Biographical Info

Areas We Address

A day school would engage with us if they are looking to develop or enhance:

• An understanding of language-based learning disabilities
• A school-wide framework for supporting diverse learners
• Research-based curricula and pedagogy that is proven to be effective for students with learning disabilities
• Concrete structures and strategies at both the school and teacher level to support students with learning disabilities, ADHD, and executive functioning challenges

Expected Outcomes

Depending on the services selected, a school could expect to accomplish from among these a selection of the following outcomes:

• Fostering a more inclusive school community with better supports for students with learning challenges
• Articulating a clear vision for the needs of learners that can and cannot be appropriately served within the specific school community
• Developing a coherent strategy for supporting a range of learners, including creating or refining processes for identifying and assessing students, delivering effective interventions at various levels, and measuring growth.
• Leveraging current conditions and resources more strategically to serve diverse learners

Key Activities

We help schools achieve their goals by implementing the following:

• Customized workshops: Teacher training on specific instructional practices that support students with learning disabilities – both virtual and on-site.
• Summer institutes: Virtual, multi-day workshops designed for K-8 educators in which Shefa experts explore concrete tools, skills, and frameworks for teaching reading, PAF Reading Program, and Multisensory Mathematics, and Evidence-Based Writing Strategies
• Consultation: Customized guidance and support to day school educators on a wide range of questions and challenges. Consultation engagements range in scope and time commitment, depending on school needs.
• School study tours: Observe research-based instructional practices in action at the Shefa School in New York City.

The length of engagement, number of sessions (workshops, coaching), and the location (virtual, onsite, at Shefa) depend on the goals of the school and the services selected. These decisions are made by school leaders in consultation with the Shefa Center.

Topics we provide training and expertise on include:

• ADHD
• Anxiety
• Classroom management
• Executive functioning
• Explicit instruction
• Judaic studies and Hebrew for children with language-based learning disabilities
• Multisensory reading/PAF reading program
• Multisensory math
• Reading comprehension
• Science of reading
• Study skills
• Teaching expository writing
• Understanding learning disabilities

Setting Expectations

To ensure the impact of our support, we expect schools to:

• Believe in the importance of using research-based models to serve a range of students
• Follow-through on any financial commitments made to support the Shefa Center’s work with the school

To ensure the impact of our support, we expect administrators to:

• Communicate proactively with faculty and community members about the framing, purpose, and goals of our partnership
• Have a clear strategy for prioritizing, sequencing, and sustaining new initiatives
  Provide built-in time for professional learning for teachers

To ensure the impact of our support, we expect classroom teachers to:

• Participate in PD
• Implement learning from PD in classrooms
• Collaborate with colleagues to share what they have learned
• Share feedback with us on the effectiveness of our programming and areas for improvement