Gateways helps families recognize that some Jewish day school students need extra support in order to succeed and remain in their school environment. Gateways provides on-site special education services that go beyond what the students’ schools offer. Children in participating schools receive in-class and out of class assistance from team members including speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, and reading and learning specialists. Gateways works with students, teachers and school special education staff to help students generalize developmental, academic and social skills and strategies to the classroom. In addition, the therapists assist teachers with curriculum modifications and provide teachers with professional development, including weekly coaching.

Gateways Student Support Program

Gateways offers speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, reading, learning, and behavior specialties. Students receive small group and/or individual therapy in and out of the classroom. The emphasis is on helping the student to build skills and apply these skills and strategies into their classroom learning. Therapists meet with teachers to share ideas and develop plans for the student. Social skills are also addressed with students in a variety of ways: during group activities, at recess, in social skills groups and in the classroom.

For students who need more intensive instruction to develop reading and writing skills, Gateways provides an intensive language-arts alternative to the classroom. This class focuses on explicit teaching of skills including reading comprehension and decoding, written language, and word study (phonics, spelling and vocabulary).

The Gateways staff is highly trained and experienced. They use a combination of specialized programs and activities with students, and most importantly, they consider what works best for the child.

Gateways Classroom Program

The therapist works with the entire class, one period per week, to instruct students and model techniques for the teacher. In addition, the therapist helps the teacher to integrate the program into daily teaching. Examples of whole class programs include: Engine Run (an Alert Program, which teaches children to get to their just right state for learning), social skills, printing and handwriting.

Gateways Team Teaching or Co-Teaching Program

Another option for students who need more services, but are able to work within the school’s curriculum, is a class that is co-taught by the school’s teacher and a Gateways specialist. The teacher and specialist collaborate to plan lessons, curriculum modifications and learning strategies.

Gateways Consultation, Professional Development & Teacher Coaching Program

Gateways presents workshops to school staff, and pair these workshops with more in-depth work with teachers. As part of the teacher coaching, the Gateways specialist meets with the teacher regularly outside of the classroom, in order to help the teacher understand students’ learning styles and differentiated instruction, and plan lessons. In class, the specialist models alternative teaching strategies and assists the teacher with the implementation of differentiated instruction and classroom accommodations. Coaching is also available for the school’s support staff to help them better identify students with learning needs, support differentiated instruction in the classroom, and provide students with skills and strategies.

Gateways works with teachers in both general and Judaic studies and assist the schools with curriculum mapping in these areas as well. In addition, through literacy trainings, Gateways work with schools to promote student reading success by updating the school’s curriculum and training teachers.

The support that Gateways gives a teacher enhances the teacher’s ability to reach all students.

Participating Day Schools in 2008-2009:

Chabad Day School
Sharon, MA

JCDS, Boston's Jewish Community Day School
Watertown, MA
www.jcdsboston.org

Maimonides School
Brookline, MA
www.maimonides.org

New England Hebrew Academy Lubavitch Yeshiva
Brookline, MA

Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston(SSDS)
Newton, MA
www.ssdsboston.org

South Area Solomon Schechter Day School(SASSDS)
Norwood, MA
www.sassds.org

Striar Hebrew Academy(SHAS)
Sharon, MA
www.striarhebrew.org

Rashi School
Newton, MA
www.rashi.org

Torah Academy
Brookline, MA
www.torahacademy.us

Jewish Day School Program Staff

Sue Schweber Day School Program Director

Reena Slovin Day School Client Services Coordinator
Julie Gordon Day School Professional Development Coordinator

Catherine Bialkin Inclusion Specialist
Julie Davis Speech-Language Therapist
Barbara Edwards Learning Specialist
Ellen Forst Speech-Language Therapist
Amy Freedman Speech-Language Therapist
Ilene Greenwald Occupational Therapist
Maxine Haron Occupational Therapist
Shana Krell Occupational Therapist
Evelyn Krieger Learning Specialist
Marcie Lipsey Occupational Therapist
Harriet Newman Occupational Therapist
Jennifer Newman Speech-Language Therapist and Learning Specialist
Brenda Pollack SASSDS Student Service Coordinator
Margaret Read Speech-Language Therapist
Jodi Saltzman Speech-Language Therapist
Lyn Shamban Learning Specialist
Tzippy Shooman Occupational Therapist