(Courtesy of AMIT) AMIT is kicking off the new school year with wonderful news: The network has been named the #1 educational network in Israel by the prestigious newspaper TheMarker, based on Education Ministry data, for the third year in a row.
The Education Ministry rates educational networks in Israel according to various criteria, including overall achievement of the networks’ schools, matriculation rate, number of students taking the highest level matriculation exams in English and math, dropout rate, violence prevention, graduates’ rate of enlistment in the army or national service, mainstreaming special needs students and testing integrity (or cheating rates).
AMIT led the way in three of these categories: the percentage of students who are eligible for matriculation, the percentage of students taking five-point matriculation exams in mathematics and fewest violent incidents. The data from the Ministry of Education reveal only part of the picture, because they are influenced by the excellent schools in each network, or by especially weak schools. In order to receive complete data, the Ministry developed another index that examines the percentage of schools in each network that meet the minimum standards set by the Ministry for each index.
“The rating is a badge of honor for the AMIT educational system and the network’s teachers, especially in the periphery [outlying areas of Israel], where most of our schools are located,” said Dr. Amnon Eldar, director general of the AMIT network. “We are equally proud of our excellence in preventing violence as we are in achieving excellence in five-point mathematics. We are investing in pedagogical innovation and imparting skills for the 21st century, and we have approached the ministry about including these factors in its indices in the future.”
Examination by TheMarker found that of the seven largest and most well-known school networks in Israel, based on ratings by the Ministry of Education, the AMIT Educational Network is the highest quality. AMIT students’ eligibility is 98% for matriculation exams according to the Education Ministry’s criteria.
“We are very proud and excited to be recognized as the leading educational network by the Ministry of Education for the third straight year,” said Audrey Axelrod Trachtman, president of AMIT. “This is the result of a long and steady strategic effort to innovate our learning methods and create spaces where collaboration and intellectual risk taking is encouraged. Our mantra across every one of our schools in Israel is that no matter the socioeconomic background, our students have the ability and skills to succeed even beyond their dreams!”
Following AMIT on the overall list of the top seven networks, Bnei Akiva ranked second, largely because of the number of its graduates who enlist in the army, while Darca ranked third. ORT, the largest educational network in Israel, ranked fourth, Atid ranked fifth, Sakhnin came in sixth and Amal came in seventh. Some 165,000 students attend the approximately 300 high schools in these seven networks. (There are other networks that do not appear on TheMarker’s list.) The 35,000 students in the AMIT network will certainly be proud to return to school in the wake of this inspiring news.
