Sonbulat Waldorf

1. About

The “Sonbulat Waldorf" is a registered non-profit association, registered with the Registrar of Associations in January 2018.

2. The association’s vision

Promoting the education of Arab children & youth in Haifa according to the principles of anthroposophical education, based on the Waldorf method.

3. The association’s goal

The establishment of educational institutions (kindergartens and schools) offering the Arab population in Haifa an anthroposophical education based on the Waldorf method.

4. The association’s activities

Since the establishment of the founding nucleus of parents and educators, the association has held many lectures introducing and discussing the concept, ideas and vision of the Waldorf method to hundreds of parents, and its potential value to the Arab community in Haifa. Members of the association along with some of the parents who would like to educate their children within the framework of the Waldorf method visited functioning Waldorf schools in Northern Israel. They met with experts and educators, coming away with a greater understanding of the Waldorf method in general, and the process & challenges of establishing a new anthroposophical educational institution. In addition, members of the association held meetings with the staff and directors of the Education Department of the Haifa Municipality and other relevant experts in the field.

5. The background and need to establish an Arab educational institution according to the anthroposophical education system in Haifa

Haifa, with 280,000 residents, is a model of coexistence between a wide range of ethnic groups: Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, Christians and Muslims, Bahais, Ahmadis, Druze and others.

Arabs constitute 10% of the city’s population, most living in the poorer neighborhoods (Wadi Nisnas, Wadi Jamal, Halisa and Kababir), areas with old & worn out infrastructure.

The Arab education system in the city includes ten schools, five of which are officially recognized schools and five Christian schools (unofficially recognized), operated by the various churches in the city.

The five Christian schools follow a conservative and conventional educational approach, charging relatively high tuition fees; they are very selective and enjoy an image of "prestigious" schools.

Despite the great contribution of the Christian schools to the Arab society’s education system over the years, their differentiation and selectivity in accepting new students has created a sort of rough division between them and the Arab official school system in the city. Most of the pupils in the Christian schools come from the middle and upper middle class Arab families (who naturally enjoy high chances of success in the schools), and most of the students from a lower socioeconomic status attend official schools. This situation further widens and perpetuates the social and educational gaps in Haifa’s Arab society.

6. Request for financial support and assistance

As stated, in order to realize its vision and goals for the coming years, the association must raise a sum of one million shekels ($540,000) for the renovation of the building and the opening of the kindergartens as the first stage of the project.

We hereby request you to receive financial assistance for the cleaning and renovating of the building and adapting it for the operation of kindergartens.