By Jodi Werner Greenwald
Photo by Justin Allardyce Knight |
When a student with ADHD exploded in a fit of frustration and tears several years ago over a misunderstanding with a classmate, the nurse at Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston stepped in. An MJEd student in the Jewish special education certificate program at Hebrew College,
Anita Redner Me'ah'01, talked him through the situation. She calmed him down, and he was able to return to class.
Professionals like Redner come to Hebrew College to train as Jewish special educators, filling a recently recognized need. They ease the process of navigating Jewish learning for the estimated 10 to 15 percent of the Jewish population with mild to severe disabilities.
"Jewish education has been maturing in the past five to six years," says Harvey Shapiro, dean of the Shoolman Graduate School of Jewish Education. "Diversity and pluralism [today] mean more than culture and gender; they mean diversity of learning styles."
Providing support structures to integrate students with learning and developmental disabilities into the Jewish classroom takes systemwide change. With this in mind, Hebrew College created its special education program in the Shoolman Graduate School of Jewish Education in 2000.
The 18-credit program trains educators and administrators to incorporate special education into existing institutional structures as well as to design new special education programs. Graduates receive a standalone certificate or a certificate in conjunction with an MJEd degree.
Photo by Justin Allardyce Knight
Hebrew College Jewish Special Education students and faculty. (Front row, L to R): Rachel Israel Davenport Cert'05, BJEd'05, Linda Sue Sohn; (Middle row, L to R): Scott M. Sokol, Arlene Remz Me'ah'02, Laura Brody Young, Rachel Chafetz; (Back row, L to R): Sylvia Golijov, Mark Stepner, Marc Guttman, Marion Green Me'ah'02.
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Demand for special education services within Jewish settings reflects a growing awareness of diverse learning styles. With medical advances increasing the number of early diagnoses of learning disabilities, parents are becoming more vocal about their children's needs, says Dr. Scott M. Sokol, director of the Jewish Special Education program and a board member of Etgar L'Noar (
see sidebar). "Families are no longer willing to be dismissed."
A PhD in neuropsychology, Sokol helps create meaningful
s'mahot for children with special needs. When it comes to b'nai mitzvah, for example, he encourages preteens and parents to open their minds and envision coming-of-age ceremonies that don't necessarily include traditional elements like reading from the Torah or chanting the haftarah.
Special Education for B'nai Mitzvah is one of the required courses in the Hebrew College certificate program. Other requirements include assessment, program evaluation, language development and managing behavior toward inclusion.
Hebrew I and II and
Introduction to the Study of Judaism-standards across College programs-are pre- or corequisite courses.
Photo by Justin Allardyce Knight |
"The ability for our graduates to work in the broader community and profession is as important to us as the specialization," Shapiro says.
Two college alumni are among those involved in shaping the certificate curriculum and making special education a priority at Hebrew College.
In the early 1990s,
Paula Korman MAJS'93, wanted to combine her bachelor's degree in social work with her Jewish studies coursework at Hebrew College. There was no program, so she sought advice from College mentor
Rose Bronstein P'41, BJEd'45, MHL'70 and approval from Provost Barry Mesch. Together they carved out a special needs education concentration; Korman's inaugural course list inspired the current program's curriculum.
Dr. Ruth Smith P'59, BJEd'64, a member of the special needs advisory committee to the Bureau of Jewish Education, saw value in special education training for afternoon Hebrew school staff and day school teachers and advocated for the program's creation at Hebrew College. Founder of and lecturer in the joint MSW/Certificate in Jewish Communal and Clinical Social Work program between Hebrew College and Simmons College Graduate School of Social Work, she says one of the special education program's admissions goals might also be to enroll students who have been trained in special education and are interested in teaching in Hebrew schools and Jewish day schools.
"As afternoon and day schools move toward greater inclusion, there will be more roles for social workers as well as special education teachers to work with faculty and families on psychological issues. They can also help schools as a whole learn to be more sensitive and understanding," she says.
For now, however, with few inclusion-focused full-time positions in existence-for social workers or educators-professionals in Jewish education are finding direct benefit from learning how to effectively communicate with special needs students.
Working at day schools, synagogues and private homes, three Hebrew College alumni are among the vanguard of efforts to tailor Jewish instruction to meet individual needs.
At Temple Emanuel in McAllen, Texas, for example,
Lindsay Wurtzel MJEd'04 assesses her students' learning styles before creating daily lesson plans. She teaches seventh- and eighth-grade religious school and tutors students to become b'nai mitzvah. In each of her mainstream classes, she addresses special needs.
"When reading Hebrew text, I ask students if it's easier for them to read bigger or color-coded letters and if it's better for them to hear or read the text," she says. "In five questions, I can get a general sense of how they like to learn."
Intrigued by sign language since she first worked at a school for the deaf in high school, Wurtzel also hopes to get involved in Jewish deaf education in the future.
"The big thing for me is teaching to every child. If you can learn about every child, you can teach to every child."
As the Schechter school nurse, Redner interacts with every student. She knows intimately the needs of students with behavioral or learning problems-but prior to coming to Hebrew College, she didn't have the language or skills to effectively address individual situations. Introduced to the resources at the College through the Me'ah program, she sought additional training to further her career. With her MJEd and special education concentration almost complete, she has become a member of Schechter's counseling committee, which addresses individual students' situations.
Photo by Justin Allardyce Knight
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"The wave of the future is to find ways to serve as many children as possible," says Anita Redner, "no matter what their challenges are."
"I've become one other person at the school who can contribute to this process," which is coordinated by the director of support Services (
Phyllis Bloom Wilker P'68) and the school psychologist.
As a private special needs educator, Korman finds tutoring in the home setting to be a powerful way to serve each child, especially children with moderate to severe disabilities.
She has experience working in hospitals as well and recently received a certificate from Massachusetts General Hospital in the Orton-Gillingham approach, a multisensory method for teaching reading. Yet, she says, at home she can get a more holistic picture of the students' needs and care.
"The big thing for me is teaching to every child," says Lindsay Wurtzel. "If you can learn about every child,
you can teach to every child."
"At the hospital, you don't have the parents there all the time. The nurses have some input and the charts are there, but it's not the same as being in the home or coming to me with a parent. It's a different type of support network," she says.
In recognition of the guidance she has provided in hospitals, homes and synagogues for the past 12 years, Korman received the Sidney Hillson Memorial Award for outstanding achievement in Jewish special education at the 2005 Hebrew College Commencement Exercises in June.
Photo by Justin Allardyce Knight
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For special educators like Korman, Wurtzel and Redner to further their efforts, they need sustaining financial support. Yet competing budget demands and limited funding create staff shortages within Jewish educational institutions and entry barriers for families.
Serving on committees through Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston and Jewish Family & Children's Services, Smith sees the financial shortages firsthand. She helps allocate funds to Etgar L'Noar, adult housing programs and in-school special education programs, yet she says more assistance is needed.
"It's a challenge to have the resources to be able to continue these efforts. It takes money, staff, time and training," she says.
The Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation is one private foundation addressing these challenges. Based in Chestnut Hill, Mass., it supports medical research, public awareness and educational opportunities in the effort to better the quality of life for individuals with autism.
Eric Cushing P'64, BJEd'68 is a trustee of the Foundation. He develops think tanks, or what the Foundation calls "Boston Clubs." Composed of neurologists and medical researchers, among others, these Clubs help the Foundation identify and select new hypotheses and projects to pursue.
Photo by Justin Allardyce Knight
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"Families are no longer willing to be dismissed,"
says Dr. Scott M. Sokol
"We find people around the world who are interested but disconnected. We put them in the same room and they're amazed at the possibilities," he says.
When asked why inadequate resources are being allocated to special needs education, Cushing says, "There's only so much capital to go around. There are competing demands on our national budgets.
"I see it as a systemic problem. There are many who could benefit, and it would make a tremendous difference if they got that extra help."
To stimulate efforts at Hebrew College, The Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation awarded the College a $150,000 grant in 2003. This grant created two $5,000, two-year graduate student stipends; endowed a scholarship fund for students with developmental disabilities in honor of former Hebrew College student Peter A. Lurie; supported College outreach efforts; and subsidized symposia like July's
Opening the Ark: Bringing Children and Families of Challenge into the Synagogue at the 2005 Hebrew College Summer Institutes.
Great strides have been made in the field of special education since Cushing was a student in the 1960s, he adds. "In the past, people were expected to take care of any special needs problems they had at home. Also, there was a high degree of social stigma if someone in your family had special needs."
Though it is more socially acceptable in the Jewish community today to request help for loved ones with disabilities, families still tackle high levels of stress and varying social pressures. Educators do as well.
Supporting families and teachers is another dimension of the Jewish special educator's role. As a researcher and trainer at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center at UMass Medical Center and a social worker with a burgeoning private practice and more than 30 years of experience in the disabilities field, Smith counsels families and individuals coping with disabilities. For example, she helps them to cope with the fact that a child has a disability and the impact on the family or to address relationship problems involving a family member's special needs.
At Schechter, Redner is part of a team that can help teachers understand why some students can't grasp certain learning points.
"Some children with special diagnoses have an inability to sense the world the way others do. Walking down the hall, some children might not get the concept of the hall as we do. I can now be part of a team who can help translate this," she says.
Providing this level of assistance, often in addition to other roles and responsibilities, requires significant hard work. But many Jewish special educators consider their career to be more than just an up-and-coming field; they cherish special education as a Jewish value.
"We want all children to continue in Jewish life," says Wurtzel. "If [the education] goes over their heads, they won't connect with it and continue [learning]."
"When I was getting my degree in social work I felt like I was studying Torah, not social work," Korman adds. "It's all from the Torah."
Photo by Justin Allardyce Knight
Hebrew College graduates have followed many different paths in the field of special education.
(L to R) Dr. Ruth Smith P'59, BJEd'64; Arlene Remz Me'ah'02 (see sidebar); Paula Korman MAJS'93; and Lindsay Wurtzel MJEd'04.
See related story:
SPECIAL ED 101, Prozdor Student Volunteers Are Key to the Etgar L'Noar Team
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