Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit and the Alliance for Jewish Education’s Opening the Doors Program and Doors to the Future Program

Federation’s Opening the Doors partnership program is a nationally recognized plan with the goal of “opening the doors of opportunity,” for students with diverse learning and behavioral differences so they may reach their full potential while receiving a quality Jewish education.

Opening the Doors places one special educator, with a master‘s degree, in each day school. The special educator provides supplemental educational support through one-on-one instruction, classroom strategies and special accommodations. Opening the Doors, which has increased its student services 300 percent since 1995, is available at no extra cost to parents.

An adjunct program of Opening the Doors, designed for pre-school children, is known as Doors to the Future. This program provides individualized, short-term intervention in an effort to reduce behavioral, social and learning challenges. Para-educators, who are trained, placed and supervised by the Opening the Doors coordinator, help students function more successfully in the classroom.

The Opening the Doors program brings together Detroit’s community of educators, parents and professionals through many educational opportunities. Activities including our on-site workshops, annual Day School Conference sponsored by Kaufman Children’s Center, Anita Naftaly Family Circle Conference, and Jewish Disabilities Awareness Month community programming all foster a collaborative effort in educating Jewish children. These programs provide awareness, and cutting-edge innovative and practical strategies that may be implemented at home and in the classroom.