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Reinstate CHAP at Miami Public Schools
Addressed to: Madam Chair, Honorable Members of the board & Distinguished Superintendent
Since 2008, Chabad Chayil has been caring for the children of Miami Dade County, during after school hours, through the highly acclaimed Community Hebrew After School Program, affectionately known as CHAP.
While everyone knows how difficult child care is, especially after the regular school hours, CHAP has a top rating by every accrediting agency and a five star rating by the community. (Just google Chabad Chayil ratings). There was never any areas of concern with any staff member or child at CHAP.
A single business day before the 2019-20 school year began, Chabad Chayil was abruptly notified that it can not use MDCPS facilities, as it has for more than a decade, because of an open investigation, brought about by an anonymous complaint, that a religious organization was operating inside public schools. Chabad ChayilWe carefully read the libelous and defamatory investigative draft report and answered each of its concerns (see ChabadChayil.org/Crisis).
We plead before you to reopen CHAP, that over 200 children were registered to start at the opening of this school year. And hundreds more were attending (CTeen, CKids, GROW etc) on a weekly basis.
CHAP pledged early on, way before any report was issued or there was even any investigation, to do whatever was necessary to move forward in a fair and satisfactory way, that will fulfill all and any requirements that MDCPS may have.
Each day that passes, is detrimental to the children who are missing the enrichment that Chabad Chayil offers at CHAP. To the parents who are relying on CHAP to work a full day. And to the teachers and staff who are in limbo.
While there are other faith based programs operating on public school grounds after school, Chabad Chayil has been providing the ONLY after school program that teaches Hebrew language and addresses Jewish culture. Many of the children CHAP services have special needs and have no other afterschool alternative to care for these needs.
We would like to thank the members of MDCPS school board for enabling us to provide a program with the highest standard of care. We never dreamed 11 years ago that our program servicing 7 students would grow to help over 500 students on a weekly basis, and parents would choose AWK8 and VABHOE as their school of choice, just to attend the Chabad program.
We also never dreamed that after 11 years of tremendously hard work to provide this high level of care, that came at no cost to MDCPS, it would suddenly be disrupted the day before school began.
As the clock is ticking, we are humbly asking that we work together to reopen this program as quickly as possible.
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Petition Updates
March 2020: After MDCPS & the OIG refused to correct their mistakes and/or slanderous blatant lies, and continued to ignore the thousands of concerned citizens, Chabad has filed suit against MDCPS & the OIG in Federal Court. Despite voluminous, documented evidence to the contrary, MDCPS has denied any wrongdoing, even outright denying that they haven't allowed Chabad Chayil use of facility, claiming that all Chabad had to do was contact them to fill out the proper paperwork.
June-Sept 2020: In a good faith effort to amicably resolve this terrible situation, Chabad reached out to MDCPS officials to once again follow their exact instructions and fill out any form they required, to ensure Chabad was in full compliance. Chabad repeatedly called, emailed and left messages to each department, which they mostly ignored or on occasion deceitfully answered with false information.
Oct 2020: MDCPS administration continues to not follow any set of rules or guidelines, acting in an unconstitutional manner. Hundreds of students are still being denied Community Hebrew Afterschool Program services.
Concerned Citizens: Please reach out to anyone who may have influence on MDCPS & its Honorable School Board to plead with them to act fair and justly, and to do what's in the best of interest of the children and citizens they serve.
If you are able to join our legal or media team please reach out.
Please sign and share with everyone in the community asking them to sign at http://chng.it/DGwvzPrgdy