Merchavim Hosts Conference for its Arab Teacher Integration ...
Merchavim Hosts Conference for its Arab Teacher Integration Program
On May 24th, Merchavim held its annual conference for the Arab Teacher Integration Program in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Authority for the Economic Development of the Arab Sector.
The program, which aims to integrate 500 Arab teachers of Math, English, and Science into Israel's Hebrew public schools over five years, began as a Merchavim initiative 7 years ago and was formally adopted by the Ministry of Education in 2013. To date, there are a total of 210 Arab teachers teaching in Jewish high schools across Israel, a significant increase from the 89 teachers placed in the first two years of the partnership, and the number continues to grow steadily.
At the conference, Rachel Matukey, Manager of the Northern Region for the Ministry of Education, announced that the Integration Program will be adopted in every middle school in the Northern Region to ensure that all students of middle-school age will have studied with an Arab teacher. She spoke about the great challenge of educating a generation of more tolerant and inclusive Israeli youth and emphasized how the integration of Arab teachers into Jewish schools thorugh the program is a great tool in this effort.
Ayman Saif, Director of The Authority for the Economic Development of the Arab, Druze and Circassian Sectors spoke with great passion about this program, stating that while the Authority oversees governmental investments in billions of shekels, this program is especially close to his heart because of his commitment to shared education opportunities for Jewish and Arab children. He encouraged participating teachers and school principals to share their successes with colleagues who remain skeptical or resistant to joining the program.
Lucy Aharish gave the keynote lecture entitled “No Apologies” sharing her life story and experiences as a leading Arab media personality in Israel with those in attendance.
The conference also included roundtable discussions for teachers that covered major challenges in their work as education professionals.