E
very Jewish parent wants his child to succeed in school. With some kids that’s a no-sweat proposition; they take to school with the ease of birds taking flight. Others however just can’t seem to lift off the ground.
Figuring out what keeps a child from succeeding in school is the province of the school psychologist. She’s the one who administers the tests that indicate areas of strength or dysfunction. She makes recommendations for addressing any weak spots: resource room speech therapy occupational therapy tutoring. Few yeshivos have their own school psychologists on staff but when a child seems challenged parents in New York have the option to apply to the Department of Education (DOE) for an evaluation and possible therapy.
Mrs. Esther Gutwein has been implementing or overseeing evaluations for the DOE in New York for over 25 years and rose through the ranks to become first a supervisor then a manager of supervisors. This places her almost at the very top of the totem pole for the DOE school psychology department. It’s an impressive accomplishment in a department comprised of nearly 1 000 school psychologists.
But Esther isn’t the type to flaunt her titles or anything else for that matter. A Flatbush mother and grandmother tastefully dressed with a short wig and a bit of makeup she looks like someone you’d sit next to in shul or run into at a shidduch meeting. She’s warm and welcoming yet dignified and discreet.
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