Schechter’s Landmark Grant for Day School Inclusion

Stronger Together:

Schechter’s Landmark Grant for Day School Inclusion

Earlier this year, Schechter was honored to be selected as one of two recipients of the Alfred and Gilda Slifka Family Day School Inclusion Initiative, joining MetroWest Jewish Day School of Framingham. The grant will provide $5,000,000 over a decade to both schools, half of which will be allocated to Schechter, allowing the school to expand substantially on its trajectory of supporting the widest possible array of learners. Partnering with Boston’s regional special education agency, Gateways: Access to Jewish Education, Schechter’s administration and educators are deeply involved in mapping the programming for the start of school in September 2019.

Taking off from Schechter’s already significant capacity to deliver academic excellence while fulfilling the needs of those who learn differently, the grant paves the way for admitting new students with learning needs or challenges that were historically beyond the school’s reach. The inclusion programming will be led by a case manager with strong behavioral experience and a team of seasoned faculty, special educators and coordinating service providers including speech and language pathologists, occupational therapists and psychologists. With the advent of augmented services under the Slifka grant, Schechter will welcome students with academic, social/emotional and/or behavioral needs such as anxiety, ADHD, high functioning autism or similar diagnoses.

New students will flourish within Schechter’s regular framework, benefitting from the sound educational infrastructure already in place and soon to be complemented by and developed in new directions because of the funding. “Schechter has a proven track record of commitment to academic excellence and building a strong Jewish education on the foundations of Jewish values and community. Schechter plays a critical role in the landscape of Jewish Boston and this initiative will give more families access to the power of a Jewish day school education. This grant and the powerful collaborations that come with it will also empower our schools and our community to lead the way as models of excellence and innovation,” says Combined Jewish Philanthropies’ (CJP) President and CEO, Rabbi Marc Baker.

Gilda Slifka, wife of the late Fred Slifka z”l, notes, “Nothing would have pleased Fred more than to see our foundation work with CJP to jump start such an impactful program. He believed, as I do, that inclusion policies and practices benefit the entire school, not just the children with learning challenges and that it is the responsibility of Jewish day schools to develop and provide programs that will help a broader array of student learners reach their full potential educationally.”

Head of School Rebecca Lurie adds, “We are committed at Schechter to knowing each and every child deeply as learners and as people. We have created the internal systems to be able to achieve that vision and we are thrilled that the Slifka family and CJP believe in our abilities and are thus eager to invest in our school. Every child is created b’tzelem elohim (in God’s image), and it is our responsibility as educators to see the unique beauty each child brings to our community and support him or her as best we can. There is no holier work than that.”