Promoting Excellence in high school science and mathematics

There is a wide variety of factors influencing the level of performance of science and mathematics students in Israel – including among others, student and parent motivation, access to quality teaching, and incentives provided by government and universities. Achieving sustainable improvement in this area therefore is a complex goal which goes far beyond the capacity of any single organization or program. Making comprehensive progress would require coordination, collaboration and alignment of vision and outcome-measures among stakeholders in government, academia, the business sector, philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.

With the upcoming establishment of a new government in Israel, and the inevitable refinement of education policy and budget, there may be an opportunity to launch such a collaborative effort around mathematics and science education in Israel. In consultation and collaboration with the Rashi Foundation, a prominent philanthropic foundation in Israel which focuses on education, health and welfare in the disadvantaged peripheries, we have discussed the possibility of jointly initiating a collective impact effort. The goal of this effort would be to bring the relevant stakeholders around shared vision and outcomes, which would aim to turn around the current trend of decline in mathematics and science education in Israel.

The proposed idea is to set a very concrete goal of expanding the number of high school students in the advanced five-unit track in mathematics by twenty percent in four years, while achieving a similar increase in physics and chemistry studies, and an increase in the number of well-trained teachers. The new Minister of Education will be asked to set and drive towards this goal, around which a group of relevant stakeholders will be convened. Participants will include foundations, universities, employers and government agencies that assert their contribution to achieving the shared goal. They will participate in an ongoing structured dialogue to encourage knowledge sharing, joint data collection, monitoring and analysis, as well as collaboration.

The model and methodology behind this effort will be inspired by similar “Collective Impact” efforts around the world. A prominent current example is the 100Kin10 Initiative, which was envisioned by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and launched by the White House, as a joint enterprise to recruit and train 100,000 new teachers of mathematics and the sciences in the US over the next decade. Another example is the Strive Initiative in Cincinnati which succeeded in elevating student performance in the local public education system. Work of this nature is being researched by Mark Kramer, and the lessons he has learned (with necessary adaptations) are of value in preparing a similar effort in Israel.

For this purpose and together with the Rashi Foundation, we asked Sheatufim to learn, plan and prepare to act as a convener for a collective impact effort in Israel which will focus on science and mathematics education. Sheatufim is a non-profit organization, established in 2006, which specializes in convening roundtable discussions between government, the business sector and the nonprofit sector. For the past five years it has operated roundtables for the Prime Minister’s Office and recently for the Ministry of Education.

In the first stage of the effort, which is currently proposed, Sheatufim will lay the groundwork and test feasibility for launching the Israeli effort. They will learn the US experience, identify local capacities, plan and prepare for launching the program, and assist us and the Rashi Foundation in engaging with the new administration in Israel towards a timely execution.

In the second stage, which will be jointly funded by the partners, the intention is to assemble a group of participants, and to create work processes which will include joint analysis of the factors influencing the low selection of science and mathematics majors and mapping of the current programs in Israel that try to tackle this issue. This will allow the participants to design mutual goals and indicators for success, evaluating the current situation and trends, and identify missing pieces and duplication in efforts. The Jewish Funders Network (JFN) has already expressed interest in joining the effort at this stage. JFN believes that this attempt may be an attractive vehicle which could interest private donors who are members of their network.

* The text presented above shows the grant as approved by the Foundation Board / Grant 81