Building Blocks

According to their two most recent external Meitzav results, 220 elementary schools nationwide and 145 JH schools have been identified as under-achieving schools in terms of their pupils’ English language achievement levels. There are a number of possible causes for this, including inadequate in-service teacher training programs that specify literacy skills and additionally ,an insufficient amount of qualified English teachers. If young children are not given quality literacy instruction, they will very likely continue to be under-achievers as they progress through the school system. This cyclical pattern must be stopped and prevented. By instructing school counselors in literacy theory and teaching strategies, they will, in turn, relay these to the teachers in schools where they counsel English teachers on a regular basis as well as at regional in-service training programs (hishtalmuyot) for English teachers. By carrying out this program, there will be raised awareness and discourse about English reading literacy among language educators; English teachers, counselors and school principals. The expected result of this intervention is that eventually the Meitzav grades at these under-achieving schools will improve.