In the landscape of philanthropy, the Trump Foundation is perceived as unique. We practice an approach called “Catalytic Philanthropy” which focuses on solving a national problem. This approach creates a highly transparent outcome-driven strategy, convenes an ecosystem of stakeholders and weaves networks of knowledge sharing and collaboration, and makes our case very interesting for colleagues, […]
In 2019, the foundation approved a grant to the Center for Educational Technology to establish an online program in high order mathematical thinking for Arab-sector middle school students. The goal of the program was to reach 1,500 students within five years. A grant from the foundation was sought to fund the development of materials and […]
A year ago, the Technion started developing a physics course focusing on kinematics, which uses advanced mathematics modeling. When the proposal was considered by the foundation, the reviewers feared that since kinematics is not part of the curriculum, teachers would have minimal motivation to teach it and therefore take it only as an enrichment activity […]
The PISA framework in mathematics inspires the foundation’s roadmap in middle school. It was intentionally designed to mirror the skills needed for work and life in the 21st century. Therefore, in the past three years, the foundation supported the development of learning materials which promote high-level mathematical thinking aligned with the excellence levels of PISA. […]
Teaching students how to solve complex applied mathematical problems by using modelling and reasoning skills requires distinct classroom pedagogy. Over the past three years, the foundation has been collaborating with the top educational developers in Israel to prepare new learning assignments that apply these skills and align with the PISA 5-6 proficiency levels. As a […]
The Druze community in Israel comprises 143,000 citizens living mainly in the north of Israel. Daliyat al-Carmel (18,000 residents) and Isfiya (13,000 residents) are two local councils with a majority of Druze residents. In 2003, these two councils were merged to form Carmel City, however the new city was dissolved in 2008 and the two councils […]
The city of Ashkelon, in the South of Israel, is home to approximately 160,000 residents, including new immigrants from South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ethiopia and Russia. Thirty-three thousand students are enrolled in the city’s education system of which 10,500 attend 13 secondary schools. The middle schools offer 13 excellence classes in 11 schools, serving 456 […]
Beit Shean is a local council in the Northern District with approximately 20,000 residents. Its education system comprises 4,970 students, of which 1,553 in four secondary schools, all run by the ORT network. Only two of the schools operate an excellence class in middle school, attended by 40 students. The Beit Shean council is part […]
Teaching applied mathematics which involves solving real life problems requires a shift in pedagogy. In other countries that have already made this transition, teachers moved from the traditional constructivist method, towards an approach that encourages self-regulated learning and peer discussions. In order to facilitate a similar transition in Israel, developers of applied mathematics tasks in […]
High-tech has been Israel’s growth engine for the past 30 years, with hundreds of new startups created every year and dozens of mergers, IPOs and exits announced on an almost weekly basis. In the face of economic and health crises taking place around the world, Israeli tech companies keep on succeeding, helping the economy to […]
Poland is one of the top 15 countries on the PISA international assessment, with 16% of its students excelling in mathematics (compared to 8.8% in Israel). Over the past 20 years, Poland has demonstrated a remarkable improvement, the result of a comprehensive reform of its education system. Commencing in 1999, the reform included structural change […]
There are very high demands and prerequisites for studying in an advanced mathematics course, particularly the five-unit level in high school. In order to determine whether students are indeed prepared for this difficult learning track, they are typically assessed by their teachers with reference to their mathematical knowledge. Rarely is there any formal reference to […]
The first phase of the foundation’s roadmap in middle school concentrated on development of new learning material, training teachers to use it and opening of additional excellence classes where the new material is now taught. This was a necessary three-year stage to prepare and showcase the practice of teaching applied mathematics at high level and […]
As problems in the 21st century become more complex, their solutions require the use of sophisticated, quantitative modeling and high-order thinking. As a result, the importance of studying mathematics in Israeli schools is as important as ever. Many surveys and focus groups reveal that students are convinced of the importance of studying mathematics to their […]
The foundation’s middle school portfolio is comprised of an arsenal of development, training and implementation programs. All of the programs are tasked with the mission of incorporating high-level mathematical modeling and reasoning, aligned with the PISA framework. Many of these programs rely on teacher leaders to help deploy the new material in schools. The teacher […]
The foundation’s portfolio includes an arsenal of development, training and implementation programs that teach mathematics in real-world contexts. This content is very different from the traditional learning material, which favors technical skills and abstract thinking. Teaching the new content however, requires a very different approach by teachers. Traditionally, they use constructivist methodologies that build knowledge […]
Middle school students interested in enrolling and succeeding in the five unit track in high school need a solid base of knowledge, along with thinking skills, strong motivation and the ability to cope with complex problems. In order to strengthen the connections between middle school and high school, and to facilitate a smoother transition between […]
The pandemic underlined the specific weakness of middle schools in Israel. During the crisis, all schools closed their doors immediately for in-school learning, however when pandemic conditions gradually improved, middle schools were the last to reopen. Elementary schools were important because they teach the basics and take care of younger children. High schools were more […]
In 2018, the Shfaram municipality began an effort to increase the number of its five-unit graduates from 7.5% in 2017 to 14% by 2021. After a hesitant beginning, student achievement has slowly been improving. This year, 28% of the students are enrolled in the five-unit track in 10th grade, however, still only 11% are about […]
כשהקרן תכננה את הצעדים הבאים של פעילותה הפילנתרופית מתוך שאיפה להעלות את רמת לימודי המתמטיקה בחטיבות הביניים, המיקוד היה בשני תחומים עיקריים: בהקמת מאגר של חומרי לימוד מאתגרים, שיעוררו את רצון התלמידים ללמוד ולעסוק בחשיבה מתמטית מסדר גבוה וביישומיה במדע; ובפתיחת עוד כיתות מצוינות והקבצות א’, שבהן ילמדו את התכנים החדשים תלמידים המעוניינים להשקיע בלימוד […]
In recent years, the southern city of Kiryat Gat has been undergoing a process of growth and now has 63,000 residents. Within the next few years, the city’s population is expected to increase to 100,000. This growth has also led to a much more diverse social fabric and a variety of cultural, ethnic and economic […]
The pandemic caught the Israeli education system unprepared. School facilities instantly closed in mid-March 2020, forcing teachers and students to tackle the new circumstances through distance teaching, independent learning and pedagogical initiatives. Teachers and students had to find creative ways to maintain educational continuity from their homes. The Ministry of Education tried to provide them […]
In 2018, the foundation established a city-based partnership with Holon to increase the percentage of five-unit mathematics graduates from 17% to 26% (500 students) by 2021. The program is now in its third and final year, with 43% of the 10th grade students enrolled in the five unit track and 25% (487 students) of the […]
ORT-Israel is the largest education network in Israel, comprised of 100 schools including 87 middle schools. ORT and the Trump Foundation have collaborated in recent years on the goal of raising the rate of five-unit graduates in mathematics from 12% in 2016 to an expected rate of 18% in 2021. As part of this effort, […]
Since 2012, the Trump Master Teacher Award has celebrated and recognized outstanding teachers of mathematics and the sciences in Israel’s schools. During the first six years, in alignment with the foundation’s roadmap, the prize committee concentrated on identifying excellent high school teachers of the five-unit track. In recent years, following the transition of the foundation’s […]
In 2018, the foundation approved a grant to launch a municipal program in Ma’ale Adumim to increase the percentage of five-unit mathematics matriculation graduates from 13% to 20%. In 2019, 15.3% of the students graduated five-unit mathematics. This year, 24% of the twelfth grade students are enrolled in the five-unit mathematics track and the city […]
Less than one percent of Israel’s Arabic-speaking students have reached excellence levels on the 2018 PISA exam in mathematics, as compared to more than ten percent among the Hebrew speakers. This untapped potential in Arab schools led the foundation to dedicate a special effort, which began with an online program initiated by the Center for […]
The Jerusalem District of the Ministry of Education comprises 70 middle and high schools in cities, including Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Ma’ale Adumim, Modi’in, Mevaseret Zion and the Binyamin settlements. Several years ago, the District led an effort to double the rate of its five-unit graduates in mathematics from 11%, reaching 20% in 2019. This effort […]
When the foundation planned its philanthropic steps to assist in raising the bar for middle school mathematics, we focused on two significant areas of work: a) Creating an arsenal of challenging learning material that encourages students to learn about and engage in high-order mathematical thinking and its applications in science, and b) Opening additional excellence […]
Excellence classes in middle school are designed for highly motivated students who demonstrate capability and potential to study mathematics and science at high levels. Typically, students in these classes come from the high ability group in mathematics. The excellence class is taught additional 4-6 weekly hours that are dedicated to accelerating and enriching the mathematical […]