In the wake of the horrific and devastating news from Israel, so many of us are looking for ways to help support our brothers and sisters at this critical time. In order to help contribute to this effort, we have been in close coordination with those who are involved in grassroots educational efforts to support Israeli students as well as colleagues in Reshet AMIT, one of the largest school networks in Israel, as they support their member schools at this time.
The AMIT network includes over 60 schools serving 40,000 students across an incredibly broad spectrum of Israeli society, from secular to religious, in the North, South and Central regions and especially in periphery communities that are directly experiencing loss, trauma and displacement at this time. AMIT administrators have advised that while in-person learning will likely not resume for some time, students in their network are in critical need of limited but structured online learning opportunities across a broad range of disciplines including English, Hebrew language, science, math and Judaic studies. At the same time, AMIT schools are facing drastic staffing shortages as teachers and educational personnel are drafted up or otherwise impacted by the situation.
Currently, we are seeking to expand efforts to identify diaspora-based Hebrew-speaking teachers who are available immediately to teach 45-minute classes over Zoom to Israeli students in seventh through 12th grades whose teachers are currently unavailable.
Note: Due to many constraints (even including observed patterns in the timing of rocket attacks), these classes are scheduled to be offered in blocks from 12-12:45 p.m. and 1-1:45 p.m. Israel time, which obviously creates a significant challenge for many U.S.-based educators due to time zone differences.
Nevertheless, having seen the outpouring of effort and support in communities throughout the world on behalf of Israel and her people, we are turning to networks of U.S.-based teachers to recruit volunteers for this critical need.
If you are interested in volunteering for this effort and have the educational and language background and experience needed, please use this form to sign up, and in the coming days we will be in contact with you to launch this effort.
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