By Emily Baer
Come September 2, a new Jewish school is opening its doors on the UWS. The Shefa School will be the first ever standalone Jewish community day school for students with learning disabilities. Housed in a brand new facility that is part of the Lincoln Square Synagogue, the school will welcome an inaugural class of 24 students. Shefa, by the way, means “abundant” in Hebrew.
Students enrolled will benefit from a specialized educational environment in order to develop their strengths while addressing their learning challenges. The school with specifically serve students with language-based learning disabilities. A speech therapist will be at the school every day to work with students, while an occupational therapist will be there two days a week.
The Shefa school is a plurastic community school, meaning it serves families across a wide range of Jewish observance and backgrounds. The class includes a mixture of students from New Jersey, Westchester, Long Island and the five boroughs.
Director Ilana Ruskay-Kidd said that the aim of the school is to give these children the tools to be knowledgeable about their Judaism so they can be active and engaged remembers of their own communities. The school already has an extensive wait-list.
Photos by Emily Baer.
I would love to talk to Ilana Ruskay-Kidd and her team about bringing a yoga program to the school. Yoga is a benefit to the students to help them focus and feel comfortable with themselves. Yoga helps teachers and administrative staff to distress. Yoga helps us connect to ourselves and others. I am happy to come by and meet you, perhaps do a demo short class. It helps I live very close by and am available/flexible in my schedule to accommodate your school day. My resume or flyer is easy to send, in the meantime feel free to see the above website. Thank you and have a great day, Nancy 914 450 0519