Principal Rafi Maimon took the helm at AMIT Hammer six years ago, and turned the school around. He implemented structural improvements together with new educational ideas, both designed to improve the students’ academic performance, emotional state and well-being.
AMIT Hammer still serves at-risk students; at least 65% are from low socioeconomic homes and have difficult family situations, and 20% are known to the municipal social services. To meet their needs, the school creates individual learning plans for each child. AMIT Hammer also provides various types of therapies to over 70% of the student body, including animal and dog training, music and art, gardening, and personal coaching. The bayit cham (“warm home”) is a supportive framework to help kids stay out of trouble, with a social worker available 24/7. AMIT Hammer is also the first religious school that provides special-education classes in every grade.
Despite the challenges, the high school’s bagrut rate jumped to an impressive 94% in 2016, up from only 39% in 2010, and well above the national average of 70% for Jewish students. A strong emphasis is placed on volunteering, with a particularly impressive project of preparing students at a nearby school for boys on the autism scale for their bar mitzvahs.
While AMIT Hammer has close to a 100% IDF enrollment rate, most graduates choose to increase their chances of having a meaningful army experience by studying in a pre-military preparation program, most often at the adjacent AMIT Rehovot Pre-Military Junior College.
