A Program To Increase The Number Of Five-Unit Mathematics Graduates In The City Of Eilat

Eilat is Israel‘s southernmost city, a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea. The city is a popular destination for domestic and international tourism, and is home to 50,000 people, including approximately 10,000 work immigrants. The educational system of Eilat accommodates more than 9,000 youngsters including 67 kindergartens, 10 elementary schools, and 6 high schools. Of the 535 twelfth grade students this year, 10% (54 students) study 5-unit mathematics, lower than the national average.

In recent years, the city has been collaborating with the Rashi Foundation and the Jewish Federation of Toronto to promote science education. Bet Yatziv, an operating arm of Rashi, has been very active and highly engaged in the city to push students to major in mathematics, physics, chemistry and computers. Due to this effort, in 2017, 20% of tenth grade student’s selected 5-units mathematics, a rate that has doubled from 9% in 2014. Now the city reports that it needs to work hard to prevent these students dropping down to lower levels.

However, this will not be a trivial effort, since it will require outstanding teaching quality. Eilat in particular finds it very difficult to attract and retain new teachers, because it is geographically isolated. In 2017, there are 50 mathematics teachers in Eilat and the surrounding areas, only 12 of whom are leading teachers of five units. They are overextended, working full-time and over-time, many are due to retire, and some are even employed as pensioners.

In order to overcome this hurdle, the city is now planning a comprehensive program to strengthen its current and potential pool of teachers. A teacher community will cultivate 12 experienced teachers of five-unit mathematics as a cadre of mathematics leadership for the city. They will learn how to develop tools for clinical teaching within their schools, how to coach new teachers, and how to establish school-based communities.

In parallel, an additional 20 teachers who have potential for teaching 5-units, or teaching 5-units for the first time, will be trained by the Levinsky College.  Levinsky will work with them on a weekly basis to strengthen their mathematics knowledge and ability, and together with the local expert teachers, they will provide them with individual instructional coaching to build lesson plans, observe their teaching and more.

In middle school, the municipality reports that due to the shortage, there are a number of teachers teaching without a mathematics-teaching certificate. In collaboration with the Education Ministry, Eilat is planning to register 20 such teachers to complete their training for a mathematics-teaching certificate.

The principals of Eilat’s high schools have already been recruited to the program. They will meet on a regular basis with mathematics department heads from the participating schools in a forum to update on progress, and address arising issues together. Each principal will appoint a school-coordinator for the excellence program (most likely the department head or pedagogic head) who will lead the program in their school.

It is hoped that after three years, 20% of 12^th grade students will complete 5-unit mathematics studies.

* The text presented above shows the grant as approved by the Foundation Board / Grant 229