I am proud to work at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School (CESJDS), a Jewish community school that philosophically and financially prioritizes inclusion and strives to include students with a wide range of diverse learning and social-emotional needs.

Lower School students study Middot (Jewish values) that align with our commitment to inclusion. Kedushah v’Anavah (“holiness and humility”) emphasizes that all people are created B’tzelem Elohim (“in the image of G-d”) and helps our students acknowledge each person’s special, holy spark.

Through Student Led Learning Conferences, students learn to recognize and take pride in their many sparks, acknowledge their areas for growth, and celebrate differences within their classrooms. We ground our classrooms and school in respect and courtesy, and prioritize a welcoming environment, which aligns with our Middah of respect and courtesy: Kavod v’Derekh Eretz.

CESJDS strives to ensure that each student receives the support and resources they require for success. Our students understand that while most support resources are available to every student, not everyone needs the same support. Everyone gets what they need to fully belong in their classroom community.

Here are some examples:

• Learning specialists and counselors know each student in the grade and are an integral part of each grade-level team.
• Classrooms are equipped with flexible seating, fidgets, and other tools accessible by all students. • All students can use our guidance lounge for breaks and to reset when needed.
• Students don’t blink an eye if a classmate leaves their classroom to work with a private speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, or psychologist.
• Now in its third year, our Sulam@JDS program continues to expand support services so that our school community can include students with a wider range of learning and social-emotional disabilities.

At the same time, we recognize that we are unable to support all students who apply, and there are a small number of students who leave our school because our services are not extensive enough to meet their needs. We recognize that decisions like these sometimes cause families to feel that they are unwelcome in our school community and the Jewish community. These decisions are also painful for us; we provide professional development to our faculty and we increase the tools that we are able to provide so that we can open our doors wider each year.