Support at Temple Solel
The Diverse Needs of Our Community
At Temple Solel, we endeavor to co-create an interdependent community in which all feel valued and cherished. With all variations of individual challenges and unique needs, we strive to foster the opportunity to access our many offerings. This philosophy extends across all our programs, including religious education, early childhood center, family events, social gatherings, camps, and any other engagements. We commit to transparency and partnership.
Our approach centers around collaboration and open communication.
Our Philosophy
Our philosophy is grounded in the understanding that every individual brings unique gifts to our temple. In considering our procedures, we prioritize:
- Flexibility: Strive for Temple Solel to be a place in which individuals with diverse needs are respected and able to participate.
- Belonging: Envision opportunities for meaningful engagement in spirituality, education and community.
- Empathy: Promote a culture of compassion and appreciation for differences and variations in human expressions.
- Honesty: Pursue the necessary skills, knowledge, and judgment to effectively support and facilitate a person’s participation and well-being, while being realistic in our scope, resources and capacity.
Our Approach
- Collaboration with Families
We see families as essential partners in understanding and meeting the unique needs of each participant. We require families to engage with us proactively, sharing open and honest information about their child’s needs, challenges, strengths, and how we can best support their participation. This collaborative approach helps us to make appropriate accommodations or, when needed, communicate the limitations of what we can provide, ensuring transparency and alignment in our efforts to support every individual. If parents withhold information – or decline to engage energetically in the process – we will be unable to support children appropriately.
We recognize that needs may evolve over time, and we are committed to growing with you. We will maintain an open line of communication with families throughout the year, adjusting our approach as needed. We want families to feel comfortable and connected when reaching out to us.
- Adaptability of Programs
We are committed to the aspiration of being an inclusive community and yet we recognize that we are unable to offer specialized programs for every need. We have structured our religious education, camps, and other programs to allow for many types of accommodations. We actively seek to work collaboratively with families to adapt our offerings – when feasible – to better serve the individuals in our community. - Resources & Best Practices
Our staff commits to seeking input from those with expertise in updated resourcing and best practices. We are always open to adaptation and evolution of our understanding to evolve with changing learnings and approaches. - Building Community Awareness
Our community is very dimensional and quite varied. We are here to do the hard work – to iterate a true community of diversity. This is not always a smooth or easy process; we call upon one another to stay patient and curious throughout. We need one another.
Process for Involvement
With the intention to magnify possibilities for all, we have a process for identifying and addressing the needs of participants. This process includes:
Pre-Program Communication
Before any program (whether religious education, ECC, camps, or youth group events), we ask parents to fill in our enrollment form completely and have a conversation with our staff to share any information about their child’s specific needs, challenges, and required accommodations. Full disclosure allows us to provide the appropriate accommodations and make adjustments as necessary to support your child’s participation and well-being. Honest and open communication is essential to ensuring we can create the best possible experience for your child. If your child has a support plan at school (i.e. 504, IEP, Behavior Intervention Plan), please email the plan to the ECC Director, Director of Experiential Learning, or Camp Simcha Director, so we can incorporate strategies to help engage your child. This is essential for effectively planning to support the child.
Ongoing Communication
Families are encouraged to maintain open communication with us throughout their child’s participation in any program or event. If adjustments are needed after a child has begun attending, we are committed to working together to find solutions. This includes check-ins with parents to discuss any emerging needs, as well as feedback from our staff on how adjustments are working and whether further changes are necessary. By maintaining an ongoing dialogue, we can ensure that the child’s needs are being met and evaluate additional modifications for continued success.
Creating a Support Plan
For children with more specific or complex needs, we will work with the family to develop a personalized support plan. This may include the requirement of a one-on-one aide. Please see the Qualified Aide Requirement section below.
Staff Support
Our staff members value the opportunity to be briefed about any special needs, strategies for engagement, and effective forms of support before the start of a program. We will rely on the information provided by families to ensure staff can make appropriate accommodations. While our staff may not be professionally trained in special education, they will be guided to implement basic strategies to support inclusion.
Qualified Aide Requirement
In some cases, a child or individual may require a qualified aide to fully participate in our programs or events. This may be necessary when the child’s needs are more complex, and one-on-one support is required for mobility, communication, behavior management, or personal care. Families are responsible for selecting, financing, and providing the aide, who should be a professional capable of supporting the child’s specific needs. We require families to communicate with us in advance to discuss these requirements. This way, we can resource our staff to strategize with support, and so that we can make the necessary arrangements to ensure the safety and comfort of all participants.
Maintaining a Safe and Supportive Environment for All
If a child’s behavior poses a safety risk to themselves or others, if their needs consistently disrupt the learning or experience of other participants, or if there is a lack of active participation and communication from the parents to address these challenges, Temple Solel reserves the right to deny participation in some or all of our programs. We appreciate families’ understanding that these decisions are made with the utmost care and with the goal of maintaining a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment for all.