Education
NA’AMAT is committed to providing educational opportunities in Israel, through daycare, high schools, and academic scholarships for women pursuing advanced degrees. Half of the teenage students in our Youth Villages are boarders, receiving not only a rigorous academic education but also emotional and social support to help them overcome obstacles and succeed in life. At NA’AMAT, we believe that education is key to elevating and creating a brighter future for all Israelis.
Youth Villages for Teens
NA’AMAT’s two youth villages, Kanot and Ayanot, provide 1,050 students per year a fresh start in life. Combining a residential middle and high school program with agricultural work and special EMT, police studies, or architecture training, the villages serve at-risk teens from under-resourced families or whose needs are not met by the traditional school system, who thrive thanks to NA’AMAT.
Along with their daily educational demands, these students are involved in extra-curricular and volunteer programs. Students visit seniors’ residences, volunteer at hospitals, work with animals, and become big sisters or brothers to needy children. As they gain new skills and feel the admiration of others, these young people gain pride in themselves and hope for the future.
Technological High Schools
NA’AMAT’s 13 technological high schools (six in Jewish municipalities and 7 in Arab municipalities) serve 1,750 students throughout Israel, combining academic subjects with courses in fields such as communications, computer science, photography, computer graphics and fashion design. Teenage boys and girls engage in theoretical studies with technological and vocational training.
Most of these teens enter NA’AMAT’s schools with a wide range of challenges including abuse, neglect, and addiction, among others. Many new immigrants from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union are also enrolled in the high schools.
Students are welcomed into small classrooms taught by specially trained, caring teachers. The schools include modern and updated equipment, computers and photography labs. This hands-on learning is crucial, especially for many students with learning disabilities. Upon graduation, these students are prepared to succeed and live productive lives.
The schools also encourage inclusivity and connection and strengthen shared society, as Jewish and Arab teens from each school form bonds of understanding and friendship with each other through shared study programs and social activities.
Scholarships for Women
Each year, NA’AMAT awards financial assistance to 200 academically gifted women in Israel, enabling them to follow their dreams and pursue bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in challenging programs of study. NA’AMAT also funds 8 Ph.D. research grants annually to deserving women in the field of gender studies and/or the sciences.
The criteria for selection ensure that qualifying women from all of Israel’s social circles are fairly represented. Many of Israel’s most talented young women come from homes lacking the financial resources to enable them to continue their studies at the university level. Many have demonstrated special aptitude in fields traditionally occupied by men – engineering, science and law. By offering scholarship support, NA’AMAT ensures that these women of merit can develop the skills and education they need to realize their dreams and make their contribution to Israeli society.
Daycare Centers for School Readiness
NA’AMAT is the largest provider of affordable preschools throughout Israel, ensuring that Israeli children get a good head start on their educational journey. These centers serve Arab, Jewish, Christian, Druze, and other children in communities from the North to the South. 153 centers welcome 12,000 pre-school boys and girls a year, ages 0-3, into a warm, nurturing learning environment in which they develop the skills needed to succeed in school and in life. Employing innovative programs and the latest educational trends and materials, a dedicated and caring staff of certified professionals supervise activities which emphasize individual attention and, where needed, appropriate testing and intervention along with confidence-building group activities.
Support Education in Israel
NA’AMAT gives children a headstart with warm, nurturing learning environments; provides teenage students the chance to succeed; and awards scholarships to women in Israel to help them advance and achieve their goals.