Gateways: Access to Jewish Education

06/11/2026

Thank you to for your recent highlight of our Hebrew Decoding Program! 💙 Now available for educators in an online, self-paced format, Gateways' innovative, multisensory, accessible framework will be able to reach even more students nationwide.

📖 🔗 Read more:

Now available online, Gateways’ Hebrew Decoding Program brings inclusive Jewish learning to communities around the world.

06/04/2026

🎉 A big Mazel Tov to our graduating Teen Volunteers from Gateways' Accessible Hebrew School! 🎉

We are so proud of all you have accomplished and can’t wait to see what you do in college and beyond.

We were so lucky to celebrate our incredible 2025–2026 Teen Volunteers and honor our graduates at our Teen Volunteer Awards earlier this spring. You all are so important to our Hebrew School community.

We will miss our graduates next year, but we know you are off to do amazing things.💙🥰

Image Descriptions:
Photos from Gateways' Teen Volunteer Awards celebration. Photos showcase Tali Cohen Carrus announcing the student's awards and Jodi Katz handing out and posing with some of the seniors and their graduation gifts.

06/03/2026

This past Monday was Gateways' Annual Meeting! It was a lovely evening celebrating successes and looking into the future. Gateways also got access to an exclusive screening of the short film THIRTEEN.

Thank you to our board (past & present) for all your hard work and support that makes Gateways' programs a possibility. We could not do this without you! 🥰

P.S. Thanks to our board's generosity any gift made until June 30th will be matched, doubling the impact of your gift! Double your impact today https://jgateways.org/giving/ !

Image Descriptions:
1. Outgoing trustee Barbara Posnick smiles and poses with past trustee Jenna Andelman. Posnick holds flowers and a gift.
2. Lisa Hills, Board President speaks at a podium displaying a Gateways banner and in front of a "2026 Annual Meeting" slide.
3. Outgoing trustee Michelle Alkon smiles and poses with past trustee Mary Ann McDonough. She holds flowers and a gift.
4. Past trustee Ellie Shrage speaks at a podium that displays a Gateways banner.
5. Event attendees sit at colorful tables watching the short film "Thirteen."

05/27/2026

Making Hebrew accessible for every learner starts with empowering educators. 💙📖

Recently, around 25 Jewish day school Hebrew teachers from across the Boston area gathered for an inspiring afternoon of learning, collaboration, and strategy-sharing at our “Accessible Hebrew Reading for All” workshop.

This session was a partnership between Gateways and Hebrew at the Center. Experts shared evidence-based approaches designed to support students with language-based learning disabilities, helping ensure that more students can meaningfully access Hebrew learning and Jewish life.

We’re proud to help lead conversations that move inclusion from aspiration to action in Jewish education.



Image descriptions: 8 photos of Jewish day school Hebrew educators attending the session. They are sitting around desks in a school classroom.

1. An educator with long dark hair stands at the front of a classroom pointing to something on the whiteboard. In the background, 6 educators watch the presentation from around a group of desks.
2. Three educators raising their hands to participate in the workshop.
3. An educator attending the session flips through a booklet about the Pritzat Derech: Hebrew for All initiative.
4. An educator in a jean jacket raises her hand to participate in the session.
5. 6 educators around a group of desks smile as they engage in the program.
6. An educator wearing a headscarf and a red shirt looking thoughtful as she watches the presentation.
7. Two educators wearing glasses sitting next to each other. One is smiling warmly and the other rests her chin on her hand thoughtfully.
8. Group shot of the Gateways and Hebrew at the Center teams, showing seven people dressed in business casual attire lined up and smiling for a photo.

05/20/2026

Huge mazal tov to our student Lily on becoming a Bat Mitzvah! 💙✨

We are so proud of all of Lily’s hard word and growth leading up to this special milestone.

“Lily had a wonderful bat mitzvah, and felt so loved and celebrated. We are so grateful for the support of Gateways and Rabbi Samuels, who worked with Lily, helping her craft her speech and rehearse it so she felt confident when it was time to deliver. Gateways is such a beautiful and essential part not only in our family’s life but in the entire Boston community, and we are so grateful for all the Gateways team does!”
— Lily’s Parents

Moments like these are what Gateways is all about: helping every child shine and fully participate in Jewish life. Join us in celebrating Lily in the comments below! 🎉



Image descriptions: Carousel of three photos showing Lily at her bat mitzvah, wearing a red dress. The first and third show her standing at the podium addressing a room of family and friends. The second photo is a close up in profile showing Lily smiling brightly.

05/14/2026

“If they can’t learn Hebrew, they can’t participate.” This was, more or less, the message many Jewish educational programs sent for decades. While we’ve moved past that overt exclusion, a quieter version still exists—where students with learning differences are often discouraged from learning Hebrew.

20 years ago Gateways: Access to Jewish Education pioneered an innovative Hebrew decoding (the ability to translate written words into sounds and spoken language) program resulting in increased Jewish connectedness for 100s of students and families.

We’re excited to announce our new online, self-paced, and affordable format for educators. Even more educators across the country will be able to learn and implement this format with their students! 💻💙

In about 2.5 hours, you’ll gain everything you need to bring this unique system to your students.*

💭 Gain proficiency in our methodology
✏️ Learn how to structure a Hebrew tutoring session, including review, introduction to new letters, blending sounds, and more
📖 Access practice games and reading sheets
🫶 Empower yourself to create an inclusive environment where every student can master Hebrew decoding

Sign up before June 15 for $10 off! 🎉

*Note: to fully implement the Gateways Hebrew Decoding program, educators are expected to purchase the appropriate program materials from Gateways.

05/11/2026

Our Mitzvah Mensches — post B Mitzvah teens focused on social action — are spearheading a Readathon this semester to benefit Up With Books! 📚

As part of their focus on literacy initiatives, the group selected this organization to support. Up with Books runs a summer program providing bags of books to students in low-income households before summer vacation, helping children maintain reading skills over the summer and ensuring access to age-appropriate books at home.

We are so proud of our Gateways students for leading this fundraiser and putting the values of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) into action through learning, leadership, and community service. 🫶🫶

Image Descriptions
1) A Gateways Mitzvah Mensches student and educator sit together at a table reading a book. They both smile as they read.
2) A Gateways Mitzvah Mensches student sits with her teen volunteer at a classroom table. They are reading a book aloud and smiling together.

04/28/2026

Come back give and do some good!

04/17/2026

📣 Now recruiting! Know any Boston-area teens looking for a meaningful community service opportunity? 💙

Teens entering grades 10-12 this fall can volunteer supporting children and teens with disabilities and diverse learning needs at Gateways’ Accessible Hebrew School!

Learn more! Register for a half-hour virtual info session:
🔗https://jgateways.org/programs/teen-volunteers/
📅 Sunday, May 3 | 4:00 PM
📅Thursday, May 7 | 8:00 PM
📅Tuesday, Sept. 15 | 7:00 PM

03/26/2026

Big conversations. Real impact.

In recent weeks, Gateways has been at the forefront of advancing disability inclusion in Jewish day schools—bringing different voices, expertise, and lived experience directly into the conversation.

We were thrilled to be partners in organizing the inaugural Together We Thrive National Conference on Elevating Inclusion in Jewish Day Schools at The Shefa School. Over 100 teachers, learning specialists, and student support leaders came together for two days of learning, collaboration, and inspiration.

We were also proud to partner with Agudath Israel of New England and MA CAPE to convene a community roundtable with Representative Kenneth Gordon, Chair of the Massachusetts House Education Committee. Families, educators, and students shared firsthand experiences navigating special education services and funding in private schools—ensuring policymakers hear directly from those most impacted.

This is how change happens: listening to lived experiences, building partnerships, and shaping more inclusive systems—together.

Image descriptions:
1. Four Gateways staffers wearing conference badges smile for a photo in front of a screen showing their presentation titled, "Consistency Counts: Systems and Supports for All Students."
2. A Gateways staffer stands in front of a room of seated conference attendees giving a presentation on a large screen.
3. CEO Tamar Davis speaking at a podium at the front of a room full of seated people at the community roundtable.
4. A Together We Thrive conference session with a full room of attendees.