The Challenge
Once recognized as a leader in education, Israel is failing to provide its youth a quality education. As social gaps between the diverse sectors of the population widen, those at society's margins are being left even further behind. Decline in educational quality also means that Israel risks losing its critically important position as a highly advanced society.
Recently published reports by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)--the highly respected international organization of industrialized, market-economic countries that reports on nations' educational, scientific, economic and other key performance indicators-- have been highly critical of Israel's education system.
According to the OECD, the gap between rich and poor, in those countries it follows, narrows as the percentage of students who study technology rises. Since the 1960's Israel has seen a steady decline in the number of students who study technology. Today, fewer than 37% of Israeli students are on technology tracks. In Europe's developed countries, the average is 70%.
The Israeli Defense Forces and industry report that Israel will face an acute shortage of technicians, practical engineers and engineers over the next decade if the nation's educational performance does not improve.
The Periphery-- Students and Schools At the Margins
Israel's most vulnerable youth live in its poorest communities, where distance and economic disadvantage can be overwhelming obstacles to a quality education and a hopeful future.
The Israel Sci-Tech Schools Periphery Initiative aims to dramatically change some of the country's most disadvantaged, underperforming middle and high schools. In partnership with Israel's Ministry of Education, its major industries and private funders, Israel Sci-Tech Schools will transform, at minimum, 50 schools in the periphery region of the country over the next decade. The Initiative will bring the most advanced and effective science and technology curricula to existing schools in the region, and will motivate their students by providing them the knowledge and skills needed to become educated, productive citizens of Israel.
The Periphery Initiative will provide:
State-of-the-art science laboratories and improved and upgraded curricula and pedagogical teaching methods.
Intensive school principal and teacher training to bring proven educational methodologies into classrooms.
A new model of school-community partnership
The Periphery Initiative will:
Double the number of students who study technology and the sciences.
Improve students' success rates on the matriculation exams (bagrut) by 10 %.
Increase students' volunteer activities in their communities by 30%.
Strengthen students' knowledge of their respective heritage by bringing heritage programming to 75% of students in the schools.
Engage important Israel industry leaders as partners in the participating periphery schools.
Israel Sci-Tech Schools -- Ready to Meet the Periphery Challenge
Israel Sci-Tech Schools, now the largest system of schools in the country, serves close to 100,000 students - 65% are studying on a science-technology track. Only 35% of students at other schools in Israel are on this special track. Schools in the Israel Sci-Tech Schools Network have demonstrated marked improvement in student performance.
Increased students' national matriculation rates
More students are choosing to study in the technology track
Dropout rates have decreased significantly
Israel Sci-Tech Schools has been effectively educating and motivating Israeli youth--many living in disadvantaged, impoverished communities--since 1949.
Now, it stands ready to meet the greatest educational challenge before the nation--transform 50 schools in the periphery and give the youth in the region struggling to find their place in society the education they deserve.
The Cost of Moving Youth From the Margins Into the Mainstream
Each participating school in the Periphery Initiative will require a one million dollar investment over the first three years. The entire Initiative will require a ten year, fifty million investment for the targeted 50 schools.
Funds for the Initiative will supplement the annual government-allocated Israel Sci-Tech Schools budget -- which averages approximately ILS 750 million.
The Government of Israel has agreed to match — dollar for dollar — every private gift to the Initiative (at least $25 million) and provide strategic guidance in the identification of the priority areas in the periphery region to be included in the Initiative.
What the Investment Will Provide
Each Periphery Initiative school will be transformed within three years into a high-performance center of learning using a curricula that integrates values with science and technology education.