Gesher Brings Awareness on International Stuttering Day

Roughly 3 million Americans live as people who stutter and on October 22, 2020, International Stuttering Awareness Day, Gesher Jewish Day School is proud to bring awareness to all of them. As an inclusive community, we strive to make every person feel comfortable including those who stutter. Nowhere is this more evident than in our very own Music Teacher, Mr. Nick May. 

Mr. Nick (as our students fondly call him), as a person who stutters, helps teach our children the love and power music can hold. When talking about his stutter in a recent email home to parents this is what he had to say, “So much of what I am thankful for about Gesher goes back to the acceptance and support you have shown me as a person who stutters. I have been here a little over a year and not once have I had a student make any kind of comment regarding my stutter, even on my ‘bad speech days.’ This is a testament to Gesher’s commitment to inclusion and acceptance.” 

Here is a video of Mr. Nick talking about his stutter from last Spring.

Stuttering is most common in children between the ages of two and six, while they are learning to communicate. This means that students in our Gan Katan, Gan, and First Grade classes are most likely to be impacted. However, while this is the most common time for children to stutter it is not limited to this timeframe or even just children. As many as 25% of children who stutter will continue to live as people who stutter into adulthood, much like Mr. Nick. 

As we work to bring awareness to all those people who stutter, we are encouraging all students and staff to wear green on Thursday, October 22, 2020. The official color is seafoam green but any and all green will be acceptable. We look forward to seeing our hallways covered in green to show the community of people who stutter that we support them! 

To learn more about stuttering, people who stutter, and International Stuttering Awareness Day you can visit the websites of The Stuttering Foundation: https://www.stutteringhelp.org/ or The National Stuttering Association: https://westutter.org/. Learn more about joining the Gesher JDS community contact admissions@gesher-jds.org or visit our website gesher-jds.org 

Check out some more photos of our Gesher community dressed in green to support International Stuttering Awareness Day!