Netzach’s flagship girls’ high school in Jerusalem, Darkei Sarah, was one of the schools selected for a tour by the Director General of Israel’s Ministry of Education, Meir Shimoni. At the start of the school year, he came to familiarize himself with the expanding sector of state-affiliated Charedi schools.
The Director General met with Netzach founder Rabbi Menachem Bombach and CEO Michael Nechtiler and Darkei-Sara Principal Hadas Neiman, together with representatives of the education department of the Municipality of Jerusalem, and Shay Calderon, Director of the MaMaCh division of the Ministry of Education. They discussed the increase in the number of students now learning in MaMaCh schools – 550,000 – and also improvements in the quality of pedagogy, supervision, learning content and professional standards in these schools.
Influencing the Charedi World
The Netzach Educational Network is acknowledged as one of the leading organizations in this sector that is not only raising expectations and driving up standards, but also preparing ground-breaking curriculum materials in subjects like Civics for other Charedi schools to adopt.
Shimoni also visited one of the Belz Talmud Torah schools which joined the MaMaCh (state Charedi) elementary school system this year for the first time. He spoke about the importance of striving for high standards, while paying close attention to the cultural requirements that each group views as important. “These differences require us to make certain adjustments, but it does not diminish the importance of striving for maximum professional excellence in every school.” He praised the impressive developments taking place in every aspect of the sector, including the tailoring of curriculum materials, information management, and targeting students from specific populations.
Training Charedi Women Clinicians
Also during September, the directors of Jerusalem’s prestigious Michlala College for Women were invited to tour Netzach’s Ofek Seminary and to meet with Principal Mrs. Chaya Chesrak and Development Director Dr. Shimon Weiss. This year they have 350 female students taking courses for B.A. degrees in Psychology, B.S.N. degrees in Nursing, and B.Sc. degrees in Medical Imaging.
Reflecting on their meeting, Mrs. Chesrak said: “Our colleagues from Michlala were very impressed by the high standards of our courses and our students. It is our goal to expand the horizons for young women from Charedi communities, encouraging them to build rewarding careers in science, medicine and mental health.”