In the Classroom: Creating an Inclusive Religious School Program

Eight ways to build an inclusive religious school program for students who learn differently.

By Rabbi Steven H. Rau and Stacey Levy

 

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Five years ago the frustrated parents of a five-year-old child with mitochondrial disease (a chronic genetic cell disorder) came to my office at The Temple in Atlanta, where I am Director of Education, to share their history of being denied—almost every Jewish organization or educational institution they approached began by telling them what their child could not do. It seemed that their only option for their son’s Jewish education was to send him to a community religious school for students with severe physical and/or mental disabilities. Unfortunately, the experience of these parents is common to many parents of children with learning differences—children with differences are often treated differently.

I informed the parents that their child would be treated like all other students in our religious school and that I would try to find the resources necessary to support all students regardless of their differences.

Over the next year, in partnership with Stacey Levy, a B'nei Mitzvah tutor at our school and a local speech pathologist, I created a program at The Temple that now serves more than sixty students with learning differences each year (almost 13 percent of the congregation’s total student population). Our program serves students from pre-kindergarten through seventh grade, in both Hebrew and Judaic studies.

Below Stacey and I present an outline of our program. We suggest that you use some or all of the following strategies to make your own congregation's educational program more inclusive.

 

1. Win the support of your education committee. Make sure board members fully understand the school's philosophy and need for funding.

"You shall not . . . place a stumbling block before the blind." Leviticus 19:14

In a meeting with the congregation's education committee, describe the goals and benefits of the program: to provide a fully inclusive religious school education so that every child can have a positive and meaningful experience as well as the ability to become a bar or bat mitzvah, and to give support to teachers who might otherwise feel frustrated and incapable.

Provide anonymous real-life scenarios of families who would benefit from the program. Seek assurance that families with children enrolled in the program will not pay additional fees. Work with the committee members to find grants and other means of funding the program. For example, seek out grants from your local Federation or other granting agencies, and benefactors from the congregation, and promote giving to this program through b'nei mitzvah projects and donations and by creating a special fund at your congregation.

 

2. Provide teachers with the support they need.

"You will surely wear yourself out. . . . For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone." Jethro to Moses, Exodus 18:18

In order for a school to teach students with a broad range of learning abilities, its teachers need professional guidance and support. The following steps will help prepare teachers for the rigors of the task.

  • Hire a consultant trained in learning differences. Obtain the funds that will allow the consultant to give students with learning differences and their parents a couple of hours of additional support each week outside the classroom, individually or in small-group settings. The number of hours will depend on the size of your school and the amount of the funds you receive.

  • Request that the consultant create a learning plan for each student who learns differently. These learning plans should provide teachers with an understanding of each child’s learning difference (for example, a student with dyslexia), or learning style (for example, an auditory learner), as well as learning strategies (for example, writing directions on the board for students with auditory processing problems), and classroom modifications (for example, placing a student in close proximity to the teacher) in order to help the child succeed in the classroom. A learning plan is a simplified version of a traditional IEP (individualized educational plan). Have the consultant train your teachers in implementing the learning plans, for example, by conducting an in-service training for your teachers.

3. Avoid terminology that isolates.

"Do not separate yourself from the community." Pirkei Avot 2.5

Terms such as special needs, remedial instruction, and behavioral problems teach children who learn differently that they are in some way, less, and may isolate them and their parents. Remember, all students—all people—are unique, and all have strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, all children should be treated with respect, and that treatment should include the language used to refer to their educational needs.

For example, incorporate the following terminology into your vocabulary:

  • learning plan instead of individualized educational plan

  • learning differences instead of special needs

  • learning consultant instead of special-needs teacher

  • reinforcement instead of remedial tutoring

4. Learn the appropriate terms and definitions.

"Look not at the container but at what it contains." Pirkei Avot 4:27

Understand the terminology of learning differences. Click here to read "Learning Differences 101." Be prepared to describe to parents of students already in your school and parents who are interested in enrolling their children how your program works to include children with learning differences.

 

5. Adapt traditional curricular materials and teaching methods.

"Turn it over and over again..." Pirke Avot 5:22

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Many traditional curricular materials and teaching methods can be applied with only minor variations to students with learning differences. For example, at The Temple we have successfully adapted the Behrman House Hineni series for use in inclusive classes.

Students with a reading-based learning disability, such as dyslexia, have difficulty with both visual perception and phonological awareness and often have difficulty breaking Hebrew words into syllables. By highlighting alternating syllables in two different colors we help students concentrate on one syllable at a time. This approach keeps students with reading-based learning disabilities from feeling overwhelmed by long Hebrew words. In addition, the colors help them maintain their place as they read. This allows students with reading-based learning disabilities to participate in regular Hebrew phonics lessons. Click here to see an example of a page from Hineni with highlighted syllables.

Below are some other techniques for including students who are learning Hebrew :

  • Enlarge the type size of blocks of text; for example, enlarge an 8-1/2 X 11 page to 11x17 on a copier.

  • Shorten assignments; for example, assign students with learning differences selected items in an activity—five simple items out of ten, say—or allow them to choose the items they want to complete.

  • Have students point to the word they are reading to assist with visual tracking.

  • Limit distractions on the page; for example, have students use a blank sheet of paper to cover the part of a page they are not working on.

  • Call on students to read aloud or answer a question only if they volunteer.

  • Teach in small increments and present one instruction at a time; for example, introduce one new Hebrew letter and practice its sound before moving on to teach the vowel sound in the same chapter.

  • Limit the amount of writing, drawing, and cutting that is required of students with learning differences.

  • Allow students with learning differences to complete assignments in ways that are compatible with their learning style; for example, allow students to answer questions orally instead of in writing.

6. Provide alternatives and options for b'nei mitzvah programs.

"For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." Isaiah 56:7

Present options for the celebration of becoming B'nei Mitzvah so that all students can mark this important event according to their and their families' needs.

  • Offer a nontraditional time for marking the occasion, such as a Havdalah or Minhah service, or schedule a private ceremony.

  • Avoid shared b'nei mitzvah ceremonies unless the students involved have similar skills and abilities.

  • Allow students to lead as much or as little of the service as they are comfortable with.

  • Reduce the length of Torah and haftarah portions, and allow students, in consultation with their parents, the choice of reading rather than chanting and reading or chanting in English rather than in Hebrew.

  • Provide additional one-on-one tutoring in school or in the child's home.

7. Create a tzadikim (righteous assistants) program.

"The world rests on a single pillar—righteousness." Eleazar ben Shamua, Hagigah 12b

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In our school, a tzadik or tzadikah is a teenager assigned to shadow or work with a student with a learning difference. Tzadikim are guided and trained by a learning consultant beginning with an initial in-service day for all tzadikim before the start of the school year. Tzadikim learn about various learning differences, how to work with students with learning differences, and specific information about the child with whom they are paired. Quarterly or monthly meetings with the learning consultant provide continued education, as well as the opportunity to discuss students' progress.

Use some tzadikim as shadows and others as assistants in your Hebrew reinforcement class. Offer Madrichim the opportunity to work as tzadikim. Promote the tzadikim program as the next step for Madrichim who might like to work directly with an individual student with learning differences.

 

8. Advertise your program well.

"All your children shall be students of Adonai." Isaiah 54:13

To spread the word about your program, consider the following steps:

  • Create a catchy name; for example, Yad B'yad (Hand in Hand) for Students Who Learn Differently.

  • Make sure your teachers know they should consult with the learning coordinator if they identify a learning issue in their class, and that they are prepared to speak positively about the role of the learning coordinator and the program to parents and potential members of the congregation.

  • When talking about the program to inquiring parents, be sure to describe the role played by the learning consultant.

  • Send your local Jewish newspaper a press release describing the program.

Every child deserves the opportunity to shine as a Jewish learner. Breaking down the learning barriers in your congregation, in partnership with the clergy, is the first step toward creating an environment that includes all children. Families need to know that our congregations are safe havens for all students no matter what their needs or learning differences. The true pride of The Temple’s school is that its teachers are no longer frustrated, parents are happy, and students feel welcome.

Rabbi Steven H. Rau, RJE is the Director of Education at The Temple in Atlanta. He may be contacted at srau@the-temple.org.

Stacey Levy holds an MS and a certificate of clinical competence in speech-language pathology. She is the learning consultant at The Temple in Atlanta and may be reached at gurve@yahoo.com.