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Home , Ashkelon, Rishon LeZion, Yavne

2/5/2020 *|MC:SUBJECT|*

FEBRUARY 2020

Mazal Tov! Celebrating Successes in the ICEI Network

We are delighted to share exciting news of the exceptional achievements of four schools in the ICEI Network.

The School in and the Dekel School in , both in the lowest socio- economic ranking of schools in the ICEI network, have received the highest possible scores in the Ministry of Education’s Meitzav, the state-wide standardized "Measures of School Efficiency and Growth" exam in and literacy, which is administered in fifth grade. The Meitzav exam is the only compulsory state-wide standardized exam administered in Israeli elementary schools by the Ministry of Education. The Yavne School's achievement is outstanding in relation to its previous score, and both schools scored significantly higher in comparison to other schools with similar socio-economic rankings, and far above the national average of all Hebrew speaking elementary schools in .

Proof of Concept: Yavne Hadera School's Rising Meitzav Scores Over Time

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According to the Ministry of Education's Multi-Year Scale, Yavne School in Hadera progressed by 50 points from 2011-2016, while other elementary schools with similar socio-economic ranking progressed by only 16 points and from 2016-2019, Yavne School progressed by an additional 48 points while other similar schools progressed by only 9 points.

Significantly, as part of the Meitzav, Yavne and Dekel school students expressed extreme enthusiasm regarding the love of reading and writing, and their Hebrew language studies in general, all central foci of the ICEI It's Elementary! program. The schools also received stellar ratings on "school atmosphere" and "sense of safety", two key qualitative measures of the Meitzav, reflecting a reduction in violent behavior in school. Congratulations from the ICEI team to Yavne Principal, Moshe Amram and Dekel Principal, Tamar Lazarovitz, their faculties and students.

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It's Elementary! Program in Action at Yavne School, Hadera

The Dizengoff School in South has been awarded the 2019-20 Top Elementary School Award of the Ministry of Education's State-Religious System. The Sinai School, one of four ICEI schools in our Atzmaut Plus program in Rishon LeZion, has been awarded the 2019-20 Top Elementary School Award of the Ministry of Education's Central District, the largest school district in all of Israel. Congratulations to Principals Tomer Rabi and Anat Dahan, respectively, their faculties, and the ICEI teams in these schools, for these well-deserved milestones.

ICEI welcomes new Arab education staffers: Sally Awad Asfour & Rawiya Boulos Kittan

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Sally Awad Asfour Rawiya Boulos Kittan

The Israel Center for Educational Innovation (ICEI) is thrilled to announce that it is preparing to launch an Arab Schools Initiative which will adapt its successful whole school turnaround program, It's Elementary! to serve the needs of low-income, underperforming Arab elementary schools in Israel. Arab elementary schools account for 50% of the “red” or “chronically failing” elementary schools in Israel. ICEI’s program has been accepted as a “pilot project” for the Arab School system by the Ministry of Education.

Arab elementary school students score consistently lower than their Jewish-Israeli counterparts in the Meitzav standardized test in Israel, and demonstrate a pronounced weakness in literacy skills, which impacts their academic outcomes in all subject areas. The most recent PISA (the Program for International Student Assessment) exam results from 2018 showed that while Israeli students in Jewish schools were scoring closer to the international average, students in Arab schools were scoring far below that – and that their outcomes were even lower than in previous years. Similar gaps exist in the percentage of Jewish and students qualifying for high school matriculation certification.

ICEI’s Arab Schools Initiative, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, seeks to transform Arab schools in some of Israel’s poorest and most neglected communities by drastically improving school leadership and instruction, equalizing educational opportunity, reaching out to parents and promoting social mobility for students.

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Sally, Rawiya and ICEI team meet with members of the Social Venture Fund (SVF) for Jewish-Arab Equality and Shared Society, an early investor in ICEI's Arab Schools Initiative, November 2019.

Front row (l-r): SVF Members: Alison McWilliams, Doris Gordon, Tzivia Schwartz Getzug, Joshua Arnow, Roberta Eliot, Batya Kallus Back Row (l-r): Amir Shacham, Lilli Stern, Stuart Brown, Dan Kaplan, Bob Gordon, Don Futterman (ICEI), Eti Bukshpan (ICEI), Phyllis Bernstein, Rawiya Boulos Kittan (ICEI), Sally Awad Asfour (ICEI), Karen Katzman, Lee Perlman (ICEI).

During the past year, ICEI has recruited two young and dynamic educational leaders to spearhead this initiative. Sally Awad Asfour is the Director of ICEI’s Programs for Arab Communities and Rawiya Boulos Kittan is ICEI’s Arab Literacy Supervisor. Sally served as the Founding Principal of the Ajial School for Special Education in , growing a small program serving a few dozen students to a Grades 3-12 framework serving all Arab communities in northern Israel. Sally is also a PhD candidate at Hebrew University, a former lecturer and pedagogical instructor at the Oranim College of Education and mentored other principals for the Ministry of Education.

Rawiya has some 20 years’ experience as a teacher of Arabic and has served as Regional Superintendent for Arabic Language for the Ministry of Education. She has extensive experience in training teachers in the field of Arabic language education and the integration of technology in education.

Sally and Rawiya have been adapting ICEI’s proven pedagogical and leadership methodologies to meet the needs of Arab schools, to adapt to the unique characteristics of Arabic language instruction as well as ensuring the program is culturally appropriate for Arab elementary schools. ICEI aims to launch the program in 2-4 pilot schools in the 2020-21 academic year.

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In November 2019, ICEI hosted celebrations of the traditional Ethiopian Sigd holiday in schools across our nation-wide network. Sigd, an Ethiopian-Jewish and now national Israeli holiday marks the longing of Ethiopian Jewry to return to . One of the largest celebrations in our network of schools (see photos below) took place as part of ICEI's Atzmaut Plus program in Rishon LeZion, featuring stations for students led by parents and faculty to learn about and sample traditional Ethiopian musical instruments, foods, clothing, hairstyles and the Amharic alphabet.

Thank you to the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater MetroWest NJ, Jeffrey and Linda Zissu, Judy and Alan Weinstein, the Carniol Family, and the Rishon LeZion Municipality for their partnership in ICEI's unique Atzmaut Plus program.

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Celebrating Sigd with Itamar and Vitkin School Principals, ICEI & Atzmaut Plus staff and Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ partners

Parents host a traditional Buna coffee ceremony

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Playing traditional drums on Sigd

SAVE THE DATE

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ICEI is pleased to announce our annual Young Writers Competition will be held February 18, 2020. Please join us if you can for a wonderful happening with 500 kids!

Stay Engaged!

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Contributions to ICEI’s impactful work can be made through JGive (https://www.jgive.com/new/en/ils/external/charity-organizations/1001) or visit our website (www.icei.org.il)

For more information please contact: Israel Center for Educational Innovation 972-9-7421311 [email protected] | www.icei.co.il

The Israel Center for Educational Innovation

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