For many of the youth in our care, adolescence is a particularly difficult time due to the increased coursework and social pressures that often accompany this transition. Furthermore, many of the students experience learning difficulties, which are intensified by their family and economic circumstances.
In 2015, the Jaffa Institute launched the Jump Start program to assist at-risk youth in our service area, ages 12-17, to successfully transition from elementary school to middle and high school. Ensuring an educational continuum, most of the program participants are graduates of our After-School Educational Enrichment Centers. With the assistance of Keren Otzar Hachesed, Jump Start provides participants with individualized academic support in core subject areas at nine locations, including at our newest Center located in Yehud.
Since Jump Start’s inception, participants’ grades have increased by 30% in English, 28% in mathematics, and 21% in Hebrew, as a result of their participation in the program.