Photo Gallery News about the Enriched School Day program Enriched School Day Summer Program

Goals · To raise pupils' scholastic levels in schools located in disadvantaged or peripheral areas. · To reduce gaps in achievement and opportunity between children from different socio-economic strata.

Overview A flagship project of the Sacta-Rashi Foundation, the Enriched School Day program was initiated by the Foundation to address several educational and social needs. The program offers a hot meal, educational support, and enrichment and social activities to children at schools and kindergartens during after-school hours, with particular focus on children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Since its introduction in 1994, the program has developed into an efficient and flexible platform for various programs, including the provision of basic welfare needs. Additional classes through the afternoon

Features  Educational reinforcement: Pupils receive extra hours of tuition in basic subjects of Hebrew, math and English.  Enrichment activities: Drama, art and music lessons stimulate the children, develop their social skills, and broaden their experience of "being at school".  Sympathetic and supportive environment: The program is operated by teachers who are familiar with the children; beyond formal school hours, they have time to engage individually with the children and offer additional emotional support.  Nutrition: A hot and nutritious midday meal is very important for children from families under financial strain.  Activities together with parents: Activities to encourage parents' involvement in their children's education, which is an important factor in scholastic success.

Added Value - Associated Programs The program has proven to be a highly flexible framework that can be adapted to many different situations and target populations. Following are some of the new initiatives the Foundation has successfully integrated into the program's structure:

• Academia – helping 10th-12th graders gain a full matriculation so that they can continue on to higher education. • Tafnit – improving the achievements of the weakest pupils through accelerated learning. • Material Aid – providing basic aid packages that include furniture, clothes and school supplies to the needy families of children within the Enriched School Day program.

Sample results Average grades at start and end of 2002/3, by subject - from an evaluation of 23,018 pupils at 458 schools around the country.

Sacta-Rashi's Involvement  Program initiation – starting with 1,500 pupils in 1994 and expanding to reach approximately 65,000 pupils in over 100 localities in the current school year.  Nationwide management and administration  Development of associated programs  Over the past decade, Sacta-Rashi has directly contributed approximately $27 million to the operation of ESD (over and above all administrative costs)

Partners Public Bodies: Ministry of Education, Local Authorities, JDC, Jewish Agency, Keren Hayesod, UIA Britain, UJA Canada Jewish Federations: Metropolitan Detroit, Greater Washington, Greater Los Angeles, Chicago, MetroWest Philanthropies: Glencore Foundation, Wiesel Foundation, Caesarea Foundation, Youth Renewal Fund, North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry, Ima Foundation Education Networks: ORT, Amal, Amit