Rashi Foundation takes aim at high = school=20 education

Promises more study hours and fewer pupils per classroom, and a = boost for=20 elementary schools as well.

By Lior = Dattel=20

The Rashi Foundation plans to expand its contribution to education in = Israel=20 through two ventures: one to establish a network of high schools funded = by=20 government but with its extra touch; the other an effort with the Joint=20 Distribution Committee in Israel to provide a three-year boost for = selected=20 elementary schools, with the idea of improving them for the long = term.

The foundation describes itself as "committed to quality and = opportunity in=20 education and social welfare for the young and the under-served in = Israel's=20 periphery."

Established in 1984 by Perrier mineral water baron Gustave Leven, it = has=20 grown hugely and has also become a major supplier of advice and services = to=20 Israel's Education Ministry. To name but one area, having won a ministry = tender,=20 the foundation has taken over responsibility for the long-study-day = hot-meal=20 programs at 100 elementary schools in outlying areas - a venture that = was=20 supposed to be nationwide and may yet be one day.

It provides tutoring at schools, in compliance with Education = Ministry=20 guidelines, and helps improve infrastructure. Recently the foundation = built six=20 new schools in northern Israel at a cost of $60 million, all funded by=20 donations.

The Rashi Foundation is believed to be the biggest such fund = operating in=20 Israeli education: In 2009 alone it donated $150 million to various = educational=20 efforts.

Regarding high schools, the foundation doesn't plan to build new ones = from=20 scratch. It intends to take over certain schools in outlying areas and = improve=20 them, starting from the school year beginning in September 2011. The = plan for=20 elementary schools is set to begin this year.

The foundation receives money from donors but is also funded by the = Education=20 Ministry, local authorities and partners around the world, including the = JDC.

The high schools Rashi takes over in the peripheral towns would = become part=20 of a single network. Responsibility for them would pass from the local=20 authorities to the foundation.

In Israel, all elementary schools belong to the state, but that isn't = the=20 case for high schools. They can be owned by local authorities or = external=20 networks such as the Ort and Amal associations. Ort, for instance, says = on its=20 Web site that it provides educational programs to more than 100,000 = pupils in=20 Israel at 160 schools and colleges. Amal also runs schools throughout = the=20 nation.

Though schools may be run by an external network, they remain funded = and=20 supervised by the state - directly by the Education Ministry, not by = local=20 authorities. The Rashi schools would fall into that category.

Better teachers

In some cases, mainly in poorer peripheral towns, transferring = ownership from=20 the local authority to a private network augurs well for the pupils. The = networks have know-how and experience in running high schools, and are=20 considered better at making use of resources.

But Rashi's model is different from Amal or Ort. While they charge 6% = to 9%=20 of the budget they receive from the Education Ministry for management, = Rashi=20 plans to charge nothing, says the foundation's general director, Elie = Elalouf.=20 It will transfer every shekel received from the ministry to the schools. = Taxpayer money will not be used to finance the fund's costs, he = vows.

"Our purpose is not to compete with the existing systems," Elalouf = says. "It=20 is to promote educational initiatives in the periphery in order to = encourage=20 excellence. The foundation has no agenda other than to advance schools = and help=20 the students."

Last week Elalouf met with Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar to = describe the=20 foundation's plans. The schools will operate based on the highest = standards of=20 the Education Ministry and will cooperate with teachers and parents = throughout=20 all stages of education, Elalouf says.

Pupils at Rashi Foundation high schools will study more hours, the = classes=20 will be smaller and the quality of the teachers will be better, he = says.

The foundation is currently in talks with a number of associations = and public=20 bodies, hoping to bring them on board as partners.

To begin with, it hopes by March to enlist 10 to 20 schools as a = pilot=20 program. As said, the chosen schools will begin to operate as Rashi = schools from=20 September 2011. With the experience gained from the pilot, Rashi would = expand=20 the plan to more schools. It plans to embrace a range of sectors - = regular state=20 schools, religious schools and schools in the Arab sector.

A budget for its two-pronged plan hasn't been finalized. Elalouf = says,=20 however, that schools joining the program will receive a 15% to 20% = boost to=20 their budgets.

Elalouf views the foundation's contribution as stepping in where = local=20 authorities simply can't afford to. The foundation has the experience to = help.=20 "We know we have something to offer and to contribute," he says.

At this stage, the Rashi Foundation is not defined as an educational = network.=20 To achieve that, it has to go through a legal process and obtain permits = from=20 the Education Ministry.

The ministry commented that it does not intervene in the = considerations of=20 local authorities when it comes to transferring responsibility for = schools to=20 private networks; its concern is to make absolutely sure that when such=20 transfers happen, they are done strictly by the rules.

Doesn't Elalouf think there's a problem with a private foundation = intervening=20 in the management of schools?

"There are hundreds of schools owned by networks, and it's bad. This = isn't a=20 business, it's public education," he says. "Our network will raise many = more=20 resources than local authorities can provide and let students study = things that=20 the local authorities can't always afford. That doesn't mean anything = beyond the=20 state enabling the third estate to take over another responsibility for = the=20 services [the state] provides."

Financial incentives

Aside from setting up a network of Rashi schools, the foundation = wants to=20 become more deeply involved at the elementary level. Here there are no = private=20 networks: It's all the Education Ministry. Rashi can't set up = schools.

What it can do, together with the JDC-Israel, is to set up a = three-year (at=20 least ) venture called Revadim that aims to provide a richly financed = boost to=20 the schools. After the three years, the foundation plans to step back, = hopefully=20 leaving the schools in better condition and providing a better quality = of=20 education.

Rashi hopes to begin with 30 schools and expand to more than 150.

Revadim's contribution will be to provide a range of services, from = hot meals=20 to tutoring to sports after regular school hours. Among other things, = the=20 venture aims to fix up classrooms and help upgrade other = infrastructure.

The program is run by Dalia Peretz, until recently the co-principal = of Hand=20 in Hand, a Jewish-Arab bilingual school in Jerusalem.

One of the venture's goals is to narrow the educational gap between = central=20 Israel and outlying areas.

Schools that join the Revadim program will each receive NIS 600,000 = in=20 assistance over three years (NIS 200,000 a year ). The schools must = commit to=20 evaluations throughout all stages of the program - not least testing the = pupils=20 - and will win financial rewards based on success. The goal is to = improve the=20 pupils' grades, support outstanding ones, and reduce the violence at = schools=20 while improving relations between the kids and the teachers.

Now the foundation's plans have been presented to Sa'ar and to the = Education=20 Ministry staff, and negotiations are apace. For this to happen, the = Rashi=20 Foundation and ministry have to work together closely.

"The elementary schools, even the best ones, need reinforcement and=20 improvement," says Elalouf. "We were asked in the past to provide = support for=20 elementary schools in the periphery, to lift them to the level expected = of the=20 Education Ministry, or higher." That left the foundation with a taste = for more -=20 it didn't want to move on, it wanted to continue to support the schools, = which=20 could use some help.

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Rashi Foundation takes aim at high = school=20 education

Promises more study hours and fewer pupils per classroom, and a = boost for=20 elementary schools as well.

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