Grant Amount
NIS 685,000
A Municipal Program to Raise the Rate of Graduates of Middle School Excellence Classes to 33% by 2023
Addition in teaching hours and professional development for the high school teachers of mathematics
Addition in teaching hours and professional development for the high school teachers of mathematics
Afula is a city in Northern Israel comprised of more than 50,000 residents. In the early years of the State, Afula absorbed waves of Jewish immigration from Iraq and Yamen. During the past decade, real estate prices decreased, attracting families with lower economic capabilities. Today, the city’s education system includes 8,000 students, in eight diverse middle schools: some small, others serving hundreds of students; some secular though the majority, religious; the municipality operates several, while others are run by ORT.
With the nationwide increase in the number of students taking five-units of mathematics, Afula had succeeded in doubling its rate from 5.6% of its graduates in 2014 to 11.3% in 2019. However, the rate is still much lower than the national average of 15.5%. Therefore, as of 2017 the Ministry of Education has been operating a special program in Afula, designed for the geographic periphery of Israel. The program provides additional teaching hours and professional development for the high school teachers of mathematics.
In order to continue increasing the levels of excellence, the municipality’s education department analyzed the current data and trends. They found that 147 of the 736 students in ninth grade (~20%) study in middle school excellence classes and are all assigned to the five-unit track in tenth grade. However, more than 50% drop to a lower level because they arrive ill-prepared in terms of knowledge, proficiency and ability of mathematical thinking and understanding.
Therefore, the municipality is planning a program to expand the excellence classes to 33% of the students, while elevating the level of teaching and learning. They intend to open additional excellence classes, which will devote four additional teaching hours (2 in mathematics and 2 in physics). They will target students who are in the high ability group in mathematics. The content taught in the new classes will aim to increase students’ motivation and skill through use of advanced learning material, which relies on mathematical models to solve real-life complex problems.
The mathematics and physics teachers of the existing and new classes will collaborate in professional learning communities and receive instructional coaching from experts. Each school will appoint an “excellence coordinator” and routinely convene a team including the principal and the department heads. Students in these excellence classes will be provided with afterschool homework assistance from engineering students.
The end goal of this endeavor is that within three years, 80% of the graduates of the excellence classes will succeed in a readiness test, aligned with the top 5-6 levels of the PISA research, leading to a consequent increase in the number of five unit graduates.