After over a year of academic decline due to the war, Boys Town Jerusalem is finally seeing a turning point—grades are improving. The challenges of war, coupled with economic hardship and personal struggles at home, took a significant toll on students’ focus and performance. But now, an encouraging number of Junior High students are beginning to excel once again.
Expanded support leads to promising results
“Thanks to generous donors worldwide, we have begun adding crucial remedial lessons, plus increased psychological support. The results are very promising indeed,” says BTJ Junior High Principal Rabbi Yehuda Rosencrantz. The principal credits BTJ’s teachers and social workers for motivating students to openly discuss fears for their family and friends in combat or injured.
Providing emotional support amid family hardship
Beyond academic concerns, BTJ’s teachers and social workers play a vital role in helping students navigate fears for loved ones in combat and deal with rising family struggles. “A second painful front is the battlefield of family discord,” he adds. “We’re now seeing a peak number of single-parent families, along with a sharp spike in unemployment and poverty. Through newly initiated programs at all grade levels, our social workers are offering guided sessions for boys from single-parent homes. The excellent initial outcome can be life-changing.”
Special education classes offer tailored support
This challenging school year marked another milestone as BTJ was selected by the Ministry of Education for a record high number of Special Education classes at every grade level. “These small classes are immensely demanding for our faculty, who make painstaking efforts with each student to meet difficult academic and emotional challenges,” Rabbi Rosencrantz stresses.
Daily meals provide students with nourishment and hope
Beyond Boys Town Jerusalem’s endeavors to enrich students’ academic and emotional needs, the principal cites an additional “priceless lifesaver” which the school provides. “In today’s severe reality, an alarming number of our students have no food in their poverty- stricken homes. Our donors enable us to provide wholesome, nutritious freshly cooked meals daily that give every boy both essential nourishment and hope.”
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