Academics

Student Support & Enrichment

“Every block of stone has a statue in it and it is the task of the sculptor is to discover it.” - Michelangelo

Every child is a unique learner who develops at his or her own pace. The goal of our support model is to understand each student as a learner, and help him or her thrive. Whether the need is enrichment or intervention, we use continuous assessment of students’ progress toward their learning goals, in the classroom, so that we can address needs as soon as they arise.

The Director of Student Services oversees the coordination of support services across the academic and social-emotional domains. We are fortunate to have learning specialists in each community who consult with teachers on differentiation, remediation, accommodations, and enrichment, and who also provide direct service to students. At Hillel, we use a variety of support strategies, including helping students both within and out of the classroom, depending on a student's individual needs. We also have a school-wide support program where teachers are scheduled to assist in other teachers’ classrooms. Many times, you can find three teachers supporting one classroom! A similar model is used in our Judaic studies classes, with a learning specialist responsible for Hebrew language support.

Social workers on staff address the social-emotional and behavioral needs of our students. We work hard to be proactive and teach pro-social skills. Positive behavior support is accomplished through school-wide initiatives, whole class lessons, small group intervention, and individual support. Direct, regular support is also provided when children require more specialized instruction in social-emotional skills. Through all of these services, along with our tremendous curriculum and teaching staff, our students learn to become mensches who are passionate, responsible, engaged, and innovative Jewish young people.

Thanks to a generous grant from the Jewish Fund, Hillel hired its own Speech and Language Pathologist and Occupational Therapist. While students have always received individualized support from Hillel’s Student Services team and speech through Farmington Public Schools, the additional in-house professionals allow Hillel to now conduct universal screenings on every ECC4 through second-grade student, thereby identifying anyone who would benefit from this important early intervention.