A Student's Journey Meeting Milestones - And How His Family Healed

Before coming to Benedictine, the Kraft's son, Sean, attended a special needs preschool program, regional elementary program, and a non-public special education school. The educators were supportive and worked hard with Sean, however, the schools and Sean reaped very little progress in academics and behavior support. Sean grew frustrated and it became difficult for him to lead with his natural kindness and it was challenging for the family. His mother needed to resign from her career to support Sean as he required behavior therapy and constant supervision.

When Sean joined Benedictine he was placed in ABLEs (Academic and Behavioral Learning Environment), Benedictine's program for the most challenged. Within a short couple of years, Sean, who is now 16, has thrived and progressed to where he is now in A Functional Academics classroom. This progress enabled Sean to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah - something he was unable to do prior. And Sean has discovered that he loves cooking and gardening!

The programs at Benedictine touch so many more lives beyond just the students and adults they serve. Sean's whole family is thriving as they have been able to focus on each other and their individual interests. Sean's brother went through a rigorous certification process to move forward with his dream to become a barber. He is the only barber Sean and several of his special needs friends trust to cut their hair. Another beautiful outcome of his success is that he generously donates his services cutting homeless men's hair at the family's synagogue.

Sean's mother was able to return to her teaching career during the pandemic, positively impacting the lives of over 125 children. "My ability to strengthen student academic progress and boost their confidence as learners has meant unmeasurable joy to the students, their parents, and me." - Reenie Kraft.

To show their gratitude and support for Benedictine, Sean's family is giving back to Benedictine in creative ways. Every year for the family birthdays, they have asked their friends and family to donate to Benedictine instead of giving gifts. Their friends have witnessed Sean's growth in person and through their Facebook posts, so it was a natural extension to organize donations to the school through their Facebook pages.

Sean celebrated his Bar Mitzvah recently. Traditionally, monetary gifts received are often saved for college. Instead, Sean's family asked those celebrating Sean's Bar Mitzvah to donate to Benedictine - the school that has made the biggest impact in his life.

"In his case, it's not college… it's Benedictine. We have been so grateful for Sean's amazing progress at Benedictine. To date, Benedictine has received over $3,800 in donations in Sean's honor." - Reenie Kraft