Projects
 Education of Israeli youth is a priority of the Bnai Zion Foundation. A multi-cultural institution and true microcosm of Israeli society, the David Yellin College brings together secular and religious Jews, Moslem and Christian Arabs and new immigrants to develop the next generation of Israel’s educators. Over two thousand new students are accepted annually.
The College, located in Beit Hakarem, Jerusalem, presently grants a Bachelor of Education degree and awards a Master’s Degree in Music Therapy. A Master’s Degree program in Education is pending approval.
The four main tracks of programs students can select are Early Childhood Education (kindergarten through second grade), Elementary, Junior High School and Special Education, focusing on learning disabilities (from severe to moderate).
 The College has over three thousand enrolled students, who study in a tolerant environment of mixed cultures with high academic standards and personalized guidance. Graduates receive a Bachelo of Education degree and a teaching certificate.
The College has pioneered essential education programs such as The Rachel Shazar Institute… It is a national center for the training of the teachers of the severely mentally handicapped and offers a major teachers education program in Special Education to work with children with learning disabilities.
Special projects help students and teachers reach out to new immigrants throughout the country, and the College has the very first Animal Assisted Training Center in Israel for preparing therapists to utilize animals in therapy. This two-year postgraduate program trains students to work with animals in the pet-assisted teaching of the mentally and physically handicapped, as  well as with the elderly. Bonding with animals provides beneficial experiences related to life’s most basic elements.
Kav-Or (Ray of Light) brings light to children in hospitals through the use of computers. Hospitalized children are connected to teachers at David Yellin who provide tutoring. These youngsters, ranging in age from 3 to 18, are also connected in chat groups and can communicate with parents, relatives and friends through satellite connections. This helps relieve some of the anxiety while they are receiving medical treatment. The Kav-Or program is based at the College, where links are maintained with more than 23 hospitals throughout Israel including the Bnai Zion Medical Center.
The David Yellin Academic College of Education offers an exceptionally broad range of programs within the educational sphere. To continue its role as an educational innovator, a new Institute for Educational Studies, comprised… The David Yellin College of Education, located just seven miles from Ma’aleh Adumim, has an ongoing relationship with that community (another Bnai Zion Foundation project). Student teachers and graduates teach in the school system of Ma’aleh Adumim, while some of its residents are students at the College.
The college is nearly a century old and enlarging and renovating the classrooms throughout to optimally accommodate the current population is a priority, as well as renovating the archive containing our historical documents. We would like to develop the college as a ‘green college’ and open a Schools Demonstration Center offering environmental education, with a focus on initiatives saving water and electricity, and be environmentally active. We want to establish a chair in master’s degree studies and a Center for Excellence in Education that will attract high achievers to education, add new programs to the special education track and provide enrichment classes for new immigrants. Additionally, being in the forefront of education to train animal therapists, we would like to expand the animal therapy department. Obtaining a special software program for the library that enhances research opportunities for educators is another target, as well as budgeting for interdisciplinary seminars with other Israeli institutions of higher education. All of these programs and more are in need of funds to transform these dreams into realities.
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