We cannot imagine that there is anyone that hasn’t felt certain pangs of trepidation as their children set off for their first days of school. Yet there was also euphoria on the part of many as they sent their children off to the safe environment of their schools with the comforting knowledge that the educators in each school have worked diligently to ensure the safety and comfort of each student to their utmost ability. Once the summer began in earnest, families were able to make choices as to what they thought was best for their children. Many were off to successful day-camp programs and others enjoyed the normalization of attending their usual or different sleepaway camp. All in all it seems as if those choices worked well for practically everyone.
There is one population in our community that has been denied the benefit of returning to school, and in a sense they are the young men and women who need the outlet the most. These are the boys and girls who require the most attention while in school and while living at home. We are speaking of none other than the students within our community who attend the special needs programs in the Teaneck/ Bergenfield public schools. What in the world could the boards of education have been thinking to deem that these children, who are in most cases incapable of Zooming, should have no program at all? To whose benefit was this decision?
With school buildings intentionally closed in the districts of Teaneck and Bergenfield, what would have been wrong with opening several classrooms for those mentioned in this group? No one else in the building and they could not open just a few classrooms? In fact there has to be so much room in each building that they could have opened many classrooms and provided smaller groups if that would have been a safer scenario. We just don’t get it.
Wasn’t it bad enough that many if not most of these students (some being young adults) have had nothing to do since before the summer when this plague began? Where is the humanity in this decision? Are we not to think that the lives of these young people are being considered as not as important as all other students’? There is no such thing as “It couldn’t be done.” Local Jewish schools spent the entire summer working on how to make the most safe environment for their students, and Teaneck and Bergenfield’s schools found it unnecessary to work on this? They certainly had enough time.
As the parents of a child with special needs, we are outraged for every family that continues to suffer through the trauma of this virus by being told that their child is not fit to be educated at this time. Yes, these board of education members should hang their heads in shame.
We do have a solution to this situation. We feel that each parent of a special needs child affected by this ridiculous decision should find the name of just one board of education member. Early in the morning they should ring the doorbell of that person, together with their special needs child, and inform the member that they will be leaving their child with him or her for the day. They should further explain that they will pick their child up at the end of what would be the normal school day.
Let’s see how they would react to meeting and greeting face to face the person whom they denied any type of education or interaction with the outside world. We would be interested to note their communication skills. We would be interested to hear their explanations in front of the beautiful child who would be standing in front of them. Shame on all of them.
What do the members of the board expect the families to do? They so desperately need the respite while their children are at school in order to work, live their lives, do their normal chores and manage households and businesses.
How interesting it is that the private Jewish schools in this area are opening their doors without the government funding that the county schools are receiving. There is something extremely wrong in this situation and we as a community have an obligation to do something about it. It is time for each of us to familiarize ourselves with the names of those who sit on the Teaneck and Bergenfield boards of education and let them know that we as a community are outraged at this decision. It does not matter that the majority of us do not have children with special needs—those children could be ours, and in fact we as a family of Am Yisrael have a responsibility to do so.
Yes, board of education members, you should hang your heads in shame.
Rabbi Mordechai and Nina Glick are living in Bergenfield after many years of service to the Montreal Jewish community. Rabbi Glick was the rav of Congregation Ahavat Yisroel as well as a clinical psychologist in private practice. He also taught at Champlain Regional College. The Glicks were frequent speakers at the OU marriage retreats. Nina coordinated all Yachad activities in Montreal and was a co/founder of Maison Shalom, a group home for young adults with special needs. They can be reached at [email protected].
