Congratulations! Middle school for the bilingual study track in Haifa

A middle school is growing bilingual - but it is not yet known where

The bilingual track, which conducts studies in Arabic and Hebrew, which started as a small cluster of kindergartens where Jewish and Arab children studied both languages, will also open a middle school starting next school year.

So although there is a middle school, the municipality has not yet announced where the classes will be held, five months before September 1st, it is worth mentioning.

Success in kindergartens

The Yad Yad association opened the gardens, which were a great success. When the children grew up, the bilingual track was opened at the Ahmadiyya school in the Kabbir neighborhood. The parents were satisfied with the location, as the Ahmadiyya children speak Arabic and so do the children in the language echo track.

After several years, due to the lack of physical space, the track moved to the 'Hofit' school at the Aliyah gate. The school was a growing school, with every year another class joined, and now the older students are finishing the sixth grade and therefore the middle school is opening.

open day

It should be noted that flyers were distributed regarding the new middle school, including information regarding an open day that will be held next Monday 04/04/22 at the Hofit school, where, as mentioned, the bilingual elementary track is located. However, the association still does not know where the middle school will be located. What is known at this stage is that the school will be a growing school, meaning that in the next academic year it will only have a XNUMXth grade, and each year another grade will join. The meeting next Monday will be with the designated class teacher, the route manager, parents and students.

The emphasis in the bilingual track is on deepening the studies of both languages, educational innovation and multidisciplinary learning, an extracurricular study program and an emphasis on dialogue, familiarity and multiculturalism. The members of the Yad Yad community who stand behind the bilingual education, maintain that it is not enough to live in a city of coexistence, but that it is also necessary to pour real content into coexistence.

Harsh voices at first

Today, classes at the Hufit school are going smoothly, but the beginning was not so glamorous. The parents at the Aliyah Gate who heard that the bilingual track would be held at their school, were not enthusiastic about the idea, to say the least. The bilingual route celebrates all the holidays, Muslim, Christian and Jewish, and the parents from Shaar Aliya did not like the idea of ​​their children celebrating non-Jewish holidays. The parents from Hoofit went out to demonstrate in front of the municipality and in front of the school, and the residents of the neighborhood joined the demonstration and protested against the idea. The parents of the bilingual route also felt that the connection to Ahmadiyya was more natural for them and were not sure that their children would be welcome at the gate of aliyah. But in September last year, school started and the spirits calmed down. Now the question is where the middle school studies will be.

The demand is increasing every year

In 5 months the school year will start and still as mentioned, the association does not know where the school will be. The answers should come from the municipality.

Over the years the Yad Yad community has been in contact with the Haifa municipality in order to get buildings for the kindergartens and schools. The Yad Yad community requested that it be allocated more space for the benefit of its educational institutions, due to the growing demand. Every year dozens of parents and children who apply to be admitted to kindergartens and schools are not accepted because physically there is not enough space to accommodate all those who wish to study on a bilingual track.

Coexistence in practice

The satisfaction of the parents and students is very high, especially due to the large community created outside of school hours, parents and students who celebrate events and holidays together and enjoy the fact that the children have acquired friends from all denominations and also another language.

Jewish children who study in bilingual kindergartens acquire a rich vocabulary in Arabic and are able to speak and learn Arabic over the years. Haifa is a city that prides itself on the coexistence where, between Christians, Muslims and Jews, the Yad Yad community elaborates these words and turns them into reality, in practice.

The municipality's response to the article will be attached when it is received