddush hashem .
while phone calls placed to oorah also were not returned , that group ' s web site says it was founded in 1980 ,
with the goal of awakening jewish children and their families to their heritage .
since 2010 when charitywatch last wrote about kars4kids and the more than $ 100 , 000 it paid related to misleading advertising claims in oregon and pennsylvania , news reports have identified kars4kids and / or oorah in connection with additional cases involving legal accusations or other questionable financial dealings . these include getting caught up as victims in an alleged ponzi scheme related to speculating on real estate development ; oorah losing a federal lawsuit over more than $ 300 , 000 in allegedly unpaid scholarship funds ; an ongoing payment dispute with the young israel of eltingville synagogue that includes tax fraud allegations against oorah ; and kars4kids paying to settle claims of trademark infringement .
the focus of the attorney general’s report was on the fact that less money was spent on children and programs in minnesota than was raised in that state . this is true and we have never claimed otherwise . as a community - based national organization founded and headquartered in the northeast , it is only natural ( and perfectly legal ) for our charity recipients to be concentrated in this area , though we do have children and programs across the country .
in the application , congregation oorah suggests that the current young israel congregation is defunct , stating that the location “was known as the young israel of eltingville” and claiming that no other entity operates in the same facility .
the coats , i ' m told , primarily came from an unrelated charity and oorah , et al , didn ' t even have to pay for many of them . but even if they did pay , the number fo coats given away in this exploitative manner is exceedingly small compared to the money kars - 4 - kids raises every year . the vast bulk of that money goes to oorah , often through joy for youth .
oorah , however , spent $ 6 . 5 million on its programs that year , according to tax returns . another $ 3 . 5 million went to fundraising and administration , and $ 5 . 4 million was not disbursed .
the warmth , the inviting atmosphere , the sense of community . there’s something about the staten island jewish community that will keep you coming back for more . oorah staten island is the number one source for jewish programming here on the island . with our programs and events , you’ll discover the timeless power of our jewish heritage and values . oorah staten island is the center for the jewish community , offering educational and recreational programs , all completely free . come on over !
the site also says oorah enables children to enroll in jewish day schools or yeshivas and brings
adult education opportunities to the parent , as well as all the ritual objects and support they need to live a full jewish life .
a january 2005 story in new york ' s the jewish week said oorah recruits potential students by going
door - to - door
in search of unobservant jewish families receptive to the idea of sending their children to day school .
“i’ve never seen any member of this so - called ‘congregation oorah’ here for services . i don’t know what they’re talking about , ” said robek , who is 77 and has been a member of the young israel for two decades .
torahspot is the place to be - it’s where it all happens . it’s the hub of the jewish community in staten island , a comfortable gathering and learning spot where the oorah staten island programs take place . it’s where you and your family can go to relax , socialize with and connect to your jewish community and heritage . it’s all about meeting other staten island jewish families and sharing stimulating discussion in a welcoming , homey atmosphere . learn more about oorah staten island programs .
kars4kids funds educational , developmental , and recreational programs for jewish youth and their families . our goal is to foster a generation of well - balanced , productive adults . our means to accomplish this goal is to provide children and their families with a strong network of personal guidance and educational resources , individualized to their needs . our wide array of services is designed to maximize each facet of a child ' s development - academic , social and cultural . kars4kids overall areas of activity consist of educational programming , school placement , tuition assistance , mentorship programs , cultural activities , weekend retreats , religious instruction , summer camps , recreation and guidance counseling . kars4kids is a registered nonprofit jewish organization who , together with oorah , our sister charity , helps thousands of children .
oorah ' s simple , straightforward goal is to give jewish children and their families opportunities to become active and productive members of their community . we accomplish this through our specially developed programs , focusing on education , extracurricular activities , and family enrichment .
you never know . so often we find hype with little substance behind it and sometimes , if we dig deep enough , we can find that elusive diamond in the rough that , like oorah , is waiting to be mined , polished and appreciated .
“when applying for tax - exempt status for its non - existent congregation , oorah falsely told the irs that young israel of eltingville no longer exists and it is holding services at the young israel’s location , ” rubin , who is representing the synagogue pro bono , told the jewish week via email . he says it’s “identity theft” because “oorah adopted young israel of eltingville’s identity to obtain tax - exempt status as a religious congregation . it would not have been able to obtain this tax status without the false representation . ”


redshirting is the practice of postponing entrance into kindergarten of age-eligible children in order to allow extra time for socioemotional , intellectual , or physical growth .

this occurs most frequently where children 's birthdays are so close to the cut-off dates that they are very likely to be among the youngest in their kindergarten class .

redshirting ( academic )

research on academic redshirting suggests that in the short term , redshirting has largely positive effects . these include :
as the los angeles times reported in 2006 , results for academic redshirting have been a mixed bag .
according to lilian katz from her article , “academic redshirting and young children , ” redshirting has been traditionally common in affluent neighborhood and for children attending private schools .
the concept behind academic redshirting is that withholding a child from school one year will allow them to mature and have physical , social , and academic advantages over the younger children in the classroom .
academic redshirting refers to postponing entrance into kindergarten for age - eligible children . much like redshirting in sports , the idea is that holding children back allows extra time for socioemotional , intellectual or physical growth .
at this point , academic redshirting will not hurt or help a child . even the college version doesn’t mean the athlete will become success or failure in the next season or beyond . still , both forms of redshirting have helped some achieve while hindering others .
redshirting may be declining , as more colleges increase the number of freshmen playing .
thus redshirting — the practice of delaying the start of kindergarten — was born .
the negatives part of academic redshirting seems to show up when examining its long - term effect . according to katz , adolescents who had been redshirted were more likely to have behavioral problems than their classmates .
no evidence that redshirting is being used less or more frequently . about 9 % of
bassok , daphna and reardon , sean . “academic redshirting” in kindergarten : prevalence , patterns , and implications” american educational research association , 35 : 283 ( 2013 ) : 283 - 297 . web . 13 . april . 2014 .
. . . redshirting has been traditionally common in affluent neighborhood and for children attending private schools .
still , other studies suggest that there are no negative effects in the long - term . again , the data and studies made from them don’t paint a distinct picture of the positives and negatives of academic redshirting . as the los angeles times reported in 2006 , results for academic redshirting have been a “mixed bag . ” all studies - including a federal study that included 21 , 000 youngsters in may of 2006 - failed to definitively to show if it worked or not .
research on redshirting has so far failed to provide a clear picture of its short - and long - term effects . some studies have examined the effects of redshirting that occur immediately or within the early elementary years . others have examined its long - term effects . proponents and opponents of redshirting often use the same evidence but reach opposite conclusions . it is therefore unclear whether redshirting solves problems of school readiness .
redshirting arose , by name , as a public issue in the early 1980’s and since , studies have shown that redshirting has steadily increased in the past three decades . there is no single explanation for what caused the shift , but there have been many factors that influenced the increase in redshirting . redshirting has also come with consequences , causing a greater disparity of knowledge in kindergarten and changes in school curricula .
i can keep going with the studies showing negative effects of redshirting if anyone is interested . . . .
further , the authors cite research to claim that the opposite may be true and that younger students actually have steeper academic gains from learning with older students .
1 - it puts the child ' s academic achievement —math , reading , general knowledge — and conduct on par with or above that of younger classmates .
rates of redshirting vary , and in fact , according to the atlantic , the perception of how common redshirting is may be overblown . but parents may be more likely to hold kids back a grade if it appears that redshirting is the norm — and if they believe that their child could actually be at a disadvantage starting kindergarten on time .
long term : there is no direct evidence that redshirting causes either harm or benefit in the teen years . one study did find , however , that when adolescents were old for their grade due to redshirting , they misbehaved more .
when i was 4 years old , my parents faced a decision . my birthday is in late november , so should they send me to kindergarten as the youngest kid in my class ? or , wait another year to enroll me ? — a practice referred to as academic redshirting .
. in 2016 the ncaa starts enforcing new , stricter admissions requirements for incoming freshman athletes . under these new rules , a student - athlete who meets the school ' s own academic admission requirements , but does not meet the ncaa ' s new requirements ( primarily a 2 . 3 gpa in 4 years ) can enter school as an academic redshirt . this student can receive an athletic scholarship and practice with the team , but may not participate in competition . an academic redshirt does not lose a year of eligibility , but can take a later injury redshirt . academic redshirts must complete nine credit hours in their first semester and can participate fully in the second year .
kathryn debros reports on studies that suggest redshirting kindergartners may not give them the competitive edge that parents think it does .
despite evidence suggesting that redshirting may do more harm than good , the practice continues to gain traction in some communities .
in this new academic kindergarten , math stations have replaced sand tables , and fitting in time for recess is an ongoing struggle . focusing less on the development of social skills and more on the development of academic skills represents a seismic shift in the traditional purpose of the kindergarten year , and one that can prove harmful to many students .
a child held back from starting kindergarten for one year , the practice of which is believed by some parents to give the child academic , athletic , and social advantages .
the practice of academic redshirting—delaying entrance to kindergarten by a year—is weighing on my mind this month as we ' re deciding whether to register my youngest child , with a late - september birthday , for kindergarten next year . ( while kindergarten cutoff dates around the country vary as widely as july 31st to
parents are not the only ones who ' ve expressed their opinions on the matter . teachers have indicated some support for academic redshirting . according to a national survey published in 1998 ( ncedl ) , kindergarten teachers indicated that 48 % of their students were not ready for the rigors and curriculum of this grade .
thinking of waiting a year to enroll your child in kindergarten ? these researchers say , don ' t : npr ed academic redshirting , the practice of holding kids back a year before enrolling them in kindergarten , has been debated for years . a new article attempts to clear up some of the confusion for parents .
the new york times : kindergarten ‘redshirting’ gets tougher in n . y . c . , with repercussions -
the issue here isn’t about the haves and have - nots . it’s about flaws in the system . making kindergarten mandatory is a good thing . now let’s advocate for changing the admission cutoff date and lightening the academic load . with these two problems solved , the contentious issue of redshirting could finally , happily , be laid to rest .
some claim that parents redshirt their kids not because their kids aren’t ready for school , but because holding them out might give them an academic , social , and athletic edge over their peers .
they call it “redshirting , ” like college athletes kept on the bench until they’re bigger , stronger . except it ' s “academic redshirting” - for kindergarten kids . five - year - olds held out of starting school – kindergarten - until they’re six . maybe it’s because they’re a little slow in maturing . maybe their parents imagine they’ll be the big kingpin in the class , the star of the soccer team . research is decidedly mixed on whether it works . but it’s spreading . and it’s controversial . this hour , on point : redshirting kindergarteners , for a bigger , older start of school . - tom ashbrook
arguments for redshirting abound in academic journals , opinion pages , and parenting forums ; arguments attempting to debunk those those theories are almost just as widespread . on top of a slew of academic studies , it’s been the subject of multiple posts in the new york times “motherlode” blog , as well as the wall street journal , slate , and abc’s good morning america , among others . the huffington post even has an entire landing page devoted to the topic . it’s clear parents ( and educators and economists and policymakers ) want a verdict on the merits of the practice .
but research on redshirting suggests that the benefits are tempered by the costs , from an extra year of childcare for parents to a year less in the workforce for kids . even the size of the benefits is up for debate . for that reason , many education experts and economists are wary of redshirting .
the two recently published an article on the emotional and economic toll that redshirting can have on students , despite all its praise from writers like malcolm gladwell .
so , is there any research that suggests redshirting is helpful ? yes—but again , this research does not actually tell us much about redshirting . elizabeth dhuey , an economist at the university of toronto at scarborough , has published a number of studies suggesting that the older kids are in a class , the better they fare academically , the more leadership roles they have in high school , and the more likely they are to attend elite universities —pretty much exactly the opposite of what the redshirting studies show . but even though her work has been used to support redshirting , “my findings relate only to a child’s age relative to their classmates—not the act of redshirting , ” dhuey explains . “these are different things altogether . ” because dhuey’s work pools the impact of natural age differences across the school year—comparing how kids born in may fare to kids born in december—it’s dishonest to cite her work as evidence that redshirting itself is helpful , even though there were probably some redshirters in her samples .
also , many teachers indicated that half their students lacked important skills , including following directions , academic skills , and the ability to work independently ( katz , 2000 ) . however , it’s not the teacher who ultimately makes the decision .
safer , morley . “redshirting : holding kids back from kindergarten . ” cbs . n . p . , n . d . web . 6 apr . 2014 .
in the article , you write that redshirting can even have a financial effect on students — an $ 80 , 000 decrease in earnings . can you elaborate on that ?
what redshirting means for individual kids is tough to determine . some studies find that redshirted kids are academically on par with their classmates . others detect a slight academic boost . a 2005 study by the rand corporation , for example , found that kids who delayed entry by a year scored 6 points higher than their classmates on standardized math tests and 5 points higher on reading tests , an effect that persisted to first grade .
what’s more , a growing body of research suggests that redshirted kids might not enjoy benefits over the long run , anyway . a 2007 paper for the national bureau of economic research argues that “contrary to much academic and popular discussion of school entry age—being old relative to one’s peers is not beneficial . ” ( also , unpublished research from 2012 found that the advantages of redshirting “fade out and appear to reverse by eighth grade . ” )
one of my best friends has a son who turned 5 two days after scott . she and her husband are high school and middle school science teachers , and both of them believe that holding their son back will do nothing but benefit his academic future .
schmidt , michelle . “kindergarten ‘redshirting’ : a leg up or an unfair advantage ? ” sparkpeople . n . p . , n . d . web . 06 apr . 2014 .
also , it appears more frequently among boys and for those born in the latter half of the year ( between september and december ) than with those girls or those born earlier in a year . also , the statistics from nces reveals that more white families than any other ethnicity will use academic redshirting . parental concerns play a crucial role . in most cases , it’s a judgment call . still , other factors may play a role in this decision .
immediate effects . research on academic redshirting suggests that in the short term , redshirting ( 1 ) raises the child ' s academic achievement ( math , reading , general knowledge ) and conduct on par with or above that of younger classmates ( west , denton , & germino - hausken , 2000 ) ; ( 2 ) increases the child ' s confidence in social interactions and popularity among classmates ( spitzer et al . , 1995 ) ; and ( 3 ) may simply add to the normal mix of ages and abilities within the classroom . however , there is also some speculation that , in classes where there are children who have been redshirted , some older children may feel alienated from their younger classmates , and some older classmates may have an unfair advantage over younger classmates in size and in psychomotor and social skills . the presence of children of a wider age span may also make the class too diverse for a teacher to manage well .
athletes may be asked to redshirt if they would have little or no opportunity to play as an academic freshman . this is a common occurrence in many sports where there is already an established starter , or too much depth at the position the freshman in question plans to play .
proponents of redshirting argue that there is no definitive evidence that redshirting harms children in the long term . however some researchers found that adolescents whose school entry was delayed exhibit more behavioral problems than their peers . redshirters also have higher use of special education programs . this leads some researchers to speculate that many children who are redshirted as kindergartners may have had special needs that were misdiagnosed as immaturity .
adding to my overall discomfort with the practice of redshirting is this : it ' s an option for those with the resources to do it . research from connecticut ' s department of education shows a redshirting rate of just 2 percent in poorer districts , and 27 percent in wealthier ones . one california study showed parents who redshirted their kids earned 40 percent more than those who don ' t .
aliprantis , dionissi . “redshirting , compulsory schooling laws , and educational attainment” american educational research association , 37 : 316 ( 2012 ) : 316 - 338 . web . 14 . april . 2014 .
indeed , many studies have found that redshirted kids lose their head start over time , some as early as third grade . the university of illinois ' lubotsky looked at kids in kindergarten through eighth grade and found that older kids maintained a slight academic gain throughout elementary and middle school .
the term redshirt freshman indicates an academic sophomore ( second - year student ) who is in his first season of athletic eligibility . a redshirt freshman is distinguished from a true freshman ( first - year student ) as one who has practiced with the team for the prior season . the term redshirt sophomore is also commonly used to indicate an academic junior ( third - year student ) who is in the second season of athletic eligibility . after the sophomore year , the term redshirt is rarely used , in favor of fourth - year junior and fifth - year senior .
redshirting borrows its name from a college sports euphemism for athletes sitting out a year and prolonging their eligibility , so that they will be older , larger and stronger when they finally do take the field .
some context : like private school , redshirting is most prevalent among white , asian , and relatively wealthy families . here’s 2010 data from the national center for education statistics on the percentages of kids delaying kindergarten :
yet some experts say that redshirting can be extremely appropriate and helpful for certain kids , and they aren’t convinced by the research pooh - poohing the practice . that’s because the impact of redshirting is very difficult to evaluate , as kids who are held back are fundamentally different in many ways from kids who go to kindergarten on time , so the conclusions of some studies might be flawed . and even if redshirting might not be beneficial when effects are averaged , there could be a subset of kids who really benefit from the extra “ gift of time . ” but before i get into that , let me summarize some of the studies .
the practice , called redshirting — from the term for allowing college athletes to delay participation in sports to prolong their eligibility — also has a connection to children’s sports . as sports - minded parents know , physical maturity allows older children to perform better . coaches often mistake this difference for natural aptitude and respond by giving the older children on their t - ball or soccer teams more opportunities to improve their skills . and those athletes tend to gain a lasting competitive advantage . does a similar approach work for academic achievement ?
they don’t do redshirting here ( that i’m aware of ) … although to be honest , whenever i see that term i think in terms of star trek . kinda the opposite effect than what you’re describing : )
over time , i think the effect of being in school becomes more dominant than your age effect ,
datar told livescience .
so one might expect that these [ redshirting ] effects might fade off .
sorry , don’t know why i’m rambling about that . but i’m a big advocate for the “redshirting” now . i will not hesitate to do it with my other children if i have to , especially after this experience .
no one disputes the immediate results of “redshirting , ” a phrase borrowed from the sports world . six - year - olds categorically test better than five - year - olds in kindergarten , and they enjoy greater social and physical maturity that helps them make friends and win at tag . but there’s a growing debate about the effectiveness of redshirting in the long term—not only for the kids held back , but for their peers , as well .
still , there are limited instances where redshirting provides benefits for students , according to schanzenbach and larson . in instances of illness or trauma , students may benefit developmentally from having time to recover before being placed in the classroom .
some families also have concern about changing the spacing in school years between siblings , especially when the older child is only one grade ahead of the younger child and a redshirting decision would place both children in the same grade .
apparently , the term redshirting is some sports metaphor when they would put a redshirt on a jv and let him play with the varsity team but the varsity players were not to hit the kid . the result is that the redshirted younger players had an unfair advantage . they redshirt quarterbacks at practices today . [ and additional definition from my dad : “red shirting” as it is understood in sports today is having a player practice but not play , retaining a year of eligibility . so the expression “red shirt freshman” would be an academic sophmore who was red shirted the previous year . ] redshirting in this context is holding your school - aged child back an extra year , and starting them in kindergarten at the age of 6 ( or first grade at the age of 7 ) .
ultimately , at the core of the argument over redshirting are questions about how children learn . do they develop social and cognitive skills according to automatic internal clocks that are unaffected by environmental influences—which would suggest that kids become ready to learn on their own time ? or do kids develop key learning skills based on their interactions with others and how stimulating their environments are—which would suggest that redshirting harms the children who could benefit from kindergarten the most ? no one knows for sure .
effects in grades 1 - 3 . researchers have observed other effects of redshirting within the first three years of elementary school , including ( 1 ) academic achievement that is nearly equal to that of their grade - level peers ( west , meek , & hurst , 2000 ) , ( 2 ) a lower likelihood of receiving
negative feedback from teachers about their academic performance or conduct in class
( cromwell , 1998 ; west , meek , & hurst , 2000 ) , and ( 3 ) less need for special education than classmates who were retained as kindergartners ( kundert et al . , 1995 ; may et al . , 1995 ) . however , there is also evidence that some first - through third - graders who were redshirted as children required greater use of special education services than their non - redshirted and non - retained classmates ( graue & diperna , in press ; may et al . , 1995 ) .
in united states college athletics , redshirt is a delay or suspension of an athlete ' s participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility . typically , a student ' s athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons , a number derived from the four years of academic classes that are normally required to obtain a bachelor ' s degree at an american college or university . however , in a redshirt year , student athletes may attend classes at the college or university , practice with an athletic team , and dress for play but may not compete in games . using this mechanism , a student athlete has up to five academic years to use the four years of eligibility , thus becoming a fifth - year senior .
the schools usually don ' t allow children who have not completed 5 years of age at the time of admissions to first grade class . so , those born in the later half of the year naturally get detained for the next year . this makes the child elder than other students in his class when he joins the school at the commencement of the next academic year .
i’ve kept in touch with many of these women on facebook . now that all of our “september babies” are turning five ( despite scott being born in july , he is still one of the “september babies” ) i’ve noticed a major tendency to discuss redshirting the kids .
diperna , james and graue , elizabeth . “redshirting and early retention : who gets the ‘gift of time’ and what are its outcomes ? ” american educational research journal , 37 . 2 ( 2000 ) : 509 - 534 . web . 15 . april . 2014 .
in this era of hypercompetitive parenting , more families are choosing to delay their children’s entry into kindergarten , under the impression that the kids will have an academic and social advantage . in fact , a 2008 study by harvard researchers claims that since the late 1960s , the number of six - year - olds in first grade has dropped by 9 percent because they are increasingly likely to be enrolled in kindergarten .
another negative part of redshirting deals with students with special needs . the study seems to indicate that redshirted youths who later ended up in special education may have been misdiagnosed as being immature , and were redshirted for this reason . as a result , they missed a chance at early and direct intervention
one small but important spelling point : learn when to write “parents” versus “parents’ “ ( with the apostrophe , which shows plural possession , something that belongs to all of the parents ) . contrast these examples : parents may not have come up with the idea . parents’ ideas about redshirting have changed .
we use two nationally representative data sets to estimate the prevalence of kindergarten
redshirting
—the decision to delay a child’s school entry . we find that between 4 % and 5 . 5 % of children delay kindergarten , a lower number than typically reported in popular and academic accounts . male , white , and high - ses children are most likely to delay kindergarten , and schools serving larger proportions of white and high - income children have far higher rates of delayed entry . we find no evidence that children with lower cognitive or social abilities at age 4 are more likely to redshirt , suggesting parents’ decisions to delay entry may be driven by concerns about children’s relative position within a kindergarten cohort . implications for policy are discussed .
if questions arise about a child ' s social or academic readiness , parents should turn to a professional for advice , said donald easton - brooks , a professor of education at the university of north texas . in the absence of a diagnosable problem , most kids will do fine in school , he said , especially if they ' ve gone to preschool or had lots of opportunities to develop their social skills during play - dates .
until more - conclusive research emerges , well - meaning parents are likely to continue redshirting their children . and depending on the individual child , that could be the right choice . but as harvard researcher david deming says , it’s crucial that parents “make a decision with the whole life course in mind . ”
not surprisingly , some parents are turning to “redshirting” when it’s time for kindergarten : delaying their children’s entrance by a year , a practice once reserved for college athletes seeking a competitive advantage . some schools have even supported such an approach by moving their “cut - off” dates to september , or even to june .
the term
redshirting
originally referred to postponing the start of a college athlete ' s participation in games for one year to give him extra time to grow and practice with the team , hopefully improving a player ' s skills for future seasons . but college athletes aren ' t the only ones who can redshirt .
slate : can your kid hack it in kindergarten ? -
the practice has become even more controversial in recent years over claims that some parents do it for the wrong reasons : they redshirt their kids not because their kids aren’t ready for school , but because , in the age of parenting as competitive sport , holding them out might give them an academic , social , and athletic edge over their peers .
the wall street journal : should children be held back for kindergarten ? -
according to the national center for education statistics , some 6 % of kindergartners are redshirted nationally . but the numbers can vary by neighborhood . data from connecticut ' s department of education show the incidence of redshirting ranging from 2 % in poorer school districts to 27 % in wealthier ones .
on the surface , redshirting seems to make sense in the academic realm , too . the capabilities of a child’s brain increase at a rapid pace ; the difference between five - year - olds and six - year - olds is far greater than between twenty - five - year - olds and twenty - six - year - olds . an extra year can allow a child to excel relative to the younger students in the class . “especially for boys , there is thought to be a relative - age effect that persists across sports and over time , ” said friedman . “early investment of time and skill developments appears to have a more lasting impact . ” older students and athletes are often found in leadership positions—and who can doubt the popularity of the star quarterback relative to the gym - class weakling ?
the trend seems to be to have kids start later without much thought to the cost versus the benefits ,
said darren lubotsky , an economist at university of illinois at urbana - champaign who has studied redshirting .
there might be some benefits , but there ' s a really big cost to kids starting later .
there are also several factors that most researchers agree call into question the efficacy of redshirting . if children with late birthdays are very bright , they may be bored if held back simply because they are chronologically young . if older upon entrance , they may also have difficulty relating to younger classmates , and may be found intimidating by them .
so , while it may not clear up the redshirting debate , the new research might help spur the socially conscious parent to resist the temptation to redshirt—on the grounds that doing so is not only unnecessary but can put educational attainment further out of reach for the child’s less - fortunate peers . maybe the outliers is right in “drawing attention to [ the ] ways in which individual success is interdependent within an ‘ecology’ of others’ activities , ” suggest kniffin and hanks . but it’s far from clear whether relative age has much to bear on a child’s future success . and absent a consensus , it may be best to hold off on redshirting , if only in the interest of playing it safe .
this essay asks a provocative set of questions about the rise of “redshirting” practices in public education and their frequency , factors , and larger consequences . the introductory thesis tells us that the issue arose in the 1980s and its practice has increased over time , but a richer introduction would lay out the types of factors that contributed to this shift , to help frame the rest of the essay for readers . for example , a stronger thesis might have argued that redshirting has been caused by a combination of state & district fears about standardized testing and parental fears about child retention , and may have greater consequences for lower - income families , since these three large ideas appear in the body of the essay .
in fact , redshirting could mean that a preschool - educated 6 - year - old is learning alongside a low - income 4 - year - old who’s never stepped foot in a classroom—a kid whose vocabulary may be 30 - million words smaller than her wealthier peers . even if that 6 - year - old was indeed a little “underdeveloped” at age 5 , delaying his entry into school could contribute to the kind of incongruity that fuels detrimental discrepancies in achievement—gaps that expand and evolve over time . the society for research in child development reported in 2002 that , notwithstanding some evidence in favor of redshirting , doing so may be “disadvantageous for low - income children , who already begin school with relatively poor cognitive skills . ”
there’s also the fact that kids are sometimes redshirted because they have behavior or learning problems that parents mislabel as immaturity— i’m sure kalee’s tendency to throw chairs at adults will go away once she turns 6 , so we’ll just wait a year . this could explain why redshirted kids often need special education services and also why they’re more likely to drop out of school and not go to college . in other words , redshirting might not actually increase the risk of these problems—it may just be a sign of existing problems . yet redshirting these types of kids “can in fact make the problems worse , in that the child’s access to support is delayed as the family and school wait for maturity to kick in , ” graue says .
boys are definitely wired differently from girls from the get go although that doesn’t mean that girls don’t benefit from redshirting as well . my eldest daughter probably would have been better with another year at home for maturity reasons although she has always loved school ( social aspect ) and yet her younger brother’s birthday is 3 days earlier and he’s done great and really has blossomed .
chances are , this wasn ' t a big deal when you were small . for decades , a child who turned five within a calendar year was generally accepted into kindergarten in september . as long as you turned five by around december 1 , you started school along with everyone else . but that was also when kindergarten was not the academic place it is now . while a successful year in 1978 may have meant mastering blocks and paint , today it includes handling pencil , paper , books , and playground rules , too .
huang in particular offers compelling data against the practice of redshirting . according to his study , redshirted students are more likely to be placed in special education programs or have behavior or substance abuse issues . students who were relatively old for their grade because of redshirting were described as less engaged in school , and had lower rates of homework completion , lower scores on standardized tests , and a higher likelihood of dropping out of high school . compare this to students who were relatively young for their grade , who were described as valuing school more , with better attendance rates . in fact , according to a 2007 study from the national bureau of economic research , there’s evidence to suggest that kids may perform better when they are in classes with older students .
it should be pointed out that ‘reshirt’ has been extended to apply to providing an extra year of eligibility in non - sports , but still mostly in school situations ‘to get them eligibility for additional schooling : under the redshirt plan , special education students could extend their high school program by at least one year . ’— learning disabilities association newsbriefs ; ‘a student who successfully completes the program should be prepared to enter directly into the college engineering curriculum . further information on our redshirt program options can be obtained from the school of engineering office of academic programs .
the practice has become even more controversial in recent years over claims that some parents do it for the wrong reasons : they redshirt their kids not because their kids aren’t ready for school , but because , in the age of parenting as competitive sport , holding them out might give them an academic , social , and athletic edge over their peers . if little delia is the star of kindergarten , they scheme , maybe she’ll ride the wave all the way to harvard . gaming the system this way , of course , puts other kids at a disadvantage .
the economic and academic disparities widen when we consider that many students don’t have access to kindergarten — redshirted or not — at all . even though it’s optional in 35 states , kindergarten provides an important year for exposing kids to key concepts that will prepare them for first grade . in kindergarten , kids learn basic reading , writing , and math , as well as certain social skills and habits , like sitting still and following directions , that help children become successful students . because of its importance , kids are at a definite disadvantage if they don’t attend .
because families who wait before sending their kids to kindergarten tend to be relatively affluent , they can often afford an extra year of preschool . in practice , then , a child who is 6 years old could end up in the classroom with a child who is 4 years old . unsurprisingly , the older student would likely score higher on standardized tests , a pattern that would make redshirting appear to work .
in the midst of what feels like a wealth of data , it’s still difficult to parse out some of the key effects of redshirting . there is a difference between a child who is relatively old for a particular grade and a child whose parents have expressly delayed the start of kindergarten . redshirting can send a message to a child that , right from the start , achievement is the top priority , and the parents don’t think she is good enough to be in a grade with her peers . if children are kept from school because they don’t meet a parent’s expectation for what a kindergartner should look like , they may miss the opportunity to develop the skills they need at the appropriate time . and if a student does have a developmental delay , then access to individualized educational support services should be provided sooner rather than later .
the emphasis on high - stakes testing of education - reform initiatives such as no child left behind exacerbated what researchers in 1988 identified as escalating academic demand in kindergarten classrooms . in part because of those public - policy changes , though also because of fiscal incentives and mindset changes , more and more states started moving up their cutoff dates . in 1975 , just nine states required students to be 5 by the start of the school year ; by 2005 , the number had grown to 33 . data from 2008 shows that 17 percent of children entering kindergarten that year were 6 years or older .
of course , the goal of this article was to try and present more information so that parents feel equipped to make the decision that they think is best for their kid . certainly , we don ' t think never redshirting is the right idea , but we did think it was going to be useful to provide additional info , especially to the type of parent who wants to understand [ what the data shows . ]
parents who want to give their young children an academic advantage have a powerful tool : school itself . in a large - scale study at 26 canadian elementary schools , first graders who were young for their year made considerably more progress in reading and math than kindergartners who were old for their year ( but just two months younger ) . in another large study , the youngest fifth - graders scored a little lower than their classmates , but five points higher in verbal i . q . , on average , than fourth - graders of the same age . in other words , school makes children smarter .
my brother - in - law is a high school math teacher . he’s been a high school math teacher for longer than i’ve been a parent . his son was born two weeks after scott , and they’re redshirting him . he told us that he sees the difference in boys’ math scores between the older and younger boys , and the difference is major enough often enough for him to be a proponent of boys being older when they enter school .
one small point about evidence : you claim that redshirting “has become a recent phenomenon , with scarce mention before the early 1970’s , ” but never explain how you know this to be true . recall that in class , we conducted searches for the phrase in education index retrospective , a database of education journal articles from the 1920s - 1983 , and found only one instance . a richer essay would have explained this as evidence of the rise of the term .
in his analysis , gladwell overstates the benefits of redshirting to some degree ,
the article reads .
in fact , a balanced look at the research suggests that while children derive a short - term gain from being redshirted , that advantage dissipates quickly over time .
it notes that while a year marks a huge proportion of a 5 - year - old ' s life , it is a less significant amount of time for an 18 - year - old .
researchers discovered that relatively more mature students didn’t have an academic edge ; instead , when they looked at their progress at the end of kindergarten , and , later , when they reached middle school , they were worse off in multiple respects . not only did they score significantly lower on achievement tests—both in kindergarten and middle school—they were also more likely to have been kept back a year by the time they reached middle school , and were less likely to take college - entrance exams . the less mature students , on the other hand , experienced positive effects from being in a relatively more mature environment : in striving to catch up with their peers , they ended up surpassing them .
curious john , they had to pick some color or shirt design to distinguish them from the herd and maybe red was as good as any . also , i wouldn’t necessarily say that redshirting applies mostly to football . ‘the redshirt year was created largely to give football and basketball players an extra year to mature — usually taken advantage of by freshmen . ’ [ august 2002 , on a proposal to throw out the ncaa redshirt rule and allow athletes to play for 5 full years ]
redshirting ( as term is often known ) derives its name from a common practice in college athletic programs , in which , a college athlete postpones - - or is chosen to postpone - - his / her participation in regular season games for one year in order to further practice and prepare with the team . this is done in hopes preserving a year of eligibility to play collegiate sports , as well as to improve his / her skills for future seasons ( katz , 2000 ) .
perhaps the most concerning aspect of redshirting , at least in my experience , is that , in retrospect , it is often done disproportionately to children with undiagnosed special needs who at the time were judged to be developmentally behind , but in fact were in need of special education services , not another year to mature . children with learning disabilities who are redshirted or retained in kindergarten lose any accrued benefit very quickly and are then simply older children with special needs that still must be addressed .
athletes may also use a
grayshirt
year in which they attend school , but cannot enroll as a full - time student , and do not receive a scholarship for that year . this means that they are an unofficial member of the team and do not participate in practices , games , or receive financial assistance from their athletic department . typically , grayshirts are players who are injured right before college and require an entire year to recuperate . rather than waste the redshirt , the player can attend school as a part - time regular student and join the team later . this is also used by players with religious or military obligations that keep them out of school for a full academic year .
as with research on the early benefits of redshirting , research on long - term benefits is mixed . one 2006 study published in the quarterly journal of economics looked at age at kindergarten entrance in an international sample of children and found the youngest kids in each grade lagged behind in test scores through eighth grade , though the gap shrank over time . the researchers also found that the oldest kids in each grade were about 10 percent more likely to go to a four - year college than younger peers .
there are several factors at play here , including the traditional wisdom , backed up by research , that shows little boys to be particularly fidgety in kindergarten . that said , the most striking disparity is also the most worrying . for families earning the least in this country , redshirting is cost - prohibitive ( pdf ) . as higher - income families delay their kids’ kindergarten entry , children from lower - income families end up “competing” against older and more - prepared classmates—at a crucial time for learning and development .
the first athlete known to extend his eligibility in the modern era of redshirting was warren alfson of the university of nebraska in 1937 . alfson requested that he be allowed to sit out his sophomore season due to the number of experienced players ahead of him . in addition , he had not started college until several years after graduating from high school , and thus felt he needed more preparation . the year off worked ; alfson was all - big six conference in 1939 and an all - american guard in 1940 .
but schools enjoy the higher - averaged standardized test scores achieved by older students . this is troubling , because the more affluent middle - and upper - middle - class school districts have parents who can financially afford the extra year of childcare that comes with the territory of redshirting , while districts comprised of poorer families have parents who can ' t afford to make the same advantageous decisions for their children . this obviously increases the achievement gap between wealthier and poorer school districts , a divide that also often falls along racial lines .
when the harvard sociologist hilary levey friedman was expecting her first child , one thing worried her : her due date , january 3rd . it was uncomfortably close to january 1st , an often - used age cutoff for enrollment in academics and sports . “i was determined to keep him in until after january 1st , ” she said . and if the baby came early ? “i actively thought about redshirting , ” she said . given the choice , she wanted him to be the oldest kid in his class , not the youngest .
teachers may encourage redshirting because more mature children are easier to handle in the classroom and initially produce better test scores than their younger classmates . in a class of 25 , the average difference is equivalent to going from 13th place to 11th . this advantage fades by the end of elementary school , though , and disadvantages start to accumulate . in high school , redshirted children are less motivated and perform less well . by adulthood , they are no better off in wages or educational attainment — in fact , their lifetime earnings are reduced by one year .
it ' s easy to see what the states are up to : they ' re worried about test scores , and they figure that older kids plus academic kindergarten will produce better ones . but this approach turns out to be extremely shortsighted , according to new research by david deming of harvard ' s kennedy school of government and susan dynarski of the university of michigan . the authors find that starting kindergarten late correlates with dropping out of high school and earning less afterward .
there is substantial evidence that entering school later reduces educational attainment ( by increasing high school drop out rates ) and depresses lifetime earnings ( by delaying entry into the job market ) ,
the authors write . also ,
recent stagnation in the high school and college completion rates of young people is partly explained by their later start in primary school .
let me answer you with an anecdote . when stephanie and i were writing — this was back in december and january — at the time , my daughter is finishing up preschool and going to start kindergarten the next year . we were not thinking about redshirting her , but the thought crossed my mind because she was not talking . it was very upsetting that she wasn ' t talking , and we had taken her to speech therapy and that didn ' t really go anywhere . she just wouldn ' t talk . and between january and today , some switch has flipped in her .
benefits or not , kindergartners are an increasingly older bunch these days . according to a 2008 paper published in the journal of economic perspectives , 96 percent of 6 - year - olds were enrolled in first grade 40 years ago . now , 84 percent of 6 - year - olds are in first grade . the missing 12 percent haven ' t dropped out — they ' re enrolled in kindergarten instead . about a quarter of the shift is due to state and school district policies that push age cut - off dates earlier in the year , the researchers reported . the rest is due to voluntary redshirting .
so what should you do ? this is a good time for an honest , loving look at your child . if you have reason to think that kindergarten will be overwhelming , and especially if his or her birthday is after the start of the school year , you may have good reason to wait . but if you’re just looking for competitive advantage , redshirting probably isn’t the right path ; early successes can give way to boredom . if your child is generally on track , you’re probably best off taking a traditional path : send your kid to school with a hug , a kiss and a loving wish for a healthy , happy year .