An Introductory Guide to Supporting Hebrew Learners with Language-Based Learning Disabilities: School Leader Quick Guide

This document is an audience-specific quick guide to a broader document for school leaders. This is a part of a broader document designed to build a common language across the field with which to discuss the challenges students, teachers, schools and families face; and to begin to inform practice.

Over the next few pages, you will find the following:
Glossary of Terms
The glossary of terms provides non-specialists with the key vocabulary necessary to inform discussions about learning, language instruction, and the different dimensions of the challenges students can face when learning to read Hebrew, including those that are different than their reading of English, the first language of most Jewish day school students in North America.

Summary of Descriptive Learnings
While the research sponsored by this initiative continues to advance and more is expected to be learned as the project’s pilots unfold, this section shares some important first learnings that have emerged from bringing together a group of critical academics, educators, practitioners, and other stakeholders to identify key knowledge, knowledge gaps, and new information emerging from current research.

Key FAQs
As this initiative has been introduced to teachers and school administrators, concerned parents, community leaders, and others, a number of common questions have been surfaced that can be answered in a well-researched and thoughtful manner, empowering more policies and practices across the field that are informed by the leading ideas and data-informed research.
 

Stakeholder Supplements
While much of this document is designed to create shared language for all stakeholders, we recognize the need to provide more tailored details and guidance to specific audiences within a school community. These include information for Hebrew teachers, Hebrew leaders (such as department chairs), reading specialists, general school administrators, and parents who help guide the direction and priorities of each school.
 

Over the course of this initiative, additional publications will be distributed such as a more prescriptive field guide, academic research, OpEds and other writings that help shift the narrative to help make the day school space more inclusive and reflective of Jewish commitments to inclusion and effective Jewish education for all.

Visit the Pritzat Derech: Hebrew for All website for more information and to download the entire Introductory Guide: