Jerusalem, Israel – October 15, 2012: On Tuesday, October 9, ALEH, Israel’s largest network of facilities for children with severe physical and cognitive disabilities, hosted a dedication ceremony to mark the establishment of its new special education school in Jerusalem. Among the friends and supporters in attendance were U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro.

The new school will provide enhanced special education and rehabilitative programming tailored to each child’s needs. At present, 73 special needs children from the Jerusalem area (ages 3 – 21) are enrolled at the school. In addition to 11 state-of-the-art classrooms, the school includes a paramedical wing, a variety of treatment rooms, family quarters, an activity area and staff offices.

“The school was built on a separate floor, distanced from the living area, so that the ALEH children could learn in a different environment than their living quarters – so that they, too, could feel like they leave home for school every morning, just like other children. Implementing the ‘normalization principle’ will significantly improve the quality of life of ALEH’s children,” said Rabbi Yehuda Marmorstein, Director-General of the ALEH centers.