When teacher Arielle Howes announced that Farber Hebrew Day School's partnership with Jarc would continue into middle school, fifth-grader Emma Skoczylas summed up the room: "This is so much better than ice cream," she told The Jewish News.
Twenty-four fourth- and fifth-graders from the Farmington Hills school have spent the past two school years building friendships with adults with developmental disabilities served by Jarc, a Bloomfield Hills-based nonprofit, as part of a partnership Howes launched in 2022 that is now in its fourth year. What started as her effort to connect students with local Jewish organizations has become a program that parents say is reshaping how their children see the world.
Concert and games at Field Day
At a spring Field Day event at a Jarc group home in West Bloomfield, students performed a 30-minute concert led by Rabbi Josh Strosberg, the school's fourth/fifth-grade Jewish Studies teacher. The set ranged from "Hava Nagila" and a Shabbos medley to "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog," The Jewish News reported. Jarc participant Trudy Mermelstein had requested songs from The Sound of Music; Maureen Boone picked the Elvis number.
Students and Jarc participants broke into choreography, joined arms and swayed together. A birthday singalong honored Farber student Jonah Lefkowitz alongside Jarc participants Steve Isenberg and Steve Broadman.
After the music, groups rotated through ring toss, bowling, frisbee, rock painting, Uno and a beach ball question game. Fifth-graders Marni Gonik, Alice Weinberg, Zahava Husarsky and Lili Goldberg played the question game with Isenberg, who has been blind since birth. They learned his dream job is teaching Braille, his favorite restaurant is Burger King and his favorite superhero is Superman.
Four years of preparation
Howes, a fourth-grade teacher, launched the partnership in 2022 to build students' comfort with people who appear different from them. Before the first visit, Jarc CEO Shaindle Braunstein spoke directly with students at the school. Classes read novels about people with disabilities and studied the Torah teaching that all people are created in the image of G-d.
The current cohort began visiting Jarc in late 2024. Strosberg told The Jewish News the growth since then has been visible, saying students who were once hesitant have grown to find it fulfilling to share their joy with those served by the nonprofit.
Parents see the difference
Rebecca Klausner, whose fifth-grade son Zev has a 25-year-old brother with autism, told The Jewish News the program changed how Zev engages outside school. She said he notices people with developmental disabilities in public more often and speaks more sensitively about his brother's challenges.
Rachel Lichtenstein, mother of fifth-grader Jonah Lefkowitz, told The Jewish News neither of her children had prior experience with people with developmental disabilities. She described watching Jonah move from initial discomfort to coming home excited about the songs and projects, gaining confidence and comfort over time.
A model for Farmington Hills families
Jarc, founded in 1969, serves individuals with developmental disabilities across group homes and independent living programs in metro Detroit. The organization reported 305 employees and nearly $10 million in revenue in fiscal year 2024. It also partners with Hillel Day School on a year-end bowling tradition.
Farmington Hills families interested in volunteering with Jarc can visit jarc.org/volunteer.
