Teach First Israel – Hotam

Teach First Israel is committed to training the next generation of teachers and providing all Israel's children with quality education.

Teach First Israel’s (TFI) mission is to provide all children in Israel with top-quality education and the opportunity to choose their future, regardless of their socioeconomic background. By recruiting Israel’s best and brightest leaders and change-makers to educate and inspire students, the program aims to make a profound and much-needed impact on both the country’s education system and social fabric. TFI was founded in 2010 by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the Israeli Ministry of Education, the Naomi Foundation, and Hakol Hinuch, and currently partners with many committed foundations, communities, and individual partners in Israel and around the world.

Based on the well-reputed Teach For America and Teach First (UK) programs, and a member of Teach For All (the global network of independent social enterprises working to expand educational opportunities in their countries), TFI recruits and selects top candidates, trains them in a five week intensive summer training course called “Hotam Naomi,” and places them in classrooms in socially and economically challenged areas of the country, and provides them with regular and ongoing support throughout their two-year commitment to the program. TFI has a high retention rate, with the vast majority of graduates staying in the teaching profession, some going on to pursue careers as principals and other school leadership.