An ever-growing community of groundbreaking educators
Having established the program as a groundbreaking format, we realized that it alone was not enough to lead changes in the south. We are working in cohort with the Kaye College and the Academic Khan to make it available to a variety of audiences to promote a democratic culture. In the Academic Khan, groups of pre-college education students attend a variety of classes such as: partners in the community, industry and nature preservation, orientation programs and so forth. The Academic Khan programs help teachers in both formal and informal education to promote concepts and enterprises of quality, innovative and meaningful education in the south.
We then went on to establish the Center for Supporting Pedagogical Growth in many southern local authorities from Ashkelon to Mitzpe Ramon, where 14 instructors provide Jewish and Arab teachers, principals, supervisors and pre-school facilities with training, mentoring and professional enrichment. We were joined in this endeavor by Pisga centers (centers for teaching-staff development), the Ministry of Education’s supervision system and of course the schools. Operating in this arena are 14 Arab schools undergoing profound changes, Amitzim (brave) schools with their unique model, and a pilot of experiential learning in southern Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs, offering professional enrichen for ECE teachers and supervisors.
Recently joining this “southern fest” is our young “cousin” Netivim Program, promoting social-environmental leadership among young Bedouins, currently attended by 42 young leaders, with 40 more expected to enroll next year.
This southern ripple effect grows and expands thanks to our many co-dreamers in our educational and social reality.
It is our hope that the values and principles of cooperation, dialogue, mutual responsibility, community, activism and participations will reach as many educators as possible to promote a better society in the Negev and in Israel at large.
