MASA-Israel Journey and the United Jewish Communities announced the launch of Israel Teacher Corps, a 10-month program providing opportunities for North American college graduates to teach English in underserved Israeli public schools.
Modeled after Teach for America, an American organization which aims to bolster education in underserved communities in the US, Israel Teachers Corps offers Jewish college graduates to spend a year living in and teaching in peripheral communities in Israel.
MASA partnered with OTZMA, a 10-month service program in Israel funded by the United Jewish Communities of North America, to launch the Israel Teacher Corps, with the goal of bringing 100 volunteers a year to Israel within the next few years.
MASA is a joint project of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Prime Minister’s office, set up in 2004 under Ariel Sharon to
encourage Jewish young adults ages 18-30 to spend a semester to a year on programs in Israel.
“The success of service programs like the American Jewish World Service shows the eagerness of Jewish college graduates to participate in service programs, but also points to the need for such opportunities in Israel,” says Avi Rubel, director of MASA North America, himself a former United States Peace Corps volunteer. “In Israel they can feel a unique sense of pride in making an impact in a country they can call their own.”
During their first six weeks in Israel, Israel Teacher Corps participants will take part in intensive pre-service training, which includes pedagogic instruction in teaching English as a Second Language, classroom management, and an intensive Hebrew Ulpan course. Additionally, participants will observe their classrooms before they begin teaching and become acquainted with their communities.
Following the initial training period, volunteers will move to their Partnership 2000 communities in groups of three to four and serve as English teachers, teachers’ aids, and/or English resource teachers for approximately 35 hours a week. Participants also choose another volunteer project to pursue for three to five hours a week, with placements that may include after-school programs or homes for the elderly.
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