ISEF’s brightest university scholars from Israel’s periphery are providing individualized, intensive tutoring and mentoring support, four hours a week, to some 150 at-risk teens,grades 10-12, who were deemed at risk of failing to graduate or dropping out.
In Israel, a high school diploma (bagrut) is essential–first, to get a good posting during army service, and later, to gain admission to college or university and achieve social and economic mobility. Sadly, for many young Israelis, earning their diploma is a near-impossible goal; in immigrant and underserved areas of Israel, less than half manage to graduate, and less than 15% get to college. So five poverty-area high schools around the country are partnering with ISEF to boost the chances of success for their most vulnerable teens.
Moved by these teens’ struggles, and seeking to make a real difference in the lives of children, Luna and Selim Benardete established a dedicated fund in their name, which supports all the youngsters enrolled in this project and helps empower them to reach the goal of obtaining their high school diploma.