When a student has learning differences, navigating the world of day school education can be a real challenge for the child and family. It is also a challenge for schools, as they may not know how to accommodate all students who wish to attend. That’s where REACH: Resources for Educational Achievement, Collaboration, and Health comes in-with a centralized strategy that enables and empowers local Jewish day schools to provide quality, inclusive education for the 4,600 students in our day school community.

Turn back the clock five years. As demand for special services grew throughout the day school system, a number of organizations and professionals came together to address these needs in the Jewish community in a systemic way-and created REACH-to access more services for our children and build the capacity of our schools to serve children who learn differently. A partnership between JUF, the Associated Talmud Torahs of Chicago, and Jewish Child and Family Services, REACH’s collaborative nature allows it to overcome systemic obstacles, and make a deeper impact than individual smaller programs and services have been able to do.

REACH is the first strategic and coordinated effort to address a system-wide need to be more inclusive, building the capacity of the Jewish day schools to teach and care for children with a wide range of needs, so that all children can access a meaningful Jewish education that is reflective of their families’ values. The program uses its shared resources to serve Jewish students of all denominations in the Chicago area day school system, offering a comprehensive model of inclusion for all of the schools, with services for students, families, teachers, and administration:

• Students are connected to affordable diagnostic testing, individual academic counseling, and supportive services including occupational, speech, and language therapy.

• Parents receive personalized consultations on test results, options for their child, and tools for help at home.

• Schools receive support evaluating systemic needs and setting goals to meet those needs, plus access to professional development and training workshops for administrators, teachers, and families.

• REACH is active in multiple community coalitions to better coordinate services and providers working in Chicago’s day schools.

Unique in this community collaboration approach, REACH ensures coordination of students’ mental and physical health services and creates a one-stop program to meet the often overwhelming, confusing, frustrating world of finding out what special services a student requires and how to best meet those needs.

REACH is making a difference: In 2014-15, an estimated total of 2,140 students were impacted based on direct services and work with classroom teachers. The program directly served 16 day schools, 302 students, 192 teachers, and 167 administrators.

With its direct services, consultation, professional development, and community collaboration vision, REACH is reaching the children in need in all of our day schools with their own individual services-and that raises the education level, social inclusion, and community sense for all of our students, according to many day school faculty.

“REACH has been instrumental in providing many services to our school and students,” said one day school principal. “Particularly, REACH has become an integral player in professional development for our educational team. Through the Hidden Sparks program, they have been providing workshops, teacher observation and coaching, and administrative consultations on an ongoing basis. I can say without reservation that our school is a better institution due to the efforts of REACH.”

Interested in learning more? School administrators may contact Julie Gordon, director of REACH at (773) 467-3772 or [email protected] to add or expand REACH services at your school. Parents may contact your school administrator to request REACH services at your school.

Sharon Schwartz is the development specialist of the Associated Talmud Torahs of Chicago.