Grant amount
NIS 960,000
Program To Increase The Percentage Of 5-Unit Mathematics Matriculation Graduates In Rahat
Municipal Program in Rahat to Increase the Percentage of 5-Unit Mathematics Matriculation Graduates to 9% (125 students) by 2021
Municipal Program in Rahat to Increase the Percentage of 5-Unit Mathematics Matriculation Graduates to 9% (125 students) by 2021
Rahat is a Bedouin city in the South of Israel with a population of 64,500. It is the largest Bedouin city in the world and is on the lower end of the national socio economic scale in Israel. Rahat is home to 8,000 high school students who study in eight high schools, all operated by the municipality, five of which teach 5-unit mathematics tracks today. However, in 2016, only 47.5% of 12th grade students graduated with a matriculation diploma and just 1.8% with a 5-unit mathematics matriculation.
Many parents in Rahat perceive the quality of the local education system as very low, and report that upon graduation, their children will not meet the bar for Israeli universities and therefore need to go to Palestinian or Jordanian universities. As a result, many parents prefer to send their children to study outside the city, mostly in a school for excelling students in the Bedouin town of Hura, and a kibbutz school in Sha’ar Ha’Negev. Other students have employed private teachers or studied via the virtual high school as an alternative to studying in the municipal education system.
The city wants its excelling students to stay and study in Rahat, and over the past few years has begun tracking high performing students in 7th grade. Initially they did so in one school by implementing the Education Ministry’s Science Technology-Certification program, which provides supplementary lessons in STEM subjects. In 2015, two more schools joined the program, which created a drive in the city for expanding the pipeline of excellence.
Three years on, the students who began the Science Technology-Certification program in 2015 are finishing 9th grade, and comprise 177 students in advanced mathematics tracks, across three schools. The city has identified another 235 seventh grade students as further potential for advanced-level studies, and it seems that the number of potential 5-unit students has increased significantly. The city even reports that in 2017, although the numbers have not yet been formally released, 41 students (3.8%) took the 5-unit exam.
Having recognized the potential for expanding mathematics excellence, the city now wishes to set a goal to increase the percentage of 5-unit mathematics students from 3.8% (41 students) in 2017 to 9% (125 students) by 2021. Their goal is to expand their pool of advanced-level local teachers and to have at least one 5-unit mathematics class in seven schools, and for this, they need to cultivate a strong, stable, local mathematics teaching staff. One of the problems they are facing is a shortage of high quality teachers with suitable mathematics knowledge. At present, there are eight 5-unit mathematic teachers in Rahat, however the city has identified an additional nine potential 5-unit teachers.
Another issue they are facing is insufficient motivation for increasing excellence in 5-unit mathematics on the part of school principals, students and parents. Parents who decided to register their children in the local schools understand that the Palestinian and Jordanian universities look at the final grade in mathematics, regardless of the level of study (three, four or five units). Therefore, they are reluctant to register to the advanced levels and prefer to make do with a high grade in the 3-unit track.
Therefore, Rahat is proposing a program that will address these issues and aims to:
1) Strengthen the teaching capacity by creating professional learning communities for teachers: a community of seventeen 5-unit and potential 5-unit mathematics teachers; and a second community for 20 leading middle school mathematics teachers. Teachers will meet for 60 hours of professional development per year for three years and will receive instructional coaching in their schools once every two weeks by an external education organization.
2) Build motivation among principals, students and parents. The city will convene a forum of principals who will meet monthly, and receive coaching to help promote a culture of excellence in their schools. The program also includes local media campaigns to motivate teachers and parents to encourage students to participate in the program, and to raise awareness of the importance of studying mathematics at advanced levels. They will provide a number of scholarships as incentives for students who choose to study at Israeli universities.
3) Smooth the transition from middle school to high school. Rahat will provide supplementary lessons and summer preparatory courses for students completing 9th grade, in order to strengthen their knowledge and readiness for advanced-level mathematics in 10th grade.
As the advanced-level of mathematics in Rahat is still relatively low, each community will also take part in 30 hours of mathematics enrichment per year. In addition, the city plans to employ a consultant who successfully established and led the ”New Five” program in the central district, and is experienced in helping disadvantaged populations achieve success in 5-unit mathematics. She will advise and support the program in creating and implementing a similar model in Rahat over the next three years.
* The text presented above shows the grant as approved by the Foundation Board / Grant 273