Local teens sign up for a free ride at boarding high schools in Israel

 

Having now experienced both, Evan Perry-Kerekes prefers Israeli high school to American schools. “It’s the energy — it’s more relaxed, but also more exciting,” he said. He’s enjoying the science and math classes, and “being with my friends 24/7.” And, he said, “my Hebrew’s getting better.”

A 10th-grader at the Mosenzon Youth Village in Hod Hasharon, Israel, he is one of 35 North American high school students, and six New Jerseyans, taking part in the Elite Academy Program, a high-school-in-Israel initiative cofunded by the State of Israel and the Jewish Agency for Israel.

Evan is home in Caldwell for the two-week Hanukka break, his first visit home since leaving for Israel in September.

 

The three-year-old Elite Academy is the North American counterpart to Naaleh, a program that has been bringing foreign high school students to study at Mosenzon for 14 years. Elite Academy is free except for the $200 registration and screening fees and the cost of a cell phone plan. Subsidies pay for room and board, tuition, medical insurance, all travel within Israel, a monthly allowance, monthly calling cards, the flight to Israel, and the return flight at the end of the 12th grade.

Other New Jerseyans on the Elite Academy program include Adam Gutman of West Orange; Dovid Levine, Micha Milgraum, and Alex Gorlin, all of Edison; and Galit Herzberg of Bridgewater.

“I thought it would give him the opportunity to be independent and find out who he is and develop a sense of self,” said Evan’s mother, Linda Perry. “And being in Israel was very important to us.” She acknowledged that the minimal cost was a plus.

Unlike Naaleh, immigration to Israel is not a stated goal of this program. JAFI and the State of Israel hope Evan is “falling in love with Israel and will continue the relationship in some way” when the program ends, according to Elie Klein, communications director for the Elite Academy. Klein suggested that although not a requirement, some might stay for army service or for college or even decide to make aliya.

A second goal is simply to “have Jewish children from different backgrounds and outlooks and hashkafot [perspectives] to learn and grow in Israel,” Klein said.

When not studying, Evan hangs out in the town of Hod Hasharon, where there’s a mall and a movie theater and “enough stuff to keep us busy,” he said, or heads over to the gym for a game of basketball or soccer with his friends.

Elite Academy offers two tracks, one for “secular” kids and one for religious kids. (All of the NJ participants except for Evan are in the religious track.) While the secular students all attend Mosenzon High School, religious boys attend Yeshivat Kfar HaRoeh, about 15 minutes from Hadera, and the religious girls attend a Bnei Akiva school in B’nei Brak.

Debra Levine of Edison, whose 15-year-old son Dovid is a student at Kfar HaRoeh, praised the program — with some caveats.

“He feels he’s getting the cultural experience of a lifetime, and he thinks the program is wonderful and has tremendous potential,” she said. There is a problem, she said: The school is a bit “isolated. But they can’t help it if they’re a cow farm. The school is trying very hard to accommodate the kids…. Each month they make improvements.”

Not fast enough for some students, however. Micha Milgraum of Edison, who was also attending Kfar HaRoeh, returned home for a wedding in December and does not plan to return.

“I didn’t like it,” he said. “The classes were not challenging. I didn’t feel like I was in school. My Hebrew wasn’t getting better. And we weren’t doing anything in Israel — we weren’t sightseeing.” Instead, he’s deciding which local yeshiva to attend for the remainder of the year.

Klein acknowledged that the living quarters are more Spartan than many Americans are used to but said they were at the standard of Israeli schools. “Some places are better than others, but everyone has what they need. They have bathrooms, showers, desks, and chairs. They can use the lounge for the school, or the lounge just for the American program, which is equipped with coffee, tea, and X-Box, even computer access.”

He added that while some found the location isolated, they were pleased not to be in Jerusalem. “Imagine going to boarding school in Manhattan. You wouldn’t learn anything. This location gives the students the feeling of a smaller area, where they can concentrate on their studies and their social lives. It’s like being in upstate New York.”

 Levine also said that without English-speaking teachers or English textbooks, some of the studies were a struggle for her son. “It’s hard to sit for four hours in a physics class when you don’t speak Hebrew,” she said.

Again, however, this was intentional, Klein said. The Kfar HaRoeh curriculum represents the middle ground between the slow integration offered at Mosenzon, where many of the secular students know little or no Hebrew, and the full immersion at Bnei Akiva. “Of course it’s a struggle. It adds flavor for some, but others can’t handle it.”

Still, the Levines are willing to make allowances for a program just starting up. “Whenever you sign on to a brand new venture, it’s not always easy,” said Debra Levine. “You have to work out the bugs. Any parent has to understand there’s going to be good and there’s going to be hiccups.”

And she said her son is thriving. “He’s learning that things don’t always come easily. And he’s matured.” He’s also learned to take the initiative, traveling around Israel on his own, including visits to Haifa and Jerusalem, and working with the school administrators on improving the program. And he’s enjoyed the traveling and hiking opportunities provided by the program.

When Dovid came home briefly over Thanksgiving, she said, he showed her more respect. Among his friends he has learned how to manage group dynamics and has internalized his religious convictions. “I used to have to remind him on Sunday mornings to daven. When he was home, he got up, put on his tefillin, and davened. It’s become a part of who he is.

Although the program is designed as a three-year program, students are permitted to commit to one year and reevaluate at the end of the first year.

Competition for the program is growing. Last year there were 220 applicants for 35 spots. This year, Elite Academy said it had already received 95 applications and plans to grow to 100 students for the program beginning September 2006.

“Before we were in our infancy,” said Klein. “We’re growing up. We’ve learned from our experiences and can handle a larger capacity.” They are particularly looking to grow the program for religious students, which began this year with 13 students at the two schools. While the girls are “excelling,” three of the nine boys who started at Kfar HaRoeh in September have dropped out of the program. According to Levine, now that they are gone, the boys who are left are doing even better.

Neither Evan nor Dovid knows yet whether he will stay in Israel all three years. But both are enjoying their time there; and Evan, who formerly attended Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union in West Orange, can’t wait to get back to his new friends in Israel. And according to Dovid’s mother, he keeps telling her, “In Israel you live Jewish; in America, you behave Jewish.”

Like Debra Levine, Linda Perry is pleased with her son’s development. “He has a different level of maturity. He’s more of a team player and involves his other siblings in things around the house.”