How the AMIT Network Thrived During COVID

A Conversation with Amnon Eldar, PhD, AMIT Director General

BY GLORIA AVERBUCH

Dr. Amnon Eldar was steeped in the education fi eld from an early age. He grew up in Be’er Sheva to educator parents. “In my family, education was always of utmost importance,” he explains. Nevertheless, initially he was torn between a career in medicine or law. However, he was greatly impacted by his army service, which changed his mind. “I realized I had to go into education in order to infl uence Israeli society as much as possible,” he says. He began his career, together with his wife Michal, as a surrogate couple at AMIT Frisch Beit Hayeled in Jerusalem, AMIT’s home for at-risk youth. From there, he taught in high schools, continued working with at-risk youth, and oversaw AMIT Beit Hayeled and the AMIT Kfar Blatt Youth Village in Petach Tikvah. While there, Eldar wrote his PhD thesis on the “mishpachton” (family) model, unique to the AMIT Network, and its impact on youth who must be removed from their homes.

Dr. Eldar has served as AMIT Director General since 2003. Considered one of Israel’s leaders in education, Eldar has led AMIT to become Israel’s top educational network, revolutionizing the fi eld of education and ensuring its relevance in the 21st century. Dr. Eldar is a sought-after educator who has served on the Prime Minister’s Roundtable Committee and as the sole representative of educational networks on the Minister of Education’s Committee for School Principal Autonomy. What have been your personal highlights in your role as AMIT General Director? Leading the Network to fi rst place for four years in the Ministry of Education’s Picture (a measure of seven criteria); being ranked as Israel’s leading educational network in academic excellence, values-based education, and army enlistment; development and implementation of the Gogya method to lead schools into the 21st century, thereby transforming the educational experience for students and educators alike; ensuring that the professional HQ team and educational teams in schools are winning teams across the board; and ensuring that the Network is strong and fi nancially stable.

What were your priorities when you realized the educational challenges due to COVID? How did you adapt? At AMIT we always look at the whole child, including academics, social and emotional development, values-based education, home situation, and more. It was critical that we not lose any child and that each child’s needs were fully met.

The form and management of the Network which is deeply ingrained in our teams, allowed us the ability, fl exibility, and agility to think outside the box. We immediately established four strategic teams based on the methods of the BCG Consulting Group for management in a time of crisis, to ensure transformation during

Dr. Amnon Eldar (r) and Yifat Shasha-Biton (l), Israel’s Minister of Education.

this challenging time, and to grapple with questions in areas including management, finances, and streamlining processes.

We utilized existing frameworks and provided an all-encompassing approach to adapt to the educational challenges. Subject-based professional teacher communities from across the Network quickly worked together to create unique, skillsbased, interdisciplinary learning journeys which allow for customized student progress.

A pilot hybrid school in AMIT’s northern regional community picked up speed allowing for participation by students from small, peripheral schools with more diverse and challenging learning, and with access to better teachers, something that is now spreading throughout the Network.

The topic of ecosystem and entrepreneurship — exposing students to the real world through interactive, experiential learning—operated virtually and enabled a significant expansion to more AMIT students.

Computers were distributed to peripheral students, ensuring that technical challenges would not prevent them from participating in the learning process. And, of course, a unique element at AMIT is our in-house evaluation unit, which provides real-time data about our schools and students, and allows for data-driven changes and adaptations. During COVID, our evaluation unit administered weekly questionnaires to students, allowing for a constant and ready flow of information to our professional teams.

Beyond the primary issues and problems that resulted from COVID, can you explain some of the emotional challenges and how those impacted the educational process? How did you address these challenges? In the best of circumstances, a global pandemic is filled with uncertainty, stress, disconnection from society, and fear about one’s health and that of their family. Add to that the typical challenges of the teenage years, alongside the fact that many students were preoccupied with basic needs at home, such as parents who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and the emotional challenges are very significant. We immediately understood that without being able to be there emotionally for our students, and providing them with a warm, supportive, and loving environment, education would be the last thing on their minds.

Creating resilience in principals, teachers, and students was our main goal during this period. We sped up the process of what we call 1:15. Rather than having one teacher for an entire class, which in Israel usually means about 35-40 students, we decided that what is needed is one significant mentor for every 15 students, who can be more available and really get to know each student in-depth.

The personal/professional growth program that AMIT has been running for several years took on new meaning during this time. Mentors work with students on creating personalized growth plans, and this connects students’ emotional well-being to their academic growth and dreams.

We offered professional training for our educational teams and our parent body through workshops and one-off sessions. Consulting psychologist Dr. Naomi Baum provided meaningful resources to our teams.

While Corona certainly posed many challenges, this more personalized approach is a positive outcome that will remain with us moving forward.

What creativity was necessary during the pandemic, and how will it affect how you move forward? We needed creativity in maintaining our values and continuing to foster social activism among our students even during closures, quarantines, and other unexpected realities during the past year-and-a-half. The emotional component of providing support to our students and being there for them was more challenging with-

out physical attendance at school, the ability to have face-to-face interactions, and the multiple challenges facing students at home. This dynamic required creativity and new ways of thinking from us at headquarters, and from our educational teams on the ground. The concept of “no child left behind,” which always guides us at AMIT, especially in our work with peripheral youth, took on new meaning and required us to come up with innovative modes and methods of connection.

In terms of moving forward, we are currently busy accelerating Gogya implementation within our schools. This is being done through a new method of training several inhouse leaders at each school in a variety of fields determined to be the critical elements to ensuring a 21st century educational experience. These leaders receive top-level training by HQ experts, and comprise the school’s strategic team, under the principal’s leadership. Moving forward with this process even during a pandemic is something I am very proud of. At AMIT, we always deal with the here and now while also dreaming about and building the future.

What most surprised you about the COVID period? How quickly our principals and teachers knew how to respond creatively, and how significant the Network was to them—personally and professionally.

I am very proud of. At AMIT, we always deal with the here and now while also dreaming about and building the future.