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My SINAI Journey:

A Parent's Story

by Sam Fishman

I grew up in a world where there were no children with special needs.
There were stupid kids. Weird kids. Problem kids.
But kids with learning disabilities or autism? We never heard of that. Today, I am privileged to serve as SINAI’s Managing Director. I first
Kids who couldn’t keep up were sent to sit in the back of the became involved in SINAI’s leadership as a volunteer, some 30 years
classroom. They were teased, ridiculed and bullied. Occasionally they ago. I chaired the Financial Aid Committee for many years, which
were even smacked around by their teacher. some people thought was the worst job in the world. But I felt that it
was, perhaps, the most important job…because of a single
This was the world of Jewish education that I remember from experience that I had when I was a child.
Brooklyn in the 1960s.
My parents were very devoted to providing a Jewish education for all
Communally, kids who were visibly different were swept under the four of their children. However, my parents had limited financial means.
rug. Hidden away. Often sent away. It was extremely rare to see I will never forget the day, when I was in 6th grade, that the school
anyone with Down’s Syndrome. secretary came into my classroom and asked me to come with her. She
So I was woefully unprepared, as a young father in my 20s, when I asked me to sit outside her office and wait, until my mother could
was told that my first child was not developing “normally”; that he come to pick me up. “But what did I do?” The answer was that my
may have learning disabilities; that he may even be on the autism parents had fallen behind on their tuition payments. I was mortified.
spectrum; and that the yeshiva that we had our hearts set on could All the glances from passing kids, the teasing. I was also mortified for
not educate him. my mother, who had to face me when she arrived to pick me up. I don’t
remember what she said, but I do remember her tears.
I was scared. I was ashamed. Above all else, I was ignorant.
So not only do I understand the value and importance of a SINAI
It was serendipitous that Rabbi Wallace Greene was a member of the education, but I also carry in my heart what it is like to need something
shul that I joined when I moved to Fair Lawn, NJ in 1984. Rabbi for your child that you can’t afford. I have tried to instill in other
Greene was the Principal of the Hebrew Youth Academy (now Joseph members of SINAI’s Financial Aid Committee, and in my staff, the
Kushner Hebrew Academy). After shul one Shabbos, Rabbi Greene sacredness of our responsibility. We must try to find a way to make
told me that he thought the “mechina” program, which had been things work financially for every parent whose child needs us. We must
established at HYA just 3 years earlier, would be perfect for our son. treat all parents with respect and compassion—and with gratitude for
allowing us to help their children. We must respond promptly, so that
parents who already face so many pressures do not lose sleep worrying
about whether their children will get the help they need.
Thank God, we live in a very different world than the one in which I
grew up. Jewish education has come such a long way in accepting and
helping children with differences. Jewish communities are much more
accepting and inclusive of individuals with disabilities. I am proud of
the role that SINAI has played in helping bring about these changes. I
am proud of all that SINAI has done over the last four decades, to help
change the lives of thousands of students and families.
And most of all, I am proud of the man that my SINAI child has
become.

Sam's son in his SINAI classroom
In September 1986, my son was enrolled in the fourth class of that
fledgling program—which, today, is known as SINAI Schools.
Our son’s eight years at SINAI were life changing. For him, and for me.
If you had told me 35 years ago that my little boy, who would not
make eye contact or even take off his coat in class, would eventually
go to college; would get a master’s degree in special education;
would teach a public school class that, in many ways, resembles his
7th grade SINAI class; and would get married and have his own
daughter, I never would have believed you. Sam and his son today
If you had told me 35 years ago that the little, experimental mechina Sam Fishman is the Managing Director of SINAI Schools, a position he has held for over
program would grow and flourish into eight state-of-the-art, leading 15 years. He heads the SINAI Business Office, and oversees the business, financial,
special education schools that are sought after and admired by fundraising, communications and other non-educational aspects of SINAI Schools. The
educators and parents throughout the United States and beyond, objectives and tone he has set for the SINAI Business Office have been influenced by his
I never would have believed you. personal experience as a former SINAI parent.