History of Residential Education in Israel
Residential education is far more widely available in Israel than in any other country in the world, and is less expensive than in the U.S. Israel’s network of approximately 300 children and youth villages could serve as a model for the U.S.
Israel does not have an elite tuition boarding school system; it has a system made up of child-centered communities which are not necessarily for “misfits” nor for those from financially advantaged backgrounds, but for “normal” children and youth who have troubles in their home environments.
“Residential education” is the term used in Israel, whereas “residential treatment” and “residential care” are the terms most often used in the U.S. The former represents a more positive view of students, emphasizing strengths and a focus on the future, while the latter two indicate more of a problem-to-be-solved approach. The Israeli system focuses on education and/or vocational training, with caregiving, therapeutic treatment, and behavior modification playing a significant but subtle role. It is group-centered and heterogeneous in population.
“There is an underlying conviction that all young people can succeed, and it is the adult community’s responsibility to see that they do,” says Zvi Levy, Director of WIZO-Hadassim Children and Youth Village in Israel.
Israeli residential education programs emphasize cultural pluralism, transfer of values, improved identity, a lifelong commitment to the child, academic and vocational excellence, and maintaining family connections. Created originally to house children fleeing the Holocaust, the programs were based on a hybrid of the Kibbutz (communal village) and traditional European boarding schools. Many of Israel’s top politicians, artists, military heroes, and business executives are graduates of these schools. The programs have been adapted over the past sixty-five years to meet the changing demographics and needs of Israel’s citizens. The current mix of students is approximately half disadvantaged Israelis born in Israel and half new immigrants, primarily from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union.
The programs are group-centered while valuing each community member, committed to helping students graduate, and unstigmatized. Students and staff contribute what they can and take what they need that is available. Today, the various cultures from which residents arrive are celebrated, studied, and used to enrich the environment of the majority rather than be replaced by it.