SECURING THE JEWISH EDUCATIONAL
SYSTEM IN ARGENTINA

THE NEED

We all know the catastrophic impact the dramatic collapse of Argentina's economy in 2001 had on its Jewish community. Its historically strong middle class was decimated, with tens of thousands plunged into the ranks of the new poor. The Jewish banks that served as the community's economic base and that heavily subsidized the educational system collapsed, sending shockwaves throughout Argentina’s Jewish educational infrastructure.

Has the situation in Argentina improved? The simple, short answer is yes. Has it fully recovered? Not even close. Today in Argentina, an estimated 65,000 out of a Jewish population of 200,000 are still living in poverty.

In the continuing fragile environment, Argentina’s Jewish educational system remains in crisis. At its height, barely a decade ago, there were more than sixty Jewish day schools featuring Jewish-Zionist education and the Hebrew language at the core of their curriculum, with an enrollment of 22,000 students, representing 65% of the total youth population. In 2003, there were approximately 16,000 students in the day school system, representing a nearly 30 percent attrition rate over the last decade.

At this point, the entire Jewish formal and informal educational system reaches only 40% of Jewish youth. Even these numbers are misleading: today, the total number of enrolled students is being artificially maintained because so many children are being allowed to remain without paying tuition. Many more children require financial assistance but the schools simply lack the funds to provide scholarships. As a result, more and more families are withdrawing their children from day schools and sending them to public secular schools.

Maintaining connections within Jewish educational frameworks is critical. They are often the only link that youth have with the Jewish community, particularly as these families face the challenges of growing poverty and social dislocation. Every day that Jewish youngsters remain outside of a Jewish educational framework, they are at-risk of assimilating and being lost.

The lingering cumulative effect of the economic crisis is felt in more ways than declining day school registration: some schools have merged or closed to reduce operating costs; the number of weekly instructional hours in Hebrew and Jewish Studies have been halved; hundreds of Jewish studies teachers have been dismissed and many of those who have stayed in their jobs do not receive regular salaries. As this employment sector is decimated, it makes it that much more difficult to rebuild in the future.

THE JEWISH AGENCY RESPONSE

The Jewish Agency has long been an integral part of Argentina's Jewish education system, and has played a key role in fostering the unique relationship between Argentinean Jews and Israel. In this distressed community, with a sense of lingering vulnerability following the terrorist attacks in the early 90s, Israel— as both the historic homeland and modern sovereign state—is a vital anchor for the Jewish community.

The Jewish Agency has offered educational expertise, consultation and support, particularly in the areas of teacher training, informal education, Israel programs and leadership development.

But the swift and catastrophic confluence of events in Argentina in 2001 changed the equation. As the fabric of financial support that held this community together disintegrated and the once robust education system was on the verge of collapse, the Jewish Agency stepped in with crucial additional support to stabilize this vital part of the community.

Jewish kids are in Jewish school frameworks today because the Jewish Agency, in partnership with federations and donors in North America, have put scholarships in place. Without our continuing assistance, two-thirds of Argentinean Jewish children may never receive any Jewish education. Thousands of students require financial assistance, but schools lack the funds to provide scholarships. In fact, many schools have only been able to keep their doors open because we have increased our support.

The Jewish Agency continues to maintain an educational lifeline into this community and is committed to ensuring that the resources are in place for the Argentinean Jewish community to weather the major challenges ahead.

Each of the following programs are a vital part of our response:

• YALA: Scholarships for Jewish Elementary School Students
• Lomdim and Chalomot: Supplementary Jewish Education for Students in Public Schools
• CHI'IL: Vital Support for Jewish High Schools
• Staying in the System: Scholarships for ORT Students
• The Jewish Camping Experience: Informal Jewish Education
• BAMA: Invigorating Jewish Education with Professional Teacher Training and Development of Resources

YALA: SCHOLARSHIPS FOR JEWISH ELEMENTARY SCHOOLCHILDREN IN ARGENTINA

THE BACKGROUND

Although there are some hopeful signs that the situation in Argentina is improving slowly, the Jewish community's needs are still acute and overwhelming. The Jewish Agency continues to help meet the vital educational needs of children and youth by providing the informal and formal educational experiences that will ensure Jewish continuity. Jewish educational frameworks often offer children and their parents the only viable link to the organized Jewish community, particularly as these families face the challenges of poverty and social dislocation. Many parents have already been forced to pull their young children from Jewish elementary day schools, depriving them of a basic Jewish and Hebrew education. Every day that Jewish youngsters remain outside of a Jewish educational framework, they are at risk of assimilating and being lost. In fact, there is already evidence that the high assimilation rate among young Jews is on the rise. For children remaining in Jewish education, most require financial assistance to continue their studies but the schools simply lack the funds to provide scholarships.

JEWISH AGENCY RESPONSE-PROJECT YALA

Two years, ago, the Jewish Agency initiated Project YALA to provide financial assistance to elementary Jewish day schools in Argentina. The Emergency Education Coalition, consisting of the Jewish Agency, the JDC, and AMIA (the local umbrella Jewish organization), initially provided loans and direct aid to the schools. To cut operating costs, the Coalition also advised schools on merger operations and began to provide tuition assistance. Given the deepening economic crisis in Argentina, in November 2002 the Coalition redefined Project YALA's priorities. To keep as many young children as possible within the formal educational system, it directed the entire budget towards a tuition voucher system. Project YALA now provides scholarship assistance in the form of tuition vouchers for the neediest elementary school children, thus guaranteeing them a Jewish day school education.

YALA also offers youngsters in seventh grade who couldn't otherwise afford it the opportunity to celebrate their Bnei Mitzvah. This program prepares them to begin their lives as Jewish adults and members of the community. This ceremony could be the first step along a lifelong path of Jewish commitment and involvement.

THE NEED

Currently, it is estimated that approximately two-thirds of all Jewish day school students need financial assistance (partial or full scholarships) to meet the annual average $1,300—1,500 costs for day school. Direct financial assistance through school vouchers has proven to be the best hope for stemming the dropout rate from day schools during the immediate crisis.

Lomdim and Chalomot: Supplementing Jewish Education for Children in Argentinean Public School

THE BACKGROUND

Argentina's once-thriving, vibrant Jewish community continues to be hard hit by the aftershocks of the country's economic collapse. As increasing numbers of Argentinean Jews plunged into poverty, the local Jewish education system—once considered a paragon of Jewish education—was pushed to the edge. School after school closed its doors as thousands of kids were forced by economic circumstances to drop out of the Jewish day school system.

The result? Very few Jewish children are receiving any kind of Jewish education at all—formal or informal.

THE NEED

Assimilation is already on the rise in Argentina, where combined, the formal and informal Jewish educational systems reach only 40 percent of Jewish youth. Even in families where raising children "Jewishly" is a priority, there is a real risk of youngsters losing this vital connection to their heritage simply because of the costs involved. In addition to those students lost from the Jewish day school system, many others never benefited from studying in a Jewish framework. Yet such frameworks are often the only viable link Jewish families have to the organized Jewish community. The longer that Jewish youngsters are isolated from Jewish education, the greater the likelihood that they will assimilate and lose all connections to their Jewish identities and community.

JEWISH AGENCY RESPONSE

The Jewish Agency stepped in with after-school programs to bring Jewish education back into the lives of Argentina's Jewish kids.

LOMDIM. The Lomdim program, which launched in 2001, currently provides supplementary Jewish education to nearly 1,200 high school students in 30 centers throughout Argentina. Teens between the ages of 13 and 18 participate in this afterschool program three days a week. They learn Hebrew, Jewish history, classical Jewish sources, the history of Argentina's Jewish community and tzedakah. The curriculum also addresses such subjects as Jewish identity, values and tradition, Zionism, hasbara and the Middle East peace process. In addition, teenagers who never celebrated a Bar or Bat Mitzvah have the opportunity to mark this important milestone in their personal and religious development.

CHALOMOT. Building on the success of Lomdim, the Jewish Agency launched Chalomot in 2002 to reach elementary school children. Currently, 350 youngsters in elementary school are immersed in an intense Jewish educational experience after school four times per week. These youngsters learn about Israel, Jewish traditions and history, with a particular emphasis on Jewish festivals. The program serves students from six different locations. Additional communities are eager to join the program once adequate funding is made available.

KEEPING CHILDREN IN JEWISH SCHOOLS

CHI'IL: VITAL SUPPORT FOR JEWISH HIGH SCHOOLS
STAYING IN THE SYSTEM: SCHOLARSHIPS FOR JUNIOR HIGH ORT STUDENTS

BACKGROUND:
The implosion of the Argentinean economy has had a disastrous impact on the local Jewish education system. Once considered the standard-bearer in Diaspora Jewish education, this formerly robust network is now in real danger of collapse. Many Jewish day schools have shut their doors. The number of hours of Hebrew and Jewish studies being offered has been dramatically reduced. A decade ago, Argentina served as a valuable resource to all of South America for excellent teacher training programs. Most of those programs have since fallen victim to the economic crisis.

Where Argentina's Jewish community was once relatively affluent, now half of all Jewish families live below the poverty line. Even in families where Jewish education is a high priority, tuition payments for Jewish schools are an out-of-reach luxury. Children in the Jewish school system have been forced to withdraw by the thousands, often severing their only link to a Jewish educational environment. The schools that remain open struggle for survival. Even though many students require financial assistance, schools lack the funds to provide scholarships. Argentina's Jewish educational institutions require urgent support.

THE JEWISH AGENCY RESPONSE
Two programs focused on students in middle and high school help address the crisis in Jewish education.

Project CHI'IL. Implemented in conjunction with the Israeli Ministry of Education, Project Chi’il provides critical emergency assistance to Jewish high schools in Argentina. This support takes the form of tuition assistance, curriculum development, informal educational activities and in-service training for teachers. Currently, nearly 2,500 students benefit from this program, without which they would be unable to receive a Jewish education. A total of 15 schools are involved. Chi'il is an acronym for "Chinuch Yehudi L'Tfutzot," which translates to "Jewish Education for the Diaspora."

ORT Junior High. The ORT network of Jewish schools, the largest in Argentina, recently created a framework for junior high school encompassing the seventh and eighth grades. The Jewish Agency "Staying in the System" program provides scholarships for seventh and eighth-grade students who attend ORT schools. Because the YALA program subsidizes elementary school children in Jewish schools and Project Chi'il serves high school students, these are kids who otherwise would fall between the cracks of financial aid. To avoid dropping out of Jewish schools, these ORT students desperately need another source of assistance.

ENSURING THE FUTURE: SUPPORT FOR JEWISH YOUTH MOVEMENTS

BACKGROUND
Argentina's economic devastation has debilitated the country's once-exemplary Jewish education framework. With private school tuition well out of reach of much of the population, and schools unable to provide scholarships, the number of students attending Jewish day schools has dropped by nearly a third since 1995. Fewer than 15,000 youngsters are benefiting from the intensive Jewish content and environment of a day school, compared with more than 21,000 a decade ago. Where 55 percent of all Argentinean Jewish children once received a quality Jewish day school education with a strong Israel component, now barely 40 percent of Jewish youngsters receive any Jewish education at all.

With much of the Jewish population thrust from the middle class to the new poor, more children have been forced to leave their Jewish day schools and attend their local public schools. Unfortunately, the crisis in day school education is mirrored by the damage to the informal education framework. And even seemingly modest costs for Jewish activities and organizations are out of most families' reach.

THE NEED
The sad news is that today, most Jewish children in Argentina receive no formal Jewish education whatsoever. For these youngsters, who are still forming their belief systems and values, local Jewish youth movements play a critical role in shaping their Jewish identities and connections to Israel and their Jewish community. However, many members of these youth groups cannot afford to pay their membership dues, depleting vital youth movements of essential operating funds. Lack of funds for participation also severely limits the number of Argentinean youth who can take part in leadership training programs in Israel. These programs are instrumental in fostering a solid, lifelong sense of Jewish commitment.

Eight Zionist youth movements in Argentina provide a wide range of educational, cultural and social programming, including conventions and summer camps. To maximize the impact of these activities, these youth organizations must have the means to subsidize the costs for children who otherwise cannot afford to participate.

JEWISH AGENCY RESPONSE
Substantial support is being sought by the Jewish Agency so that Jewish youngsters who may have no other opportunity to participate in Jewish educational activities do not lose this vital connection. At the same time, the youth movements need the resources to subsidize the participation of their most experienced counselors on an intensive, month-long leadership development program in Israel. These Israel-based programs provide the counselors with additional tools and conviction to inspire Jewish teenagers on their return to Argentina.

THE JEWISH CAMPING EXPERIENCE

BACKGROUND
Argentina's persistent economic instability has severely impaired its once-illustrious Jewish education system. Many schools have been shuttered or consolidated; scores of teachers have lost their jobs. At least 30 percent of day school students have been forced to withdraw from the formal Jewish school system because their oncemiddle- class families now face poverty. Thousands of students require financial assistance, but schools lack the funds to provide scholarships.

Concurrently, the informal Jewish education network is also in danger of collapse. With so few students remaining in Jewish day schools, extracurricular activities and Jewish youth movements become even more crucial as a remaining link to the organized Jewish community. Yet skyrocketing unemployment and the struggle to cover life's most basic needs prevent many children from participating in these activities. They simply can't afford what may seem like modest fees for Jewish community centers, clubs, youth groups, camps and student programming. These organizations are in turn starved for funds, because many families are unable to pay membership dues and other fees.

THE NEED
The sad reality is that in Argentina, home of the world's fifth-largest Jewish community, most Jewish children receive no ongoing Jewish education at all. Denying children access to immersive Jewish environments and supplemental opportunities to learn, act and feel Jewishly is a real threat to Jewish continuity. And assimilation is already on the rise in Argentina.

One remaining beachhead in the battle for these youngsters' sense of Jewish identity is the overnight camp experience. Jewish overnight camps provide a powerful and intense Jewish educational experience allowing campers to form positive memories and connections. Camp programming focuses on Jewish traditions, the Jewish community in Argentina and current events in Israel. In addition, special ceremonies are held for youngsters celebrating their Bar or Bat Mitzvah.

THE JEWISH AGENCY RESPONSE
By offering a number of targeted, well-designed residential camp programs, the Jewish Agency gives Argentinean youngsters the opportunity to connect with other Jewish kids and their heritage as it promotes an ongoing link to Jewish life. The carefully designed educational content of the camp program reinforces kids' sense of connection to Israel and of belonging to a global Jewish family. Just as important, camp is an opportunity to have fun, particularly at a time when many campers are experiencing stress at both home and school.

THE JEWISH CAMPING EXPERIENCE

LOMDIM CAMP > This intensive five-day summer camp is attended by many of the 1,500 children from across Argentina who are enrolled in the Lomdim supplementary Jewish education program. Lomdim serves teens in public secondary schools with intensive, multifaceted Jewish studies. The camp staff includes local Jewish Agency educational shlichim and specially trained counselors with extensive experience running youth movement and informal educational programs. Another cadre of informal educators provides workshops in folk dancing, music and sports. Additional activities are conducted by teachers from the Lomdim program, further enhancing the educational component.

CAMP FOR UNAFFILIATED YOUTH > Many families experiencing upheaval during the economic crisis have no connection to the Argentinean Jewish community at all, adding to their sense of isolation. To address this population, the Jewish Agency's Education Department has launched an intensive five/six-day camp for hundreds of children who do not currently receive any form of Jewish education. Their families may not be familiar with Jewish Agency initiatives, the Lomdim supplementary education program, or any other organized communal activities. Camp counselors integrate information about Project Lomdim into the educational content of the camp, hopefully motivating them to join the program in their home communities during the upcoming school year.

The educational program for high school participants focuses on information ("hasbara"), aliyah, pioneering in Israel, Jewish identity and Israeli elections. Younger children learn about the Hebrew language, Israeli geography and Shabbat. For about 40 percent of youngsters, this camp is their inaugural encounter with Jewish values, content and traditions-and their first link to the State of Israel.

Comparable to the Lomdim camp program, the staff includes outstanding Jewish Agency educational shlichim and experienced local counselors. In addition, Israeli counselors strengthen the Israel-oriented aspects of programming and reinforce campers' emerging sense of Jewish self-identity. Staff members associated with Lomdim and youth organizations will contribute additional ideas and resources for educational, fun camp activities.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT CAMP > This counselor-in-training (CIT) camp program has been designed to encourage outstanding 15- to 17-year-old-Argentinean youngsters to remain involved in local youth movements and organizations. It also seeks to convince these young leaders to consider going to Israel for the yearlong Machon youth leadership training program. The CIT camp takes place at the Jewish Agency Education Department's summer camps in Argentina, with 50 participants identified through the Jewish youth organizations. They will work under the guidance of senior counselors, and hopefully progress to become the next generation of youth leaders in Argentina.

WINTER CAMP > Held around the High Holidays, winter camp brings together Lomdim students, members of youth movements and affiliated youth for four days of fun, activities and programs revolving around Jewish themes. It is intended to encourage teens, particularly the unaffiliated campers, to participate in available supplementary and informal education programs. The camp also gives working parents peace of mind that their kids are appropriately occupied during the winter school break.

BAMA: INVIGORATING JEWISH EDUCATION

BACKGROUND
Before the economic disasters of the last decade, Argentina's once-robust framework of Jewish education included exemplary teacher training programs. In fact, the quality and variety of these resources attracted educators from across South America. Unfortunately, the critical area of personnel development also fell victim to the economic upheaval. Continuing education courses for teachers and school principals are in short supply, and the number of teachers traveling to Israel to participate in enrichment programs has dropped significantly. Just as damaging, the development of curricula and the production of teaching materials have been sharply curtailed. Yet, the need for high-quality, inspiring materials remains high. Despite the current crisis, teachers remain dedicated to instilling Jewish knowledge and values in Argentina's youngsters. But they must have top-quality resources to do their jobs.

THE NEED
BAMA, the Jewish educators' resource center, was created to serve both formal and informal education needs in Argentina. Its mission is to provide training programs for educators, develop educational initiatives, strengthen the relationship between formal and informal educational networks, encourage the professional development of Jewish educators, and serve as a center of Jewish and Israeli art, culture and tradition. Today, BAMA encompasses the Maayan Center for Informal Education, the Pedagogic Center, distance learning capabilities, professional training and enrichment courses, educational consultation, and exhibition and performance areas.

THE JEWISH AGENCY RESPONSE
Several key training initiatives are underway and in need of support:

• BAMA's Unit of Strategic Planning for Jewish Education has begun to provide a full range of much-needed services: research, curriculum development, evaluation, consulting and database operations.
• There is an urgent need to develop a continuing education framework for educators in the Orthodox sector and educators representing all streams of Judaism from outlying regions in Argentina—two sectors especially hard hit by the economic fallout.
• In 2004/05, BAMA will focus on developing in-service training programs in Hebrew language and literature, Jewish history and heritage, and Talmud for educators in both community and religious day schools. Ultimately, the goal is to bring educators back to Israel for continuing education courses.
• During the coming year, BAMA also will produce and distribute Hebrew instructional materials; expand development of resources on its Internet site; and design aids to accompany distance learning programs.
• Due to the great distances among Jewish communities in Latin America, the Jewish Agency seeks to create a contact center in the BAMA facility. Through videoconferencing, the contact center will enable educators throughout the region to take part in joint training programs, and to pool their knowledge and expertise.