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THE EVALUATION
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All work at Merkaz L’Chinuch HaTorah is individualized, one-on-one. Inquiries from a parent or teacher relating to a specific talmid are met with a thorough screening interview, which determines whether the student is a good candidate for the services of the Merkaz, and provides the evaluator with a solid direction with which to design the evaluation, known as the Limudei Kodesh Profile. The evaluator may briefly interview the parent as well, to clarify the presenting issues, and will also consult with other professionals and teachers involved, if necessary, and will review any previous testing done with that talmid.
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The Limudei Kodesh Profile is comprehensive, seeking out a full picture, an anatomy of the student’s learning skills, with great attention not only to his deficits, but also to discovering his strengths. His learning style and other contributing issues are considered, such as processing or learning disabilities as well as secondary deficits which may have resulted from early reading problems. The source of the talmid’s problem is sought, for that will determine the course of remediation.
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Attention is given to any residual issues resulting from years of struggle: gaps in vocabulary, basic concepts, and motivational and emotional issues, etc., so that the student’s newly acquired skills can be used optimally to achieve his full potential, ultimately learning at the level of his peers.
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THE CONFERENCE
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After the evaluation, the director meets with both parents for an intensive conference, frequently lasting two hours or longer. There is a separate conference with the talmid as well. At the conference, the parents are informed of the detailed results of their son’s evaluation, with demonstrations of the issues illustrated by both test results and tapes of his performance. This step is essential to facilitating the parents’ full understanding and full commitment to the need for and direction of the remediation. But the conference is essential for another reason: the parents’ input is invaluable. Relevant details of the talmid’s academic and social history that have eluded both interviews and questionnaires are often brought to the table; small bits of information about the child’s nature or history of the family are revealed which may have a major impact on the focus and course of remediation. Issues of classroom and yeshiva placement are often discussed; other options are explored and the goals and framework of remediation are hammered out.
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CONSULTATIONS
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Rabbi Elkins is available for consultations with parents and mechanchim for in-depth advice and guidance, both for Talmidim who have been evaluated by the Merkaz as well as for those who have not.
COUNSELING
Often mesivfta and Bar Mitzvah age talmidim who have learning issues benefit from counseling in how to capitalize upon their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses, whether in their shiur or chevrusah learning. Some boys need guidance in overcoming the emotional frustration and discouragement that often accompany learning disabilities or a lack of success in yeshiva. Often these counseling sessions will be incorporated into a remedial program; at other times they will be separate. When more in-depth therapy or counseling is required, Rabbi Elkins will refer the talmid to appropriate professionals with proper Torah hashkofos.
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