Immigrant Pupil Brought Back From the Edge

One can see the barest trace of an old chip on the shoulder in 16-year-old Oshrat's direct gaze and in the slightly defiant tilt of her chin. The glint in her eye also betrays her talent at mischief, but the 10th grader has recently chosen to channel her considerable energies in new directions.

Oshrat is one of several hundred high school pupils who participate in SHATIL's Back from the Edge pilot program aimed at strengthening immigrant youth at risk and preventing school drop out in six communities. Seventy children benefit from the Project at the Pardes Hannah Agricultural School with AIKR - Absorption of Immigrants from the Kavkaz (Caucuses) Region. Oshrat says the project changed her life.

"Before this project came into my life, I bothered the teachers, couldn't sit still in class, got grades like 50, 40...13!" says Oshrat. "But they (the project staff) talked to us, explained to us the importance of studying, of how to study, of how it will help us in our future. They teach us in small groups where we understand every word. Since this program for olim started, we have really advanced."

True to its mandate, SHATIL does not work directly with the children participating in the project, but does so through local immigrant organizations. SHATIL works on three levels in Back from the Edge: Strengthening local organizations so they can in turn implement the project in local schools by offering guidance, consulting and training; and advocating for changes in the law to help immigrant children. The local organizations also receive NIF grants.

"Other kids say, "Too bad I'm not Kavkazi," says Project Coordinator, Albert, himself an immigrant from the Caucuses. "It's the first time I ever heard this. Although we don't work solely with Kavkazi children, the kids call it "the Kavkazi Project" and when they see the results, many of them want to be a part of it."

Along with project staff from the five other communities, Albert and five other teachers participated in SHATIL's Immigrant Youth and the Israeli Educational System course, which AIKR founder and volunteer director Ada said greatly strengthened their abilities in this endeavor. The Pardes Hannah project consists of small groups in English, math, and Hebrew language and literature; a special guidance counselor (as in all the participating schools); trips for the kids, parents and staff; and other activities. AIKR has also worked on curriculum development, creating a unique computerized literature course that looks more like a game than a learning tool. Movement and color are fully utilized as words and phrases whiz around the screen highlighting specific material; questions as well as period pictures pop up. "It turns the text into a conversation and the children receive the deeper as well as the surface meaning," says Ada. The children are also given many opportunities to express themselves.

When asked if something has changed in her school since the institution of Back from the Edge, Oshrat replies, "Not something - Everything." Oshrat is the youngest of seven in a family of Kavkazi immigrants. Her mother works at odd jobs and her father is unemployed. She works after school as a waitress in a catering hall. She says, "I feel like someone is standing behind me and that someone is with me, that if I don't understand, someone will explain."

As a result of her participation in the project, Oshrat's grades have skyrocketed. "I got an 89 on my last test," she says with a proud smile. "Before, I never would have imagined it. When I showed my Mom, she didn't believe it's me who studies, me who invests in school. I was always thinking about what mischief I could do next."

The small group experience affects the regular classroom as well. "In the regular classes, the good kids sit in front and are the only ones who talk to the teacher. The rest of us sit in back and don't pay attention. But through the project, I learned how to cope in the big group as well," says Oshrat.

Prior to participating in the project, Oshrat did not consider taking the matriculation exams required for college acceptance. "Now, it's in my head all the time," she sys. "Now, I want to succeed. I know I won't get into a good profession without the matriculation certificate." Oshrat was one of a group of children who lobbied for a continuation of the small 9th grade language arts groups in 10th grade as well. "The school was amazed," says Ada. "These were kids with no motivation." The new class was opened immediately.

In an upstairs classroom at the school, seven 10th graders bend their heads over an English word acrostic, dictionaries open in front of them. Odelia, who is circling words with colored markers, says she knew only four letters of English a year ago: A, B, C and D. Today, she reads, writes and translates independently with a dictionary. "It's because the teacher can relate to us individually, she can sit with each of us and help us," Odelia says. "In the big class, no one comes and helps you like here."

Odelia also passes all her language tests now. "Her language teacher from last year couldn't believe it. Last year, she never even sat for a test," says her Back from the Edge language teacher.

AIKR also runs a support group for Kavkazi girls, helping them bridge the gaps between their patriarchal, traditional culture, and the pulls of the modern world. "While other high school kids think about the army and college, these girls think about whom to get engaged to because of pressure from their parents to marry early and marry within the community," says Ada. "It's a huge issue. We try to help them find their way."

The warmth between program staff, volunteers and the students is palpable. The teachers take pleasure and personal pride in their pupils' new achievements. Oshrat bends to kiss Ada when she leaves the room.

Speaking of the Back from the Edge project in her school, Principal Sagie says, "It's a project with soul." Vice Principal Gutterman adds: "The project saved Oshrat from dropping out. It changed not only her grades and motivation but her behavior. The small groups enable the kids finally, finally to bridge gaps that were created over many years. This project doesn't only bring the kids back from the edge; it puts them in the center. We want it forever."