Israel's Children Deserve Better

A recent Times of Israel article revealed that many public schools in Israel are so underfunded that teachers must buy classroom learning tools with their own funds. In a school in Ofakim, teachers make do with donated supplies or pay for them out of their own pockets.  School principal Yael Segev explains that “the municipality can’t take the expenses,” and that she donates about 10 % of her salary back to the school to help fund operations.

According to recent OECD tests, even Israel’s top students are outperformed on international assessments by their peers from nearly every other country. The only categories in which Israel leads the rankings?  Israel has both the largest average class size, with an average of 29 students vs. the OECD average of 20, and more worrisome, the largest gap in educational achievement between rich and poor.

In wealthier communities, municipalities and parents make up for inadequacies by allocating or donating funds to schools. However, limited or inefficient government spending results in the denial of education to those living in Israel’s socio-economic and geographic periphery. The municipalities don’t have the budgets and most families in these communities can’t afford to supplement their children’s education. The 33% of Israel's children living in poverty are not getting the education they need to change their lives or their communities.

Darca was established in 2010 by the Rashi Foundation and KIAH to address this very crisis. With over 14,000 students in 23 high schools, and a student -teacher-student ratio of 10 to 1, Darca is Israel’s leading network of high schools. Working in Israel’s underserved communities, Darca is providing the world’s most innovative country with the most innovative schools.  Since the network was established, more than 80% of Darca students have passed Israel’s university matriculation exam compared to the national average of 49.8%. As an independent operating organization with a strong partner in the United States, Darca will invest more than $10 million this year on top of Ministry of Education funding in 23 schools and 2 learning centers to provide Israeli children with the education they deserve. Now more than ever, Israeli families need the support of Darca and our community of donors to ensure their children have unlimited opportunity and are prepared for success in our global economy.