Ramla is a culturally diverse, low-income city in the center of Israel with a significant immigrant population. As is sometimes the case with poorer neighborhoods, there tends to be a high dropout rate from educational frameworks. A mere 47% of high school graduates from the area have graduated with their Bagrut matriculation, a prerequisite to attending university.
The ORT Ramla Comprehensive Arab School was among the many schools in the area suffering from behavioral issues, poor grades, and dropouts. In 2014, its incoming class of 200 ninth graders was 20% analphabetic. The school’s principal took action and brought the Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment Program (FIE), a solution that has helped thousands of children from lower socio-economic backgrounds overcome their humble beginnings, in for the 2014-15 school year.
Feuerstein assessed all 200 students using the LPAD dynamic assessment while concurrently training the teachers on implementing the program. Based on the results, the students were divided into seven groups according to their learning potential and given five hours of Instrumental Enrichment every week, with close supervision by our trainers.
The pilot was a tremendous success. Grades, motivation, and behavior rose dramatically, while dropout fell. Feuerstein created a common academic language, making bridging Feuerstein’s theories into other academic subjects easier. Today, the entire school, students and staff alike, are engaged in FIE. Their success inspired the ORT organization to bring the program to their other schools in Safed and Maale Adumim.