Building on Meisharim’s success in turning around underperforming primary schools, Meisharim 2.0 was recently launched. It will extend the model to a further 72 schools over the next eight years, working with partner organisations and promoting policy change in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. In May, a joint agreement was signed with the Ministries of Education and Finance, the Dell Foundation, and Matan – Investing in Community. The first cohort of 12 schools will begin in September. Five organisations have been selected to oversee professional support: Branco Weiss, Alliance – Kol Israel Haverim (KIAH), the Israel Centre for Innovation in Education, Teach First Israel, and the Tafnit education non-profit.
The ORT Israel educational network’s AI4ALL programme, run in partnership with Google, Yad Hanadiv and the Centre for Cyber Education (Magshimim), recently completed its first year of activity. At the closing event, students from eight schools in the periphery presented AI-based solutions to social and educational challenges that they had developed over the course of the year under the guidance of their teachers. They received feedback from education experts and Google staff. In the framework of the Education Programme’s focus on tech as a means to level the playing field, AI4ALL is examining how AI competencies can serve as a lever for school improvement in the social periphery.
Teacher Leaders (Hashkafa), a joint initiative of the Ministry of Education and Yad Hanadiv, recently marked its 10th anniversary at a conference attended by hundreds of teachers, district representatives, head teachers and educators. Among the speakers were Professor Yigal Mersel, Chief Executive of Yad Hanadiv; Eti Sasi, Deputy Director of the Teaching Staff Administration at the Ministry of Education; and Professor Chen Schechter, President of the MOFET Institute. The conference reflected on the professional learning community that has grown over the past decade, and on how it has fostered a culture of collaboration, improvement, and pedagogical leadership across the education system.
Picture: Gilad Artzi