Dear Parents,

I was recently asked why a seemingly inordinate number of Hillel's students are referred for educational testing. The question, posed by a member of our Board of Directors, possibly represents a concern that many of our parents may have. There may be some misconception within our school community about what constitutes a learning disability, the frequency with which they occur in the general population as compared to how often they occur at Hillel Day School and how the school goes about addressing the needs of students with perceived learning problems.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) passed by Congress defines the term learning disability as, "A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which disorder may manifest itself in imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write spell, or do mathematical calculations." It is estimated that as many as 15% of the population of students ages 6 - 21 have some type of learning disability. The actual percentage of students identified and receiving services varies greatly from state to state, from a low of 2.3% in Kentucky to a high of 6.7% in Massachusetts . Hillel Day School subscribes to the IDEA definition of learning disabilities. Using this definition, and given Hillel Day School's generally open admission policy which yields a population representative of the general population, it would, therefore, not be unreasonable to expect that with a student population of approximately 420, that, at any given time, as many as 63 Hillel students may face educational challenges. At the moment, the number of students who have been identified as having special needs and are receiving special interventions falls well within the national norm.

The services that these children receive are accessed in a number of ways the primary two being teacher referral or parent referral. When faced with a concern, testing, however, is never the first option. A student manifesting such difficulties is referred to be tested only after a number of other interventions have been tried. The first step is always a meeting between teachers, administration and special services staff to delineate the problem and to develop the appropriate intervention.. The next step is a meeting with parents to get their input and to further refine the intervention. Once the plan is in place the student is carefully monitored, parents are kept updated and regular team meetings take place to monitor progress. If satisfactory progress is not being made, the team devises other strategies. If after all of the interventions the problem persists, the school recommends testing. The fact that a child is recommended for testing does not mean that an actual disability will always be found. Identifying the factors that interfere with learning is an imprecise science. In most cases the testing uncovers a specific learning disability which then gives rise to specific recommendations that allow for a focused approach to overcoming the problem.

It is of critical importance that learning difficulties be identified and dealt with as soon they manifest themselves. Hoping that a problem will go away or waiting for the child to outgrow the problem is a poor strategy that wastes precious time and withholds critical services. Left unaddressed, a learning difficulty that may be relatively easy to address may ultimately yield secondary and tertiary problems in critical areas such as self esteem and behavior. It is for this reason that our Early Childhood Department advocates prompt action when confronted with children who manifest learning or behavioral issues in the classroom. Research clearly shows that the sooner a problem is dealt with, the better are the chances for a satisfactory resolution to the problem.

Teachers, who observe students on a daily basis, are best able to pick up on issues of concern. To help teachers better evaluate students the school makes professional growth opportunities available to our staff. Earlier this year our teachers attended a workshop given by a psychologist who helped them become more sensitive to learning differences and to better understand what constitute issues of concern. The Early Childhood Staff also attended a workshop dealing with speech problems. When we hear the term speech, many of us immediately think of articulation. To be sure, articulation is an important component of speech. Less understood, but equally important, are issues dealing with language. Problems in this area interfere with expression, both oral and written, as well as reading, and intervention in this area, for students manifesting a problem with speech/language, is critical.

Hillel Day School strives to provide every child in the school with an optimal learning experience based on that child's individuals needs. In order to realize this goal, we, together with parents, reach out to resources beyond the scope of what the school can provide. In so doing, we are able to help all of our children realize their full potential.

Levine, Rabbi Samuel J.
Head of School