Hebrew Academy for Special Children

Hebrew Academy for Special Children

Hebrew Academy For Special Children (HASC) is a Jewish non-profit agency in New York City, United States, providing a wide range of supportive services to children with special needs. The organization is best known for its summer camps and its annual A Time for Music benefit concert.

History

The HASC (Hebrew Academy For Special Children) Programs were established in 1963 by Rabbi Max and Blanche Kahn[1] to provide educational and clinical services to individuals from infancy through adulthood who exhibit developmental delays.[2] HASC is currently directed by Samuel Kahn.

Services

HASC's services are geared toward infants[3] and children with speech, learning, or motor limitations and also children who have behavioral difficulties. There are currently 6 locations in the New York region serving over 1,000 children. In addition HASC provides activities for young adults. These programs include summer camps and assisted living apartments throughout the New York city area.[4]

A school is located in Woodmere, New York with a student body of approximately 890 students.[5]

The annual summer camp serves over 300 mentally and physically handicapped students.

Programs are divided by approximate age ranges:

A Time for Music

HASC is well known for its annual A Time for Music benefit concert.[6] These concerts have been held for the last 2 decades in venues such as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden. The concert is viewed as a major event within the New York Jewish community. In the past it has attracted contemporary Jewish stars like Mordechai Ben David, Avraham Fried, Yaakov Shwekey and Matisyahu.[7][8]

Nurses at HASC

HASC also provides experience for new nurses just out of nursing school. For 7 weeks in the summer newly qualified nurses are part of a team looking after 300 campers with special needs. A challenging part of their job experience for the new nurses is devising clever ways to encourage the campers to take their medications.[9]

In the news

The school found itself in the news in 1998 when it named a building after Senator Alfonse D'Amato and the senator used derogatory terms about some of his political opponents in his acceptance speech.[10]

The agency received a $430,000 federal grant in 2001 to establish a national service center for the disabled.[11]

External links

References

  1. ↑ The HASC website
  2. ↑ New York Times, March 25, 1973
  3. ↑ New York Times, November 16, 1983
  4. ↑ "Programs at HASC - HASC website". Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  5. ↑ "Private School Review - HASC". Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  6. ↑ New York Times, January 28, 1996
  7. ↑ Nachum Segal, http://www.nachumsegal.com/. "HASC, A Time For Music At Carnegie Hall Dec 29, 2005". Nachumsegal.com. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
  8. ↑ Jerusalem Post article on A Time for Music concert
  9. ↑ http://www.hasc.net/images/advance_nurses.pdf
  10. ↑ New York Times, October 23, 1998
  11. ↑ Newsday, January 7, 2001
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