Educational Enrichment

After School Activities Program (ASAP)

Housed in four Moadoniot/ After School Activity Centers throughout Jaffa and South Tel Aviv, ASAP provides academic tutoring to children who would otherwise be left home alone or wandering the streets. Targeted one-on-one tutoring is given to each child and takes place under the supervision of certified educators.  ASAP ensures that the students complete their homework and provides them with study skills pointers to enhance their  understanding of the material. When the children return to school the following day, they have caught up on academic assignments and are ready to participate in class discussions. ASAP also provides arts education and other recreational activities that are lacking in the curriculum of Jaffa and Bat Yam schools.

Higher Education Scholarships for Jaffa Institute Graduates

All Jaffa Institute programming is aimed at providing children with the hope and drive to study at higher education institutions. It is greatly rewarding when the youth we have worked with for so long are able to attend a higher education institution.  When the only thing left standing in their way is finances, the Jaffa Institute helps with the final step. In 1992, the first year of the Scholarship Program, only two scholarships were presented. In recent years, to our delight, hundreds of scholarships covering higher education tuition and living expenses were awarded. The Jaffa Institute’s Yigal Guzman Scholarship Fund that was established in 2010 in memory of the late Yigal Guzman distributes higher education scholarships to disadvantaged youth in the fields of Accounting and Bookkeeping. 

Musical Minds

The Musical Minds Program exposes the children of the Moadoniot/ After School Activity Centers to the exciting world of music. The children have the opportunity to express themselves through music and art by learning to play a musical instrument and participating in the musical performances. Beyond enjoying the music, this program is a tool to help develop cognitive, listening, and interpersonal skills while at the same time building the child’s self esteem. This unique and innovative program was developed in cooperation with Bar Ilan University’s Yehuda Amir Institute for the Advancement of Social Integration in the Schools and is part of the MUS-E Program International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation.

Summer Camps

The Jaffa Institute Summer Camps run for two full months during the summer, when schools are closed. The camps, which are anticipated by children all year round, are open to all of the Institute’s Moadoniot children – as well as children in our wider service areas – and take place at all of our program sites. Past years have seen over one thousand children participating in this special summertime recreational outlet. In addition to recreation and educational enrichment, all children in the camp receive a nutritious hot lunch daily.

Computer Center and Audiovisual Learning Library

As the majority of families in Jaffa cannot afford a home computer, thousands of children are unable to use the tools of modern technology to keep up with their peers academically. The Jaffa Institute computer labs are open throughout the day for students to come and learn. Under the supervision of professional staff, hundreds of children study Hebrew grammar, mathematics, and science – using special educational software programs unavailable in their schools. The lab also serves as a Language Learning Center, coordinated with the computer education program, and provides hundreds of 3rd and 4th graders with additional lessons in Hebrew grammar and reading comprehension.

English Tutoring Program

The Jaffa Institute’s ‘Closing the Gaps’ Program offers students from some of the most difficult elementary schools in Israel the opportunity to learn English in an intimate and engaging environment. English at these schools is usually taught by non-native English-speaking teachers and the classes are too large to afford the one-to-one attention needed for language learning. The Jaffa Institute’s 17-week ‘Closing the Gaps’ English Program is taught by native-English speakers in groups of just 3-4 pupils. The program helps to narrow some of the educational gaps between children from disadvantaged communities and those from more prosperous backgrounds.