Sophia Franco
Back in 2005, “autism” was a bad word. It was a word couples whispered to one another in the confines of their kitchens or bedrooms. It was a word heaped with shame, and fear. Help was not around the corner, back then. Once children were diagnosed, life got harder for those parents, not easier.
Banning together on the heels of a support group, Jane and Sam Sutton, Wendy and David Jemal, Susie and Marvin Dweck, Heather and Jeffrey Deutsch, and Rebecca and Joe Harary got together for an evening out. The Hararys were the only couple without a special needs child, but Rebecca was fresh off of her stint as president of Flatbush Ladies Auxiliary and she was eager to grow, and help the community grow.
Rebecca recalls, “That night we decided to open our own school. I knew that these parents had everything at stake, and because of that, we could create something better than any of the mediocre or long-distance options out there. Everyone pulled their weight, and no one dropped the ball. These parents spearheaded every decision from the teachers to the crayons, and even toilet paper. Through blood, sweat and lots of tears, Imagine Academy soon opened a haven for twelve students and 24 very grateful parents.”
It’s been 20 years, and Imagine Academy has thrived. From a small house on East 7th street, to a more spacious location on 14th street, the student body grew from 12, to now 50 students. At the time, there were two very different methodologies to educating a child with autism or other developmental disabilities. ABA, which is repetition and reward based, and primarily in use at the moment, and Floortime (also known as DIR), which is a more playful and engaging approach. For the parents, who wanted every possible therapy for their kids, it was an impossible choice.
Elisa Chrem, principal, recalls, “Imagine Academy was the first school in the country that opened using both therapies, and while it was an evolution to blend the two, it was amazing because the same child might use Floortime for certain skills, and ABA for other skills. When I have a student in front of me, I ask, ‘How can I support this child at this moment? What’s the best tool in my tool box to accomplish that?’ The answers come with time and experience, which we pride our staff on having.”
Currently, Imagine’s building is made up of six condos combined across four floors. In addition to life skills, students are taught reading and science, math, art and music. The amazing staff is constantly training, growing and self-reflecting, focusing on helping kids succeed at their highest academic potential. The school takes at maximum 48- 51 students, because of space constraints; with all the specialty therapists, a class with six students may fill up with 12 people in the room.
Speech therapist Rebecca Mosseri Haber explains, “What makes Imagine special is that they support the family as a whole, in addition to the individual student.” Ginette Gindi Tawil, veteran Imagine Academy teacher, continues, “Every day we teach essential skills, like brushing teeth, recognizing and writing letters and numbers, cooking, shopping at the supermarket and even swimming every week in the Sephardic Community Center. We are all deeply committed to, making sure every child’s needs are met, including challenges families may face at home. We also take them on overnight trips, which give the families a break, and helps the kids build confidence and social skills in a fun and supportive environment. I even had one of my students, Aryeh, march in my wedding. It made me so happy and was the most special part of the whole night.”
Marcelle Shasho continues, “As teachers, we are constantly asking, ‘How can we make these kids’ lives better?’ We meet every day to work on goals for each child, and the meeting of those goals. While everyone in the school is on a different level, each gets everything they need. We pair kids together to work on relationship skills, and we bring siblings in for workshops to help those relationships thrive in a productive way. We also have school partnerships, with Magen David, Flatbush and Barkai students. This encourages our kids to integrate with the neurotypical kids, and vice versa, fostering great social skills all around, in an atmosphere where it’s okay to be different. Imagine is very warm place to be and to work. The kids are like regular kids, running out to lunch, playing tag and having fun with their friends.”
Raquel Savdie, Assistant Principal stated, “We have done groundbreaking work here. We are raising the bar, and even becoming a model for other educators attempting to start neurodiverse schools to emulate! From the minute the children arrive, until the minute they leave, it’s an incredibly productive time. And yet… we are bursting at the seams. We need an adequately sized gym for basketball. We need space for parent functions, thematic events and schoolwide happenings. Currently, we partner with the Sephardic Community Center, and they are fantastic, but it’s not like having space on our home court. We’d like to offer more after school services, community outreach, a post 21 program, and possibly even residences for the older kids. We’d love a garden and outdoor space, but most importantly, we want to accept more kids! Environment plays a huge part in education. When we moved from East 7th to East 14th, there was a giant leap in our level of care. Picture yourself trying to cook a whole Shabbat or holiday meal in a tiny kitchen with one oven. You can do it, but you would be so much more productive in a state-of-the-art kitchen, right?”
Elyssa Beroukhim has been sending her nine-year-old son to Imagine’s summer camp in Deal, New Jersey. She explains, “Imagine literally changed my life. So many families had nowhere to turn in the summer, and this program is fabulous. It mixes fun and structure, so progress made during the school year is not lost. I also started sending him from NYC to Brooklyn for Imagine’s Sunday program. For us, Sundays were not fun; Sundays were stressful. Imagine took him to a trampoline park, the movies, and bowling, and showed him how to enjoy each outing. His teachers were able to acclimate him to activities that I would never have attempted on my own, all the while sending updates and photos, keeping me in the loop. It makes me feel good because when I’m out with my family, I know my son is out, too, and having a great day. I’m so grateful.”
Over the last twenty years, Imagine Academy has established themselves as superstars in their field. The emotional roller coaster that these families have to endure is difficult, to say the least, but Imagine wants to partner up with them, and lighten the load. Abie Levi, the Director of the Motor Department explains, “The program that we are using is key to development, and a way of working things out in a gentle and supportive manner. It is unique to Brooklyn, and to all of New York. Here, we provide the best care for your child, close to home, and without financial insecurity. Imagine was created for the community, by the community. We want to offer it all to you and in a bigger and better way. In a new environment, we can create divisions, levels and departments, ‘schools within schools,’ if you will. We have the ability to service these kids, and we are good at it!”
David Jemal, cofounder, continues, “Our community’s support of Imagine Academy is crucial to its success and alleviates a severe burden on many families affected by autism in our community. We have outgrown our current location and currently have a long waiting list of students who we’ve had to deny admission due to space constraints. It is crucial that Imagine purchase a new and much larger facility, which would improve our program ever more, and which will be a shining example of professional education and care of these special children.”
Rebecca Harary continues, “Every ounce of space is being used and every moment is productive at Imagine Academy, but as our community grows, our needs grow. Our hope is to be there for every single child that can draw joy, knowledge and hope from a school like ours. Please join all of us at Julie and Michael Betesh’s home in Deal on July 6, 2025 to hear more about Imagine Academy and our incredible plans moving forward. We are on your team.”
To donate, please visit our website Imagineacademy.org or call 718-376-8882.
Sophia Franco has been feeding her love of reading and writing for as long as she can remember through poetry, community journalism, and songwriting. She wrote the lyrics to I can Be, We are a Miracle and many others.
