PJA meets Cahana triplets' diverse needs

Your campaign gift at work

By Amy R. Kaufman

article created on:

When Rabbi Michael and Cantor Ida Rae Cahana of Congregation Beth Israel came to Portland from New York in July 2006, they enrolled their four children in Portland Jewish Academy.

As they explored Portland for the first time, Ida Rae said they were “very happy” to find PJA.

“Here was a community day school that was egalitarian, where we could feel comfortable sending our children, where their Jewish values would be enhanced and it would be nurturing place for them entering this new community,” she said.
   
The triplets, Liora, Idit and Sarit, are now in fourth grade at PJA. David, who graduated last year, attends Thomas A. Edison High School.

   
“What I appreciated was there was a very one-to-one personal community, and the staff is very open to the specific needs of each student and each family,” said Ida Rae.
   
She described several ways in which the teachers have accommodated the individual needs of her children.
   
“Sarit is a cancer survivor, and she wears … hearing aids in both ears, so the teachers and all the specialists help us by wearing an FM remote transmitter, so she’s able to hear them much more clearly,” said Ida Rae.
   
“They’ve also allowed us the opportunity to explain to the class some of the differences in kids who are challenged with hearing and speech, and how the hearing aids work … so also she’s not stigmatized by feeling different.”
   
In addition, she said David found “one extraordinary teacher who could really understand him and his different kind of learning style and really encouraged him.”
   
At PJA, students engage in daily blessings of thanksgiving, celebrate Jewish holidays and practice Jewish traditions. All the students study Hebrew.
   
Rabbi Cahana said, “The children come home singing Hebrew songs and seem to have a real understanding of Jewish rhythms of the calendar, the holidays coming up. It’s made our Passover seders more enjoyable, because they can really participate.”
   
According to PJA’s statement of foundational values, “Students are taught to treat themselves and all people with human dignity.”
   
“They’re always teaching kids how to remember to respect each other, how to listen to each other and not to be mean to each other,” said Ida Rae, who also appreciates “the kind of respect that’s maintained in the classroom.”
   
According to its mission statement, PJA is “an academically excellent environment in which children thrive,” a school that “nurtures and inspires positive Jewish engagement, respect for human and religious differences, and responsibility for the world.”
   
Located on the Mittleman Jewish Community Center campus, the independent Jewish community day school encompasses Transitional Kindergarten through eighth grade. PJA also offers infant-toddler, preschool and after-school programs.
   
The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland allocated $288,122 to PJA for fiscal year 2007-08. The funds help provide financial aid to 35 percent of PJA families, according to Patricia Schwartz, interim head of school.
   
As an example of PJA’s integrative approach, Ida Rae praised PJA’s use of the arts to deepen children’s understanding of academic subjects.
   
She said while her children were studying the bridges of Portland, each created a scale model of one of the bridges. She said the models are so beautiful that they won’t be parting with them, though some are four feet long.
   
She said she thought eighth-grade science last year “was pretty amazing.” As David was studying the physics of toys, “he was explaining terminal velocity using parachute men,” she said. “It was such a wonderful, creative way to teach.”
   
Ida Rae remarked that young children are encouraged to give oral reports on people they admire.
   
“They had to actually dress up as the person they chose … and give a report. I think they’re really helping the kids to develop the ability to stand up and speak their thoughts and take some kind of position,” she said.
   
She said PJA maintains “a nice balance” among the students of different backgrounds and levels of observance.
   
“I like that they’re given the option of covering their heads or not, so it teaches them to be respectful and understanding of different Jewish traditions,” she said.
   
“They’re getting a very good grounding in Jewish studies as well as a strong secular education,” said Rabbi Cahana.