Kol Hana’ar

Kol Hana’ar worked on both the systemic level and the individual level.

To promote systemic change, we encouraged, empowered and supported those schools striving to meet the needs of at-risk ultra-Orthodox boys. We provided financial support to the institutions in which the teenagers were placed, toward expanding educational and therapeutic activities that would help them. We also worked with the schools on an ongoing basis to improve their practices. The participating institutions included both boarding schools (which are very common in Israel) and commuter schools.

We greatly professionalized the process of identifying at-risk teens and working successfully with them and their families. We had staff “in the field,” going in person to locations where high-school dropouts tended to gather, advertising in media they consume, and taking referrals from schools and from other groups that might make contact with them.

We then invited the teens – together with those parents who were interested in finding alternative educational options – and interviewed them, with the goal of assessing their needs and identifying schools or services that might help the teen educationally, spiritually and emotionally.

Over the years we provided guidance to 2,300 families through more than 7,800 consultations. Most importantly, we worked with 29 schools to open their doors to our beneficiaries and create more supportive environments for all students.