“I have to tell you that the transformation in [Students A and B] has been dramatic…. I can tell you that whatever happened [at JCFS] has made an enormous difference in their lives. The boys are functioning extremely well here and, although I didn’t know [Student A] before, people here have said that he is like a different child. I can 100% say that I never would have anticipated how much change [Student B] would have made in such a short amount of time. He is doing so well and was even described as a “Rockstar” at our recent… Shabbaton.” – A note appreciation from an educator at an ATT school
What happens when a Jewish student faces emotional or behavioral challenges at school? A family may decide to schedule a psycho-educational evaluation. If the evaluation suggests that therapeutic education services might help the child, there is a unique Jewish school in Chicago that can help: the Jewish Child & Family Services Yeshiva.The JCFS Yeshiva, directed by Rabbi David M. Rosenberg, serves children from traditionally observant Jewish homes with a range of emotional special education classifications, including Emotional Disability, Learning Disability, and ADHD-type problems. The Yeshiva is housed at the Joy Faith Knapp Children’s Center of Jewish Child & Family Services, located at the corner of Pratt and Kedzie in West Rogers Park. The Yeshiva is committed to creating opportunities for students’ academic, social-emotional, and Jewish success. It seeks a day when all Jewish students with emotional or behavioral disabilities will be able to reintegrate to a mainstream school environment.As part of the famous JCFS Therapeutic Day School (TDS), the JCFS Yeshiva benefits from a wide range of clinical and educational resources. A student to staff ratio of about 1.5 to 1 allows for a highly individualized program. Teachers and clinicians are credentialed to serve students with special needs. Jewish studies are provided by rabbis on the Yeshiva faculty or by educators who are kindly made available by REACH. A child’s therapeutic team includes the student, family, school professionals, and other educational and clinical professionals as appropriate. The Yeshiva works closely with students’ families and with Associated Talmud Torahs, REACH, day school principals and professionals, the staff of Virginia Frank Child Development Center, JCFS clinicians, and others.The JCFS Yeshiva establishes therapeutic goals for each student, supports each student’s progress toward meeting those goals, and monitors each child’s progress. When progress shows that a child is ready to return to a mainstream school or to increase his time there, the Yeshiva works actively to support such reintegration.The Yeshiva classrooms can currently accommodate students in grades 2-6 (boys and girls) and 8-12 (boys only). Students participate for the full day or in a partnership program in which their school day is divided between the JCFS Yeshiva and a mainstream Jewish school. Occasionally (as in the case of older girls or students who are too young or too old), Orthodox students are assigned to non-Yeshiva classrooms as indicated; Yeshiva services are offered as appropriate.A school program that includes social work, occupational therapy and speech language services, and a range of academic, transition, and vocational services requires a significant investment of financial resources. In the case of students who are referred to JCFS by the public schools, those funds are provided in full by the public school district. For private students, a portion of the cost of education is borne by the family with additional, much-appreciated support from the Kehillah Jewish Education Fund and the Jewish Day School Guaranty Trust Fund in partnership with the Jewish United Fund. Occasionally, a private philanthropy helps cover the cost of individual tuition. The remainder of costs is covered by Jewish Child & Family Services.The JCFS Yeshiva is proud of its work on behalf of Jewish students with emotional or behavioral disabilities. We celebrate our students’ accomplishments at school and look forward to their continued success upon reintegration or graduation. We are pleased to consult with many families and educators in considering the best educational program for a child encountering emotional or behavioral challenges, in order to help each child receive educational services that will foster his or her success.For more information about the JCFS Yeshiva, please call 855-275-5237 or write to davidrosenberg@jcfs.org. You may also visit http://jcfsschool.org/services/yeshiva-program/.