The most urgent challenge facing public education in Israel today is the direct correlation between socioeconomic status and school achievement levels.

Israel has one of the most extreme income gaps in the Western world, and neighborhood income levels have become an almost perfect predictor of school academic success. The poorer you are, the more likely you are to get a low-quality education, which, in turn, limits opportunities for military service, higher education, and professional career training. Reversing this trend has become a national priority.

JFN members Don Futterman, Executive Director of the Israel Center for Educational Innovation (ICEI) and co-host of the Promised Podcast, and Mary Ann Stein, President of The Moriah Fund, present this webinar on strategies and approaches to closing educational gaps in Israel.

The Israel Center for Educational Innovation (ICEI), was established to turn around underachieving and failing schools serving the poorest and lowest performing Jewish population in the elementary school system: Ethiopian-Israeli children. Today, in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Education and local municipalities, ICEI’s programs are transforming schools serving thousands of Ethiopian-Israeli students, and thousands of other low income students.