Sandy started kindergarten at Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School last year. She bounces into school each morning with a smile on her face, and leaves with a hug for her teacher. Sandy’s parents were not sure that Jewish day school would be possible for her because she was recently diagnosed with a number of learning disabilities. She qualified for services in her public school, but hoped that Mirowitz could accommodate her needs. All of Sandy’s preschool classmates would be entering Mirowitz the next year, and her family would be heartbroken if she didn’t have the opportunity as well. Mirowitz accepted Sandy, but with the expectation that they would provide limited services. They gave it a try, with the knowledge that they might have to recommend that she find a different school with more robust support services.
A generous $100,000 Tilles Foundation grant over two years is helping children like Sandy receive the services they need to be successful at Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School. If it weren’t for the Tilles Foundation, Sandy would have to go after school for more tutoring; making the day a long and difficult one for a six year old. Mirowitz’s small learning support team has found itself overextended over the past two years, providing a minimal number of services to many students. The Tilles Foundation enabled them to expand their learning support team, providing additional hours for speech/language pathology, academic support, occupational therapy and counseling. Sandy is one of twenty-five students that they are helping each year with this grant.
Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School dreams of becoming a school where any child who is seeking a Jewish education can study. When they provide support services, they are able to keep families together, allowing siblings who have special needs to come to school with their brothers and sisters in this academically rigorous environment. In 2018-19, they are already putting the grant to use, allowing children to access experts during the school day.
Families like Sandy’s depend on the generosity of the greater community in order to have a childhood filled with Jewish learning in a loving environment. Mirowitz is grateful to the Tilles Foundation for helping 25 students this year and next, for putting the smile on Sandy’s face each morning, for giving her self-confidence and for making dreams come true.
For more about Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School, please visit https://mirowitz.org/