At the bilingual school in Haifa, a coexistence is lived that most of us only dream of ► Why don't they get a proper place? • Watch

The bilingual track in Haifa has been in existence for 10 years and has a waiting list that is only getting longer, so why are they required to fight again and again for a place where they can conduct themselves and develop as they deserved and as they were already promised? Today they decided to come out and say - enough!

The children of the bilingual track • Watch

"We were promised a structure"

Many dozens of parents and children from the bilingual track arrived this morning (Tuesday 12/4/22) at the city hall square to call on the mayor Dr. Einat Kalish Rotem to fulfill her obligations towards them and allocate them a building for the benefit of the school.

Not enough students?

According to the parents, the mayor promised them that in the coming school year they will receive a building for the bilingual school, which will be used exclusively by them. According to the municipality, they submitted a request to the Ministry of Education to receive an institution symbol in favor of a bilingual school, and the Ministry of Education believed that there was not a sufficient number of students to open a school.

Protesters in the town hall square • Watch

A 10-year track

As I recall, the bilingual track in Haifa started operating 10 years ago. Initially, a kindergarten was opened, and every year a kindergarten was opened for another grade. When the first class reached first grade, the municipality transferred the bilingual track to host and conduct studies at the Ahmadiyya school in the Kabvir neighborhood. The parents believed that this was a logical combination and supported it.

The bilingual protest in the municipality • Watch

Again it is not known where they will study

3 years ago it was decided in the municipality that due to a lack of space at the Ahmadiyya school, the bilingual route would move to the Hufit school at Shaar Aliya. At first there were those who revolted against the decision, demonstrations were held and harsh sounds were heard, but from the first day of school it became clear that this was a successful combination. This coming September, the kindergarten children of the first year of the track will start middle school and again the question arises - where will it happen.

Dr. Marev Ben Nun, Among the founders of the "Yad Yad" community that works a lot for the growth of the bilingual track: "I have no doubt that Kelish Rotem supports us, and still, we were promised that next school year we would have our own building, and now we find out that it probably won't happen. The municipality informed us that our seventh grade will start at the six-year municipal school A in Kiryat Eliezer. It's a school Excellent, but many parents have announced that if this is what happens, they will not continue with us. We teach the children several grades together, and if the 7th grade is separate from the 6th grade and the elementary school, we will not be able to continue with our regular schooling format."

The director of the track, Dr. Merav Ben Nun • Watch

"We don't have the conditions to grow"

Ben Nun adds and says: "The municipality says that we don't have enough students to be able to have our own building. But it all follows from the conditions that the municipality gives us. We have a huge waiting list. The only reason we have one classroom per layer is that the municipality does not allow us to open two classrooms. We are very satisfied with the house The school is a beach, but the space there is very limited. We cannot find a room for our language studies, which are complex, because we teach Hebrew and Arabic. The director of the bilingual track can hardly find a place for herself when she has to manage a team of teachers because there are two teachers in each class. We asked again and again for one building, where we could teach the students, and already several times Kelish Rotem told us that she had already designated a building in the city for us that could be at our disposal and after all that - nothing."

Unable to register

Another claim that the parents are now raising is that when registration for middle schools opened on the municipality's website last month, the bilingual track did not appear as one of the registration options. As a result, parents who want to enroll their children in the 7th grade in the bilingual track cannot do so, and in general, there is no way to know how many parents intend to send their children to study in this track.

"We really live the coexistence"

"Our children are together in the kindergartens and in the classrooms from the age of two," says Ben Nun, "they grew up together and we became angry as a community together with them. Haifa is a city of coexistence and everyone is so proud of it. We live coexistence in practice, not just in slogans but as a way Haim. Our children speak Arabic, they have good friends and they know the holidays and traditions not only of their own, but also of other religions. Why not support us and encourage us?"

The children are taught in both languages

Students from the bilingual track also participated in the demonstration. Compared to the other students in the city, they still have studies, because they left for the Passover holiday and after that for the holiday of sacrifice. The children ran between the parents and seemed satisfied with what was happening around them.

In a conversation with the children, who are fluent in both languages ​​- Arabic and Hebrew, they say that they really like learning Hebrew and Arabic with their two teachers, one of whom speaks Hebrew and the other Arabic. It is impossible to ignore the fact that not only do the children speak fluent Arabic, but also that some of them actually have an Arabic accent, something that is not easily achieved at all, even after many years of studying Arabic in middle school and high school.

Klish Rotem comes to every event

It should be noted that the mayor's behavior indicates her commitment to the bilingual path, when, among other things, she bothers to come to every event of theirs to which she is invited. About two weeks ago, the mayor came for a toast at Beit Hafen, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the bilingual track. According to her, she strongly believes in studies in Arabic and Hebrew and it is very important to her that they have their own unique structure.

The municipality: "The Ministry of Education rejected our request to open a bilingual school"

The Haifa Municipality stated that, in coordination with the parents of the students of the bilingual track, a request was submitted to the Ministry of Education to allow the track to continue to grow in the future as a dedicated campus for students from grades 1 to 12.

"Unfortunately, the Ministry of Education rejected the municipality's request and stated that it does not recognize the need to open an institution symbol for the bilingual track since it is a small institution.

The Ministry of Education suggested that if the municipality of Haifa wishes to continue with the concept of bilingual education, it should locate an existing high school, which will allow the growth of the track within it, until it is strengthened and proves its ability to stand as an educational institution on its own (ie, more than 2 classes per grade).

Out of the municipality's commitment to fostering bilingual education in the city, the municipality acted to allow the growth of the track in one of the high schools in the city, and accordingly forwarded its proposal to the parents."

The Ministry of Education responded:
"The subject in question was discussed by the upper committee in our office. The committee decided that it is not possible to approve the expansion of an institution symbol within the elementary educational institution where the students are. At the same time, a solution will be provided for a bilingual class in one of the existing middle schools in the settlement as far as this is possible for the local authority."