In April, Aliza Begin School in Migdal HaEmek hosted a mission from the community of Ann Arbor, Michigan.  The Ann Arbor community supports and assists Partnership 2000, which includes the municipalities of Migdal HaEmek, Nazareth Illit, and Jezreel Valley.

The visit centered on the English reinforcement program, a flagship project supported by the Jewish community of Detroit.

The mission arrived at the school during the morning and met student representatives from grades 4–6, who received them warmly and took active part in guiding the visit.  The students, led by English teacher Dikla Zahavi and supplementary teacher Keren Amoyal, presented the school, took their guests on a tour of its various corners and spoke about their lives as they see it.  Upon entering the classrooms, the mission’s members wore broad smiles on their faces as they were enthusiastically received by students singing in English.

Later on during the day, the guests enjoyed a flowing conversation in English with students in the English room; they spoke about various things such as study topics, the children’s work, and the diverse products of learning under the program.

In addition, the guests observed a sixth grade English lesson and were impressed by the teacher’s technique and special way of drilling English rules, and, of course, by the students who exhibited their knowledge.

Winding up their tour of the school, the visitors were hosted in the room of the principal, Michal Abercohen, who talked about the merits of the program and its contribution to advancing students; she backed up her praise with statistics collected in the field on improved student achievement.  English teacher Dikla and supplementary teacher Keren told the guests about the high motivation and enjoyment of students who are being given a wonderful opportunity which translates into narrowing and preventing subsequent scholastic gaps.

The visit took place thanks to the efforts of Ms. Batia Shimshi, acting director of the Partnership, and Ms. Eti Mizrahi, the program’s town coordinator, who accompanied the mission and handled logistics.

We wish to thank all those who organized and conceived this idea, who invested so much in this important resource and have enabled this singular program to operate.

Sincerely,

Michal Abercohen

Principal Aliza Begin School