By Rabbi Noson Berman
P’TACH recently held a parent information meeting for the Queens community hosted by Meir and Rina Shachar. The meeting was the second this year in the greater New York area following the Brooklyn parent meeting hosted in Yeshiva Tiferes Yisroel. Rabbi Avi Kramer, co-Director of Institutional Advancement, welcomed everyone and spoke about the importance of parents knowing the available educational resources for their children. He then introduced a mother of one of this year’s graduates.
Rabbi Avi Kramer co-Director of Institutional Advancement addressing the meeting
The mother spoke about her child before P’TACH and how he was miserable and his self-esteem was at an all-time low. She was afraid she wouldn’t see the day he would graduate let alone be a productive part of society. After sending him to P’TACH, she immediately saw a change – first with the school and, after some adjustment and hard work – with her son. The P’TACH staff was there to work with her and she felt an equal part of the team working to help her son succeed. She stopped being fearful every time the phone rang and actually looked forward to calls from the school. He blossomed into a self-confident teenager with knowledge of his strengths and he discovered different skills that he was unaware that he had. He began to succeed. The transformation was miraculous and only because she took the steps necessary to put her son in the appropriate educational setting.
Mrs. Jackie Welkowitz, Program Coordinator in Queens addressing the parents
The P’TACH video was shown describing the programs and services P’TACH has to offer, Everyone walked out of the evening with a feeling that P’TACH is a place to turn to when you are concerned with your child’s progress in school. P’TACH is a community resource that has been serving the Jewish community for 35 years while keeping abreast with the latest developments and techniques in the field of Special Education. If we take the right steps and make the appropriate decisions we will be on the right track to helping our children succeed!
P’TACH is planning more parent information meetings. For more information about these meetings and to find out more about P’TACH’s programs and services call 718-854-8600 ext.120 or visit us at www.ptach.org.
