Regarding Jewish Theological Seminary Chancellor Arnold Eisen’s essay, “Let’s Drink A L’Chaim To Conservative Judaism” (Opinion, Nov. 29): As the mother of a child who is both gifted intellectually and blessed with special needs, I find a dual need in the area of Jewish special education. My son, now age 12, wanted to go to Solomon Schechter Day School (SSDS). He has a proclivity for languages, but we were disappointed to learn that there were no programs in place for students with special needs — a double loss, since our school district was willing to assist with tuition, since it, too, lacked a special needs program for a genius who is also developmentally delayed.
As we look to create, sustain, and nurture Jewish experiences, communities, and firm up our connections, let’s look to solving problems on a bigger collaborative scale so we can help our institutions help our children live and learn Jewishly. Within months my son will be revisiting day school placement and there is still no SSDS to serve his needs. He hopes to be a rabbi or cantor.
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