Research in Israel and abroad has shown that 10%-15% of the general population suffers from learning disabilities. Further studies have discovered that certain students with high intelligence levels are sometimes limited in their ability to advance scholastically due to some learning difficulty, which hinders their innate potential. Many of these students carry with them a sense of failure accompanied by poor self-image and alienation from their school environment. All too frequently, they lack critical emotional support needed to sustain their efforts.

Israel ’s largest educational network pioneered school-centered identification of the spectrum of learning disabilities, and developed a system-wide educational model for mainstreaming such pupils. The Learning Skills Center, the first of its kind, was established in 1994 in order to help students advance socially and scholastically. The center nurtures students’ scholastic achievements and self-esteem, helping them reach entitlement to a full matriculation certificate while raising their confidence and reinforcing their emotional security.

It offers an integrative model of individually attuned mentoring for students, with teachers and students participating in seminars where they are provided with additional learning skills and teaching strategies. The goal: significant lowering of students’ propensity for dropping out.

Parental consultations and student tutoring are offered, free of charge.

Israel’s Ministry of Education has adopted this successful model for diagnosing learning-disabled students, utilizing the tools developed by the network.

Prof. Malka Margalit of Tel Aviv University provides external academic assessment for the center.