JEWELS SCHOOL INC
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Mission Statement
JEWELS is a school for children special needs that was founded in 2012. JEWELS addresses a vital need in Baltimore. This Jewel enables families of children with special needs to keep their children in our community. JEWELS is surpassing all expectations with its high level of professionalism and service. The love, dedication, and expert skills given over by the JEWELS staff to their students is beyond compare. With the mix of typically developing children and children with special needs, JEWELS works hard to meet all the needs of the 34 students. JEWELS is a school that incorporates a balance of special instruction, therapeutic intervention, social opportunities, and all with lots of love Therapists and specialists along with a high ratio of teachers to students come with a hefty price tag. JEWELS cannot help the community’s special needs children without community support. Join the crowds of strong supporters and donate generously.
About This Cause
The Baltimore Jewish community has excellent private schools in which children are given the opportunity to be educated in a warm and nurturing environment. However, until three years ago, local children with more severe special needs had to attend public school in order to receive appropriate education and therapeutic services. In September 2012, several individuals who understood this urgent communal need formed a Board of Directors, chartered a mission, and founded JEWELS Inclusive Preschool and Therapy Center (JEWELS, Jewish Education Where Every Level Succeeds). JEWELS’ mission is to provide a Jewish education to children of all abilities with an emphasis on the integration and custom-tailored learning experience for children with or without special needs, JEWELS offers an equal opportunity to all children, regardless of their ability level. Children will receive the most beneficial academic, social, and life skills necessary for future success. JEWELS is an inclusive school that educates special needs children alongside typically-developing peers. Its mission is to equip children with the skills to achieve their full potential through special education, rehabilitation, and loving support, all in a Jewish setting. JEWELS is committed to accommodate a broad spectrum of special needs, thus benefitting the greatest number of Jewish children with special needs. The JEWELS program provides a strong academic program and pediatric therapy center, enabling children with developmental disabilities and/or developmental delays to have all their educational and therapy needs met in one location. JEWELS imparts to its students the academic, social, and life skills necessary for future success. This is achieved through small class size and custom-tailored curriculum with typically developing peer models. The cost of educating a special needs child is typically three times higher than the cost of a standard education. Although JEWELS’ operating expenses reflect the high cost of special needs education, JEWELS tuition needs to remain at a level comparable to that of Baltimore’s typical Jewish day schools. Increasing JEWELS’ tuition to match costs will force parents of special needs children to consider instead the free education services of a public school, would ultimately deprive these children of a Jewish education. In addition, the presence of typically-developing peers in JEWELS is crucial to the quality and success of the school (see below). To attract these peers, their tuition must be comparable to that of the community’s other preschool programs. Parents of typically developing children appreciate the inclusive model of the preschool and seek its quality of education and care, but it must remain affordable. JEWELS’ monthly operating expenses include salaries, rent, general maintenance, supplies, equipment maintenance, insurance and liability. Tuition covers only one third of these monthly expenses. JEWELS is supported by community members’ contributions, foundation grants, donations of equipment, and volunteers who give of their time to assist in the classrooms and manage the facilities. The inclusion model provides children with special needs optimal learning opportunities by involving them in the everyday activities of their typically-developing peers in a minimally restrictive environment. Typically-developing children benefit from highly qualified special educators teachers and on-site therapists who advise and enrich the overall classroom atmosphere. In addition to the rich learning environment, the typically-developing children also understand and accept other children’s differences, which impacts positively on their own future social relationships. In addition, they will be more accepting of differences as this attitude will be embedded within them from their youth and ultimately they may be more predisposed in the future to hire people with disabilities. As JEWELS grows the inclusive model will develop by using inclusion and reverse inclusion (Bringing typical children into self-contained classrooms.) with a partnership within our Jewish day schools. JEWELS aims for 60% typically-developing students and 40% special needs students in each class. This academic year (2014-2015), JEWELS consists of three classes with a total of 32 children, ranging in age from 2 to 6 years. Each classroom has a special educator and two or more trained assistants, ensuring a low student-to-teacher ratio of 3:1. JEWELS is currently helping children with a wide range of disabilities, cognitive, physical, developmental, sensory, and feeding issues. Some specific disorders that we are currently servicing include Down Syndrome, Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy, Micro Cephalic, Selective Mutism, Morning Glory Syndrome, Keratitis Ichthyosis Deafness Syndrome, and children with other global developmental delays secondary to premature birth, congenital heart defect, history of seizures, Failure to Thrive, and a blind child with Septooptic Dysplacia and Hyperpetuitarism. Classroom teachers for children ages 2 to 7 are certified special educators with Masters degrees and experience in preschool special education. This assessment is used to develop classroom goals for social, social-communication, cognitive, adaptive, and pre-academic skills. A Personalized Learning Plan (PLP) is written for each student with special needs. This is a comprehensive plan compiled by the child’s teacher and therapists which includes long and short term goals. Each therapist completes an assessment in their individual domain and create appropriate goals to include in the PLP. The child’s parents meet with the child’s classroom teacher, therapists, and preschool coordinator and discuss the PLP. This meeting enables all team members to work cooperatively, to highlight individual needs, and to bring a high level of professionalism that is emblematic of the dedication of JEWELS staff members for each of the school’s students. Each student’s goals (educational, social, motor) are incorporated into the general learning unit and targeted during activities, lessons, and therapy sessions. JEWELS’ Pediatric Therapy Clinic provides occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, and social skills training to eligible students. Highly-qualified pediatric therapists work cooperatively with JEWELS preschool staff to incorporate each child’s goals into their daily routines. Each class member, both typically-developing and special needs, receives weekly group therapy sessions from certified therapists across the four major developmental domains (speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and social skills). There is constant communication among teachers, therapists, and parents, including daily notes detailing what the child learned, progress towards goals, and the events and activities in which the child participated. Students also benefit from a range of supplemental enrichment activities, including music, gymnastics, cooking, and art. In addition to academic needs, JEWELS nurtures the physical and emotional well-being of each child by establishing healthy eating, napping, and potty-training routines. JEWELS is currently working toward becoming accredited through the Maryland State Department of Education. Such accreditation will reflect the high quality of its early childhood program. JEWELS will then apply for membership in the Maryland Association of Nonpublic Special Education Facilities (MANSEF) network. Once accreditation is achieved, JEWELS anticipates being considered by the IEP board as a private placement option for special needs children in the Jewish community. Internal assessments of progress are done on a constant basis by JEWELS’ teachers and therapists. Many parents report that the growth they have seen since the beginning of the school year has surpassed any other period of growth in the child’s life. The ultimate goal of the JEWELS program is to prepare its students adequately for a regular-education classroom. JEWELS is currently aiming for 50% of its special needs children to be mainstreamed into regular-education community schools with ongoing support systems. JEWELS is the only inclusive preschool program in the Baltimore Jewish community that is equipped to educate children with special needs. The school has grown and advanced substantially in each progressing year. JEWELS’ therapy coordinator, Carin Bea Feldman MS. CCC/SLP, comes to us with 40 years of experience with children of varied diagnosis and needs. She has been here since the creation of the school and is involved in the creation of the school and is involved in the school’s future growth. She supervises all the therapists in speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy and merges these services with the JEWELS academic program. The preschool director, Shuli Bamberger, has over 20 years of experience in education and is a certified reading specialist. An integral component of JEWELS is its passionate and concerned Board of Directors. These seven individuals are highly respected community members with far reaching vision and have successfully built other organizations in the Baltimore Jewish Community. They are capable of helping JEWELS continue to make progress. Some of these members are parents of children with special needs, while others are passionate about filling the need in the community because of close relatives who needed such an organization in the past. The Board of Directors meets regularly with the JEWELS coordinators to reviews goals and objectives and has taken a large portion of the fundraising responsibility. JEWELS students benefit from Cheder Chabad’s open classrooms with additional mainstream opportunities. Our goal is to allow each child with special needs to benefit from the least restrictive environment in conjunction with top-notch special education. It is the belief of the Board of Directors and staff of JEWELS that every Jewish Child deserves the opportunity for a Jewish Education. We work each and every day to achieve that ideal.