Kulanu: Empowering Every Individual To Reach Their Potential

A Kulanu participant takes part in a hands-on culinary activity to develop practical and vocational skills

A student engages in a hands-on activity as part of Kulanu’s educational and life-skills programming

Kulanu’s brand new Center for Adult Services

Kulanu participants foster social connections and meaningful engagement through shared activities

Nestled in the heart of the Five Towns, Kulanu Center for Special Services has become a comprehensive, multifaceted resource for individuals with special needs and their families. Its name, which means “all of us,” expresses a belief and a promise that every person belongs, every ability deserves to be recognized, and every individual should have the opportunity to learn, work, connect, and grow.

That promise is evident throughout Kulanu’s educational, vocational, recreational, and support services. From the classroom to the workplace, from weekend social activities to their expanding Cedarhurst campus, Kulanu meets people where they are currently, while helping them move toward greater independence. The result is far more than a collection of programs. It’s a community built around dignity, possibility, and the conviction that every person can make meaningful progress when given the right support.

{Education Designed Around the Student

Kulanu Academy serves middle and high school students with disabilities through individualized instruction, small classes, and integrated therapeutic services. Its distinctive approach brings together academic learning, social-emotional learning, vocational preparation, and practical life skills. Each part of the program supports a larger goal of preparing students not only for the next grade, but also for adulthood and a more independent future.

No two students arrive with precisely the same strengths, needs, or aspirations. Kulanu responds with a flexible curriculum that can include functional academics, regents-level coursework, hands-on learning in the community, and job-readiness experiences. Rather than forcing students into a single educational model, the Academy builds an appropriate path around the individual. That flexibility allows students to be challenged while still receiving the structure, repetition, and encouragement they need to succeed.

A multidisciplinary team works collaboratively to address each student’s academic, social, emotional, therapeutic, and vocational development. Teachers and support professionals look beyond isolated goals to consider the whole student. Skills introduced in one setting are reinforced in others, helping students transfer what they learn from the classroom into daily life. A lesson in communication can become practice in self-advocacy. A classroom assignment can develop planning, persistence, and responsibility, and a community outing can become an opportunity to navigate transportation, manage money, interact appropriately, and make decisions with increasing confidence.

What distinguishes Kulanu is its emphasis on real-world development, tailored support, and inclusive community engagement. Kulanu students are not simply taught concepts; they are given opportunities to apply them. In this positive culture, progress is recognized, effort is valued, and each success becomes a foundation for the next. Through that process, students acquire both useful skills and the self-confidence to reach toward their potential.

Families often see the difference in the quality of the relationships formed at the Academy. The staff’s work reflects dedication, compassion, patience, professionalism, and expertise. Teachers and support professionals strive to understand each child as an individual and to provide a nurturing yet structured environment in which students feel safe, supported, and encouraged. Their commitment suggests that they regard their work not merely as employment, but as a calling.

Strong communication with families is an important part of that culture. Parents and the school function as partners, sharing observations, identifying priorities, and supporting consistent progress across settings. The team’s focus is meaningful growth in all its dimensions: academic, social, emotional, vocational, and personal. For families seeking an environment in which their child will be genuinely known and carefully supported by a skilled team member, Kulanu Academy offers an exceptional educational home.

{Welcoming New Leadership

As Kulanu Academy prepares for the coming school year, it is celebrating a new beginning with the appointment of Rabbi Elisha Hus as School Principal. Rabbi Hus brings more than a decade of experience in education, including work in curriculum development and instructional technology. He also brings a passion for quality education, thoughtful leadership, and student growth.

His vision aligns naturally with Kulanu Academy’s belief that community is a vital extension of the classroom. At Kulanu, education is not confined to desks, textbooks, or chalkboards; students learn by participating in the world around them, building relationships, and discovering how they can contribute to the community. With Rabbi Hus’s leadership, Kulanu Academy looks forward to strengthening its educational programs while honoring the individual path of each student.

New leadership also offers an opportunity to build upon the strengths that already define the school: individualized attention, collaboration among disciplines, strong family partnerships, and a consistent focus on preparing students for adulthood. Rabbi Hus’s experience and values are expected to have a positive impact on students, faculty members, and families as Kulanu enters its next chapter.

{Creating a Path from School to Work

Preparation for adulthood requires more than academic achievement. It also requires opportunities to explore interests, understand workplace expectations, develop practical competencies, and experience the satisfaction of contributing through meaningful work. Kulanu’s School-to-Work Vocational Programs address this critical transition by partnering with local school districts to introduce students to the world of work.

Through classroom-based vocational instruction, community exploration, internships, and job-readiness training, students gain exposure to a wide variety of possible paths. Along the way, they build practical workplace and independent-living skills. They learn about punctuality, communication, appropriate workplace behavior, task completion, problem-solving, and responding to feedback. Just as importantly, they begin to identify the kinds of work environments and responsibilities in which they may thrive.

This combination of instruction and experience helps make the transition from school to adulthood more concrete and less intimidating. Students can practice skills in supportive settings, receive constructive guidance, and build confidence through real accomplishment. Each new responsibility can become evidence that they are capable of more than they may previously have imagined.

Kulanu’s Supported Employment and Employment Training services extend that mission into the community by assisting individuals in obtaining and maintaining meaningful, competitive employment. The process is person-centered from the outset. Kulanu’s vocational team helps each participant identify career interests, strengths, aptitudes, preferred work environments, and the supports that may be needed for success.

Depending on the individual, services may include vocational assessments, employment-readiness training, resume development, interview preparation, job-placement assistance, and on-site job coaching. These services recognize that securing a job is only one part of the journey. Maintaining employment, adapting to workplace expectations, developing professional relationships, and growing into greater responsibility are equally important. By supporting the individual and helping employers understand how to foster success, Kulanu creates opportunities that benefit the participant, the workplace, and the entire community.

Meaningful employment can provide income, structure, confidence, connection, and a sense of purpose. It allows individuals to be seen not only for the support they may require, but also for the abilities, energy, and value they bring. That change in perspective lies at the heart of inclusion.

{Friendship, Belonging, and the Joy of Shared Experiences

A full life is shaped not only by school and work, but also by friendship, recreation, laughter, and belonging. Kulanu Travels provides peer-based activities on weekends and evenings that help participants cultivate friendships while developing social skills, self-confidence, and self-esteem. With more than 40 events each year in the Five Towns, the program creates regular opportunities to gather, connect, and have fun.

Monthly offerings include Bowling Club, Movie Club, separate Girls Night Out and Guys Night Out events, and Kulanu Walk About. Each gathering is centered on an engaging activity, spirited schmoozing, and of course, wonderful food. The destinations may vary, but the deeper purpose remains constant: helping participants form authentic connections to create shared memories.

These experiences matter. Friendship is not a luxury, and social development does not happen only in formal lessons. It grows through conversation, shared interests, inside jokes, celebrations, and the comfort of seeing familiar faces. Kulanu Travels provides the setting in which these connections can develop naturally. Each outing is a joyful experience and, more importantly, the kind of experience from which lasting friendships are made.

{Honoring a Legacy, Building the Future

“At Kulanu, our mission is captured in our name: All of Us,” says Executive Director Michael Appelbaum. “We believe that an inclusive community is a stronger one and we are dedicated to providing premier educational, social, vocational, and advocacy services for children and adults with disabilities and their families.”

As Kulanu’s new Executive Director, Appelbaum is both looking ahead and honoring the leadership that made Kulanu what it is today. “I am incredibly inspired by the profound community support and legacy of excellence that defines Kulanu,” says Appelbaum. “We are here today because of the tireless dedication of our founder, Dr. Beth Raskin. Her decades of visionary leadership transformed an idea into a vital lifeline for countless families, and I am deeply honored to build upon the rock-solid foundation she created.”

Dr. Raskin’s legacy can be measured not only in programs created or services delivered, but also in lives changed and families strengthened. Under her leadership, Kulanu grew into a trusted source of guidance, education, opportunity, and belonging. That foundation now supports an ambitious future.

The Kulanu Legacy Campaign invites the community to take part in that future. Its goal is to help bring the organization’s beautiful new building to fruition and to ensure that Kulanu can continue serving children and adults with disabilities for generations to come. The new facility is intended to expand Kulanu’s capacity, allow a wider range of services to be offered throughout the year, and provide a safe, contemporary, and welcoming environment for participants, families, staff members, and community partners.

A permanent, state-of-the-art home represents more than additional physical space. It creates room for new opportunities, stronger collaboration, and expanded programming. It also strengthens Kulanu’s position as a trusted community support system, one capable of responding as needs evolve and families seek services at different stages of life.

{A Brick-by-Brick Path to Adulthood

Among the most meaningful features of the new Cedarhurst campus will be Kulanu’s Brick-by-Brick Path to Adulthood, a walkway surrounding the state-of-the-art building. Unique in concept and rich in symbolism, the walkway will be formed by personalized bricks, each bearing a special message.

A brick may honor a child, celebrate a milestone or achievement, remember someone special, or express gratitude to Kulanu and its extraordinary staff. Each inscription will tell a story. One may commemorate a first job. Another may celebrate a graduation, a friendship, or a hard-won step toward independence. Still another may preserve the memory of a loved one whose values continue to inspire kindness and inclusion.

Together, the bricks will form a literal and figurative path of compassion and support, welcoming everyone who enters Kulanu’s warm and inclusive doors. The project beautifully reflects the organization itself. Every brick is distinct, yet each contributes to something larger. Every story matters and every individual is part of the whole.

Supporting the Legacy Campaign is an opportunity to help build far more than a building. It is an investment in education, independence, friendship, employment, dignity, and hope. It is a way to ensure that children and adults with disabilities, and the families who love them, continue to have a place where they are understood, challenged, celebrated, and empowered.

At Kulanu, “all of us” is not simply a translation. It is a vision of community. It asks us to recognize that inclusion enriches everyone; support unlocks possibility; and when everyone has the chance to contribute, we build a stronger future for all. Brick by brick, friendship by friendship, Kulanu is creating that future every day.

“Looking ahead,” says Director Appelbaum. “We will continue to champion the needs of our participants, strengthen our exceptional programs, and ensure that Kulanu remains at the forefront of special-needs and adult services.” n

Rochelle Maruch Miller is a contributing editor for the Five Towns Jewish Times. She is a journalist, creative media consultant, lecturer, educator, and writes for magazines, newspapers, websites, and private clients. She welcomes your comments at [email protected]. Read more of Rochelle Maruch Miller’s articles at 5TJT.com.