The Azrieli Institute for Educational Empowerment

The Azrieli Institute for Educational Empowerment is a program to empower junior high school students in Israel.

The Azrieli Foundation has partnered with the Rashi Foundation, the local Israeli municipalities, and with the United Jewish Appeal of Canada to meet this national challenge, pinpointing grades 7 through 9 as the critical point in a student's life which requires special support and guidance, in order to pre-empt the possibility of dropping out in the future.

The program's 3-pronged approach targets students' academic skills, their social skills, and also focuses on the parents' role as supporters of their children's educational process.

Academic success is achieved by closing educational gaps through accelerated studies over a short period of time, triggering a series of impressive achievements in core subjects – English, Math, and Hebrew Language.

Social activities run alongside academic studies, aimed at developing social skills and instilling concepts of socially acceptable behavior and self-discipline.

Parents are also brought into the process, through an intensive series of meetings with educational experts, during which they learn methods for working with their children and improving family relations, thus becoming full partners in their children's achievements.

During the last stage of the program, the students undergo special instruction, providing them with the skills to work with other youth and thus give back to the community through volunteer work with new groups or students.

Established in Be’er Sheva in 2004, the Azrieli Institute for Educational Empowerment now has eight locations - Be’er Sheva, Carmiel, Eilat, Kiryat Malachi, Akko, Dimona, Ofakim, and Maalot - and educates approximately 1000 students.