(haipo) Parents of children in municipal kindergartens in the Kiryat Eliezer neighborhood are warning that a change in the kindergarten registration policy could lead to the closure of active kindergartens, some of which are new and protected, and harm the educational continuity of the neighborhood's children. They claim that the municipal registration system presents parents with only one kindergarten, without the option of choosing, and as a result, quality kindergartens are left without enough enrollees and are in danger of closing. The parents speak of confusion, lack of information, harm to after-school programs, and a feeling that the reality on the ground is not being taken into account. Some have already begun organizing joint appeals to the municipality in an attempt to prevent the kindergartens from closing.
Parents claim: “The registration shows only one kindergarten – and it is destroying the neighborhood”
Tatiana Shamborska, a resident of the neighborhood and mother of a child in the Haonia kindergarten (mandatory preschool), says that parents are given only one option in the municipal registration, one kindergarten, without a choice. “There are four or five municipal kindergartens in the neighborhood, but when you go into the registration, only one kindergarten appears,” she says. “Parents don’t know that you can send a letter to the municipality and request a transfer. Those who don’t know are simply stuck with the kindergarten that the system assigns them.” According to her, the result is distortion: good, new, and protected kindergartens remain empty, while older kindergartens continue to operate.
The ship park is in danger of closing even though it is new and protected.
According to Tatiana, the Haonia kindergarten, where her daughter attends, received a notice from the municipality that it is in danger of closing due to low enrollment. “It’s an excellent kindergarten, new, with a special needs kindergarten,” she emphasizes. “But because the system is presenting parents with another kindergarten, it’s not filling up.” According to her, the absurdity screams to the sky: “Our kindergarten with a special needs kindergarten is in danger of closing, and the kindergarten that will remain open has no special needs kindergarten at all. It doesn’t make sense.”
Direct impact on after-school programs: “If you close a compulsory kindergarten – there is no after-school program”
Another problem that worries parents is the impact on after-school care. Gan Haonia operates alongside a nearby compulsory kindergarten, Gan Adva, and the two kindergartens together fill the shared afternoon care. “If they close Gan Adva, there will be no afternoon care,” explains Tatiana. “Working parents need a framework. Without compulsory kindergarten, the afternoon care collapses.” According to her, parents from Gan Adva are already reaching out to other parents in the neighborhood in an attempt to find more enrollees to save the kindergarten.
“They brought us children from a kindergarten without a police station – and now they are closing us down”
Tatiana says that during the period before the ceasefire, Gan Dror, a kindergarten without a military unit, was evacuated from its children, and they were transferred to the protected Onia kindergarten. “Our children were home for half a week to make room for the children of Gan Dror,” she says. “And now they are closing our kindergarten and leaving the kindergarten without a military unit open. It is simply unacceptable.”
According to Tatiana, the main problem is the lack of choice. “When I first registered for a municipal kindergarten, I didn’t know where to send my daughter,” she says. “I asked other parents, and they highly recommended the Onia kindergarten. I sent a letter to the municipality and asked for a transfer. But in Kiryat Eliezer, not everyone knows Hebrew, not everyone knows that they need to send a letter, not everyone knows who to contact.” She adds that some parents discover only too late that the kindergarten they were assigned isn’t right for them, but at that point it’s already difficult to make a change.
Parents seek help in Facebook and WhatsApp groups
In recent weeks, parents have begun posting messages in neighborhood groups, encouraging parents to check which kindergarten they are registering for and to consider switching to kindergartens that are in danger of closing. “We urge parents to check the registration,” they wrote. “There are new kindergartens, with good staff and a good school district, that are in danger of closing simply because the system does not show them.”
Another problem: Dolphin and Pigeon Parks in danger of closing
Alongside the problems at Gan Haonia and Gan Adva, other parents in the neighborhood are warning of a similar situation at the Dolphin A and Gan Yona kindergartens, which are adjacent to the Dror School. A group of parents issued a formal statement in which they sought to encourage registration for these kindergartens. “This year, registration is by region,” they wrote, “and therefore parents were not given the opportunity to register for Dolphin and Yona.” According to them, these are quality kindergartens with dedicated staff, a family atmosphere and close cooperation with the Dror School.
The parents emphasize that Dolphin and Yona kindergartens offer significant advantages: professional staff, personal attention, joint activities with the Dror School, and optimal preparation for first grade. “The kindergartens are in danger of closing,” the parents wrote. “Every family that registers helps maintain the educational frameworks in the neighborhood and a strong community.”
Parents claim: “The municipality says transfers will only be made in June”
According to the parents, many tried to register for Dolphin and Yona kindergartens but encountered a system that did not allow it. “We were told by the municipality that transfers would only be made in June,” they wrote. “But June is already too late. If there are not enough registrants, the kindergartens will close.”
Many parents report a sense of confusion. “We don’t know what’s going on,” says another mother. “Will the kindergartens stay open? Will the after-school program continue? Is there a chance of a transfer? Everything is vague.” She says many parents feel that the reality in the neighborhood is not being taken into account.
Parents request: “Let us choose the kindergarten that is right for our child”
Allow selection
The parents’ main demand is simple: to allow choice. “We’re not asking for anything unusual,” says Tatiana. “Just to allow parents to choose the kindergarten that suits them. If there are several kindergartens in the neighborhood, why would the system only show one?”
Many parents emphasize that closing kindergartens will harm the neighborhood’s community fabric. “A kindergarten is not just a building,” says a father of a child in kindergarten. “It’s a team, it’s friends, it’s a lunch break, it’s an educational continuum. If you close a kindergarten, everything falls apart.” According to him, closing kindergartens could cause parents to move to other neighborhoods, which would further weaken Kiryat Eliezer.
Tatiana says she has started gathering parents who are interested in writing a joint letter to the municipality. “We want the Onia and Adwa kindergartens not to close,” she says. “We are asking the municipality to take into account the reality on the ground and allow a choice.”
Municipality: Acting in accordance with the Ministry of Education's guidelines
The Haifa Municipality responded by stating that it is acting in accordance with the Ministry of Education's guidelines and is committed to ensuring a full educational response for all children in the city, including opening kindergartens in every neighborhood, according to needs and demand.
It was also reported that there is no concern about kindergartens not opening in the Kiryat Eliezer neighborhood.
False article. We signed up for next year and there is no problem. We are scribbling as usual.
Poor municipal management. Let the parents decide. Haifa is a city that is deteriorating in the area of children, whether in terms of kindergartens, schools, sports and recreation.
Yona Yahav published an impressive booklet and beyond that, Nada. It was a failure and it remains a failure.