Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) is a unified effort among Jewish organizations worldwide to raise awareness and foster inclusion of people with disabilities and those who love them. The Morton E. Ruderman Inclusion Scholarship Fund was established in 2015 to help make Jewish day schools more accessible and affordable for children with disabilities.

Gateways: Access to Jewish Education works to ensure that children with disabilities and learning differences throughout the Metro Boston region can access a high-quality Jewish education. Through The Morton E. Ruderman Inclusion Scholarship Fund and working in concert with CJP and the Ruderman Family Foundation, Gateways provides ancillary services to day-school students.

These ancillary services include occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, literacy support, math support, behavioral support and executive function support. Over the last three-and-a-half years, The Morton E. Ruderman Inclusion Scholarship Fund has made it possible for Gateways to serve hundreds of students, enabling them to successfully participate in Jewish day-school education throughout the Metro Boston region.

The Legacy of Morton E. Ruderman

Jewish day schools in the Greater Boston Jewish community are more accessible and affordable for children with disabilities thanks to the philanthropy and leadership of Morton E. Ruderman, also known as Mort. His greatest concern was the existence of fairness and equal opportunity for all within the community. The Ruderman Family Foundation’s work to ensure the inclusion of people with disabilities has at its core Mort’s passionate belief that their exclusion and absence from Jewish life is fundamentally unfair.

Rebecca Lurie

With the support of the Morton E. Ruderman Inclusion Scholarship, Rebecca Lurie, head of school at Solomon Schechter Day School, is inspired to make her school inclusive for all learners. Watch her thoughts here.

Related

Kahn Family

The Morton E. Ruderman Inclusion Scholarship is opening the doors to Jewish day schools for many families whose children need extra support. We spoke with Elana Kahn, a Maimonides School parent, whose children are benefitting from this opportunity. Watch Elana discuss the impact this scholarship has had on her children.

Jared Matas

Students thrive when they feel they’re part of the classroom and part of their school community. That’s when learning happens. And that’s why the Morton E. Ruderman Inclusion Scholarship​ was established—to make Jewish day schools more inclusive, accessible and affordable for children with disabilities.

In this video, Jared Matas, director of STEM education at Jewish Community Day School (JCDS), discusses the importance of celebrating the unique talents of every student in the classroom.

Rashi School Students

Watch as Rashi School students explain the importance of creating an inclusive and welcoming learning environment—one where their classmates can add their unique voices to the conversation.