February is Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance & Inclusion Month (JDAIM) and OJCS is again excited to celebrate and engage its students in meaningful activities and conversations.
“Inclusion” is not simply an issue to discuss once a year, of course, and as part of our formal discussions of how we would celebrate JDAIM this year, we are pleased that this year’s JDAIM Committee prepared a wealth of ideas and resources to help us continue to take our school’s JDAIM to a new level.
We acknowledge that we are always trying to do better when it comes to issues like “inclusion” but never get all the way there. Because of our school’s personalized learning approach we’d like to say that, sure, “everyone has special needs” but then we focus only on who we presently serve and not who we are-not-yet-able-to and, thus, don’t spend time exploring why. We’d like to say that “every month is about inclusion” but without JDAIM we would miss a critical opportunity each year to reflect, to learn, to grow and to change. We want to acknowledge the daily, weekly, and yearly work that we do to incrementally become better able to meet the needs of current students and to increase the circle of inclusivity. But we also want to use JDAIM each year as a measuring stick and an inspiration – to have our thinking challenged, our minds opened and our hearts stirred. We are blessed to be part of an interconnected Jewish community with partners to lovingly push and support us on our journey.
Here are just a few examples of how we are gearing up to make JDAIM a special month at OJCS…
…this year, the theme for JDAIM 2025 is “Bringing ‘Invisible Disabilities’ into View”. We are challenged to look beyond the surface, to move past assumptions, and to deepen our understanding of those around us. As Pirkei Avot teaches, “Do not look at the container, but at what is inside it” (4:27). We are encouraging our students to approach their peers with kindness and curiosity, recognizing that what is unseen can be just as important as what is visible.
…as we shared with the teachers, “We are tying this theme in connection with one of our 7 Habits – Seek to Understand. We are encouraging being kind and curious of those around us and not judging a book by ‘stereotypical covers’. We are examining how we support all of our students with IEPs, ESL and students with different learning styles and abilities, including students with anxiety, depression and other mental health challenges. We are acknowledging that it is important to speak the same language, and provide the support our students need so everyone feels welcome and included.”
…the JDAIM Committee rolled out a set of “choice boards” for both Lower & Middle Schools, that includes a wealth of “challenges” for students and classes that focus on empathy, kindness, curiosity, and the power of words.
…Brigitte Ruel, our Librarian, has a post on “JDAIM Storytime”.
…Dina Medicoff, our Art Teacher, has a variety of JDAIM-themed art projects.
Classroom blogs and student blogfolios will be a great place to find examples of how OJCS lives JDAIM this year.
It bears mentioning that our ability to meet existing needs is supported thanks to generous supplemental grants from Federation that provide flexible furniture, assistive technology, and diagnostic software to benefit learners of all kind.
This Jewish Disability Awareness & Inclusion Month, let us be reminded that “Beloved is humanity, for they were created in the image of God” (Pirkei Avot 3:14). To truly embrace this belief means committing to a lens of inclusivity—not just when it is easy or convenient, but as a fundamental obligation. The work of becoming more inclusive has no beginning and no ending. It is both a process and a journey, one that OJCS has proudly been on for a while and one that we intend to keep walking with our community into the future.
Ken y’hi ratzon.
