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It’s Elementary!

It’s Elementary!, ICEI’s flagship program, is the most comprehensive and ambitious Whole School Improvement Program for grades 1-6 in Israel. The program strengthens literacy fundamentals and basic learning skills instruction so that children can succeed in elementary school and beyond.

Three female students are reading a book

How it works

1

Each elementary school principal is paired with one of ICEI's Principal Mentors – all highly accomplished and experienced former principals. ICEI’s Principal Mentor works closely with the principal to create a vision for the school, develop actionable annual work plans, and build and support her school leadership team and general faculty.

2

ICEI’s Literacy Coaches join the faculty full-time to work closely with teachers to transform how they plan and teach their classes. Literacy Coaches model new instructional methods in the classroom, offer valuable real-time observation and feedback, and co-teaching that builds teachers’ skills and confidence.

3

ICEI teaches principals and teachers to use Medida, a comprehensive user-friendly online data collection and analysis website developed by ICEI. This enables faculty to continually track the progress of each class and each student and to tailor instruction to meet their needs. Our data-driven approach means that no student gets left behind.

4

We create optimal learning environments, including in-class libraries of 500-1,000 books, categorized according to reading level. We enrich each classroom with a designated area for intimate frontal instruction in the form of short mini-lessons, with posters that encourage reading, writing, speaking, and listening. In upper grades, we integrate cutting-edge digital teaching and learning platforms such as LightSail and CET–The Center for Educational Technology’s Korim (Readers) non-fiction texts platform.

5

Beyond the classroom setting, we support parents to become full partners in their children’s education and help improve communication and mutual respect between parents and faculty members.

6

Each year, students nationwide participate in ICEI’s Young Writers Competition, honing their storytelling skills and then celebrating their accomplishments in our annual awards ceremony.

Testimonials

“It’s revived my passion for teaching. ICEI’s precise, professional, and differentiated instruction model has completely transformed how we teach. The children are actively engaged in learning and love coming to school. And guess what? The teachers love coming to school too!”
AhuvaTeacher, Harin school, Ramle
"Every school in the country should join this program because once they do you’ll see different children, better citizens, and better parents. The method has proven itself in the field to be highly effective and powerful. It completely transforms the quality of school management and leadership for the long term."
Moshe AmarPrincipal of Yavne School, Hadera
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Participating Schools

ICEI currently runs It’s Elementary! in the following schools and communities:

  • Ben Zvi, Ramle
  • Harin, Ramle
  • Ma’anit, Ramle
  • Dekel, Ashkelon
  • Arlozorov, Ashkelon
  • Shavit, Rehovot
  • Yavne, Hadera
  • Zvulun Hammer, Rishon LeZion
  • Vitkin, Rishon LeZion
  • Sinai, Rishon LeZion
  • Itamar, Rishon LeZion
  • Shazar, Akko*
  • Alon Yizreel, Afula*
  • Gamle, Katzrin*
  • Nitzanim, Karmiel*
  • Shalom Aleichem, Betzet*
  • Yachad, Holon*
  • Levi Eshkol, Beit Shemesh*
  • Shoham, Afula*
  • Hatomer, Beit She’an*
  • Menachem Begin, Nof Hagalil*

*Also part of Meisharim