The Shefa School

The Shefa School is a Jewish community day school in Manhattan serving students in kindergarten through 8th grade who have language-based learning disabilities, including dyslexia and ADHD. Shefa is Hebrew for “abundance,” reflecting the school’s belief that each child possesses abundant strengths. The school’s mission is to build upon these strengths while teaching students the skills to overcome their challenges, all within a caring and supportive school community that seamlessly integrates Jewish values and traditions.

Founded in 2014 at Lincoln Square Synagogue on the Upper West Side with 24 students, Shefa has grown steadily, moving to a larger campus at 40 E. 29th Street in 2016 as enrollment reached 80 students. By 2024, enrollment had grown to roughly 230 students, prompting a move into a new $100 million, 75,000-square-foot campus at 17 West 60th Street, designed to accommodate up to 350 students with amenities such as science labs, indoor and outdoor gyms, a rooftop garden, and multiple libraries.

Shefa is pluralistic, embracing families from a range of Jewish backgrounds and practices, and nurtures students’ Jewish identity alongside high-quality, research-based academic instruction tailored to children with language-based learning needs. The school also operates The Shefa Center, which extends its expertise and resources to educators and families beyond its own student body.