Darca Schools, Israel’s leading educational network strengthening learning opportunities in underserved communities, has grown to manage two additional schools both located in Israel’s northern district, expanding its portfolio to 43 schools under management.
HOLON, ISRAEL (October 21, 2021) – Darca’s expansion in Israel’s northern district is strategic, establishing it as an influential education leader now also in Israel’s north. It will replicate the positive impact it has orchestrated in the dozens of challenge-stricken communities it already serves, prompting education stakeholders in this new region to take note. As Darca will set a new standard, it will serve as a role model for other peer education organizations to replicate, and thus leverage its direct investments to scale its impact.
At the top of Darca’s priority list for the Nofey Golan and Bet Yerach high schools will be to provide them with resources and a support system that, due to their distant and isolated locations, they have suffered without. As a large network of schools, Darca employs IT specialists, a legal team and an HR department that streamline processes and open doors these periphery schools’ limited staff could not dream of. The schools’ principals will now benefit from leadership seminars throughout the year, during which they can stay updated on cutting-edge trends in education and consult with peers on the latest challenges, a complete one-eighty from the sense of alienation that has plagued them until now.
Darca will also draw on its decade of expertise working with youth from immigrant backgrounds, and cultivating a sense of belonging amongst a polarized student body. Both schools’ student bodies are composed of significant immigrant and minority populations, including Russian immigrants, Druze and Arab youth. Even more, about half of each school’s students come from nearby small urban areas, while the other half come from surrounding kibbutzim, creating fissures and often tension between the two groups. Darca will incorporate programming specialized to create connection and to highlight commonalities.
With the Covid-19 pandemic still causing uncertainty and deeply compromising school operations, Darca will also take it upon itself to guide the school through crisis management, clarifying regulatory guidelines, providing a direct line to Ministry of Education officials, and providing other necessary support.
With partners in the municipalities’ leadership entirely committed to strengthening their schools, Darca is confident it will transform them to become leading educational institutions on a national level, as it has done in dozens of other schools across Israel’s periphery.
About Darca Schools
Now in its 10th year, Darca Schools draws on its innovative and business-oriented management to transform challenge-ridden schools in Israel’s underserved communities into educational institutions of the highest quality. With a reach of more than 24,000 students from 43 schools under management, Darca’s measurable achievements prove that by narrowing funding gaps and expecting nothing less than excellence, change is possible across the entirety of education systems. With oversight by a highly regarded Board of Directors, Darca empowers school leadership, incentivizes teachers, and furnishes students with resources that spark their curiosity and instill a strong sense of self-belief, accelerating their path to success. For more information, please visit www.darca.org.il.
