The YU School Partnership is pleased to announce a new initiative serving special needs students in Boston area day schools. B’Yadenu, Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners In Jewish Day Schools: A Whole School Approach is funded by the Jim Joseph Foundation and the Ruderman Family Foundation in collaboration with Gateways Access to Jewish Education and Combined Jewish Philanthropies Initiative for Day School Excellence.
While many of our schools have in-house Special Needs professionals, we believe that meeting diverse needs is part of good teaching and learning in a school and that it needs to be owned by all members of a school community. Through this project, leadership teams and teacher leaders will work with us to create their own plans for professional learning within a school and will be supported in the implementation of those plans.
Specifically, the project will work with Boston-area schools to:
- Create a baseline assessment to establish their current practices and capacity for serving students with special needs throughout their school
- Create and implement a comprehensive three-year whole-school professional development plan to improve instruction of all learners
- Strengthen the knowledge and skills of school leaders to ensure genuine school-wide commitment to this initiative.
Part of our role at the YU School Partnership will be to disseminate the learning and to work directly with other communities in school wide change around meeting diverse needs. While this program is focused on the Boston area, here is a list of resources and articles that explore issues and challenges in the field of special needs education. If you have questions about the B'Yadenu project, please contact Jane T. Cohen at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Organizations:
Gateways Access to Jewish Education
Council for Jewish With Special Needs
Academic Articles:
Report on the Ontario Ministry of Education Initiative: Education for All- Expert Panel on Literacy and Numeracy Instruction for Students With Special Education Needs, Kindergarten to Grade 6.
Kids With Special Needs in Community Day Schools: Voices Around the Table
Special Education: A Parent’s Perspective
Inclusion in Jewish Education
A New IDEA: An Exploration of Special Education in Jewish Day Schools
Technology:
Comprehensive list of assistive technologies that can be used in the classroom
News Articles:
Jewish Day Schools Near Boston Trying to Teach More Students With Special Needs
New York Schools Shun Special Needs Kids
Special Needs Families Fighting Jewish Day Schools
Jewish Education for Every Child: Turning the Slogan Into Reality
