Search results for: Special education

Matan’s Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) Lesson Plans are designed for Congregational School and Jewish Day School educators.

In 2014, I left the army and joined Lt. Col Ariel Almog and, together with the Yad Layeled organization (and in partnership with JNF-USA), we founded the “Special in Uniform” program. The program integrates thousands of young people with disabilities into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and, in turn, into Israeli society. We see the inclusion of people with disabilities in the army as a way to help usher them into a self-sufficient life once they are discharged from the army. Our belief is that everyone belongs and has the right to reach his or her full potential. Special in Uniform focuses on the unique talents of each individual participant to help each one find a job that is a perfect fit for the individual’s skills within the IDF. The attention is on the ability, not the disability, of each individual, encouraging independence and integration into society.

At a time when inclusion in Jewish Education is such an important topic for schools, synagogues, camps, classroom teachers, Hebrew College is hosting the 7th annual GISHA conference entitled ‘Excellence in Jewish Education: Inclusion’ on March 15-16 2015 at Hebrew College in Newton, Mass. As the rate of special learning needs identification increases and we all feel the responsibility to accommodate our families’ needs, this is a timely moment to participate with educational colleagues in learning more about the importance of inclusion, accommodation and special learning needs.

This September, the Shefa School, a new pluralistic Jewish community day school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, welcomed its first students. Founded by Ilana Ruskay-Kidd, the former director of the Saul and Carole Zabar Nursery School at the JCC in Manhattan, Shefa is the only Jewish Day School for students with language-based learning disabilities. Shefa currently has 24 students enrolled in grades 2-5 and will ultimately enroll children in grades K-8.