Access to a Better Jewish Education in Greater Boston
The Ruderman Family Foundation has forged a dynamic partnership with Boston’s Combined Jewish Philanthropies and Gateways: Access to Jewish Education, helping to make it possible for children with special needs in Greater Boston to access Jewish learning.
This innovative relationship began in 2005 when we contributed significant support to the Initiative for Day School Excellence, led by Boston’s CJP. With the Foundation’s backing, Gateways was created in 2006 from the merger of two grassroots organizations - Etgar L’Noar and the Jewish Special Education Collaborative.
Gateways: Access to Jewish Education has one goal: to enable students with a wide range of learning styles and disabilities to receive a Jewish education. Gateways is committed to ensuring that a child’s disabilities are no longer a barrier to receiving a Jewish education and having a place at the Jewish “table.”
Funding special needs in Jewish day and supplemental schools has made a big difference to the scores of families who want their children to participate in Jewish learning. For some families, the goal is to celebrate their child’s bar or bat mitzvah; for others, it’s to attend Jewish day school. Gateways is a model of possibilities, creating educational choices for children with special needs, and giving their families the chance to participate in Jewish life to its fullest.
The Foundation is proud of the national model we’ve built. Moving forward, we believe that this partnership can be replicated throughout the country for the benefit of children with special needs.
Photos used with the kind permission of Gateways, who retains all rights.
*Reprinted with permission of The Jewish Advocate. To subscribe, visit http://thejewishadvocate.com
**Reprinted with permission of The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles.