Merom Hagalil Education and Community Campus

The UJIA and Rashi, together with the Regional Council, have initiated a strategic development plan for Merom Hagalil with interventions in the areas of education, community and economic development, each a proven engine of growth.

At the heart of the development plan is the construction of an Education and Community Campus, which will catalyze change in the level of services and create a source of pride and identity for the region's residents. The program specifically aims to create a high-standard educational continuum from an early age that will strengthen the community by giving its children the tools and learning environments they need to realize their potential. The program combines interventions for different ages under a single administration.

• Early childhood center: a range of programs – including detection and treatment, enrichment, training for the educational teams and guidance for young parents – already operate in temporary premises and serve 1,100 children for birth to age 6. Once the new Early Childhood Center is completed, it will house all the activity in this field, and also a Well-Baby Clinic ("Tipat Halav"), a kindergarten for special education and a model ecological kindergarten.
• Full schools: comprehensive intervention in elementary schools, providing guidance to teachers, educational reinforcement, enrichment and individual treatment for children. The program aims to address all the child's needs within the school in a holistic view, in order to advance scholastic achievements and close gaps that were caused by socio-economic or emotional factors. It reaches all five elementary schools in the region with 1,200 pupils, including Druze and Circassian children.
• Subsidized psycho-didactic assessments are offered to junior high and high school students, who are currently studying outside the region.
• A Warm Home operates twice a week, providing therapeutic, social and educational support for 15 teenage girls at risk.

The educational activity complements the establishment of physical facilities, which are planned to include two elementary schools, a 6-year high school, an early childhood center and other community facilities. The first stage, a complete renovation and expansion of the Hemed Religious Elementary School, was completed by September 2010. Planning is proceeding for the remaining schools; the Early Childhood Center is expected to be completed July 2012.