About Us
 
 
About Us
Sha’arim is an incredibly dynamic non-profit organization that has been successfully empowering schools and Jewish children and young adults with special needs in the Twin Cities since 1999. Effective in providing the educational tools and opportunities for Jewish children with special needs to mainstream and succeed in a variety of supplemental and religious school settings, Sha’arim is constantly upgrading services. In particular, our institution has been especially successful in delivering special needs services to the children of our eight member schools and our self-contained program, Darkaynu, representing over 150 special needs students. These students are positively impacted by our programs on a day to day basis. Today, Sha’arim employs a staff of nearly 20 teachers and professionals and is recognized as a beneficiary agency of the Minneapolis Jewish Federation.
Over the years Sha’arim has worked extensively to educate and collaborate with the Jewish supplemental and day schools in the area of special needs education. Our institution’s success can be attributed to our commitment to the students and schools we serve – never willing to turn away students or schools who have sincerely needed and requested our help. As the Minneapolis Jewish Federation’s designated “Centralized Agency for Jewish Children with Special Needs,” Sha’arim has significantly expanded its mission and responsibilities since its inception and start up eleven years ago, most recently with the addition of the Darkaynu program. The unique nature of Sha’arim’s programs and the quality of services provided to our local Jewish schools is unparalleled in the community.  
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Our Mission
As the only service of its kind in Minnesota, Sha’arim is committed to providing an opportunity for every Jewish child with special needs to:
  1. •Receive a Jewish education;
  2. •Experience inclusion as a vital and active participant in the classroom;
  3. •Socialize and be part of his/her peer group; and
  4. •Participate in a rich and meaningful life within the Jewish community.
Our Member Schools
As the Central Agency for Jewish children with special needs, we service students at our member schools:
BAIS YAAKOV HIGH SCHOOL
BET SHALOM
LUBAVITCH CHEDER DAY SCHOOL
SHIR TIKVAH
TALMUD TORAH OF MINNEAPOLIS
TALMUD TORAH OF ST. PAUL
TEMPLE ISRAEL
TORAH ACADEMY
as well as provide referral and support services to parents of Jewish children from throughout the Twin Cities.