The Shuvu Schools Network is a proven model of educational excellence for Israel, embracing children of a wide variety of backgrounds and socio-economic levels, giving them opportunities to fulfil their potential and improve their choices for the future.
Our Curriculum
Building on existing educational practices, Shuvu has become a trendsetter in offering forward-thinking, inspirational, educational options. Shuvu's curriculum is designed to help its students to meet and exceed Israeli national academic standards, offering more than the number of hours of secular studies classes recommended by Israel's Ministry of Education. Shuvu's teachers participate in training sessions during the year to keep up-to-date with the latest pedagogical methods, to ensure that students are being taught effectively.
Shuvu has become widely known for its mathematics program, which is at least two years ahead of its Israeli public school counterparts. Students receive 6-8 hours weekly hours of math, compared to 4-5 hours math classes in Israeli public high schools.
Since hi-tech is Israel's fastest-growing industry, Shuvu's science curriculum focuses on technical training, and offers more hours of tuition
Shuvu has pioneered a unique technology-driven language program (Waterford) which teaches English to students from an early age via computer. This individualized method has been developed through research and proven in classrooms. Students of different proficiency levels are offered customized and comprehensive instruction and even beginners are soon able to conduct short, simple conversations. Student progress is monitored as they learn to speak English at their own pace through brilliant animation, real video, rich color graphics, songs and rhymes and interactive experiments.
Combined with its secular studies, Shuvu's personalized Jewish studies curriculum takes into consideration the distinctive needs of children and their families. Shuvu's primary goal is to imbue a love for Torah and mitzvot in its students. In doing so, the children develop a meaningful bond with the land of Israel and with the Jewish people as a whole. Since most of the student body come from homes which are not religiously observant, teachers are careful to present Judaism in a joyous and non-threatening manner, ensuring that their Jewish studies do not cause conflict in the home.
Innovative resources are key to all solid learning. Knowing this, the Shuvu network has initiated and developed unique Jewish studies materials, and provides teachers with comprehensive manuals to guide the teaching of Jewish holidays and other key mitzvot. The Shuvu approach is to integrate these topics not just into the religious studies curriculum but also into secular studies, to encourage the discussion of their wider relevance. Due to their exceptional content and innovative approach, these Shuvu manuals are now in great demand among teachers from mainstream schools around Israel.
Our Dedicated Teachers
A key ingredient of the Shuvu's success is the unstinting commitment of its teachers. Shuvu teachers treat their students as if they were their own children, with warmth, care and total respect. Shuvu teachers have often been known to offer additional teaching at no extra cost for weaker students, or to those transferring from other school systems. Shuvu teachers make themselves accessible, forging in strong teacher/parent relationships. Every child receives at least two home visits per year by their class teacher. If a child does not show up to school, the teacher will phone their home that same day to make sure everything is okay. Certified with teacher's degrees, all teachers participate in ongoing Shuvu seminars to improve their English and Mathematics instruction.
Shuvu's Protected Environment
Shuvu's schools offer students something that many Israeli schools cannot guarantee: a disciplined learning environment, free from drugs and crime.
Israeli schools often have high rates of violence. Nationwide survey statistics indicate that 78% of students and 17% of teachers have been victims of violence, and 15% percent of Israeli students aged 11-16 arrive at school armed for 'self-protection'.
By contrast, at Shuvu schools the violence level is close to zero, with moral integrity and respect for one another as an implicit part of the school ethos. Since Shuvu's educational philosophy is one of warmth and nurturing, students are naturally protected from the less healthy aspects of society.
