IASA - Israel Arts and Science Academy

IASA (the Israel Center for Excellence through Education, NPO) brings innovative change to education in Israel. The bedrock of our programs is the ‘Classroom of Excellence,’ an approach that facilitates creative and abstract thinking, dynamic self-assessment, passionate curiosity, a willingness to err, and interdisciplinary learning: foundational skills for 21st century leaders in all fields. The Israel Arts and Science Academy, established in 1990, is a residential high school in Jerusalem built on the three pillars of excellence, leadership, and community service. Its academic program includes concentrations in music, visual arts, science, and the humanities. Students learn from a world-class faculty of musicians, artists, scientists, and thinkers. About 280 gifted and talented students/year are immersed in a full-time formal and informal learning schedule, including an array of enriching social activities that develop leadership and responsibility. All students participate intensively in volunteering through school's Crown Community Service Program. IASA is particularly committed to recruiting students from the socioeconomic periphery and minority communities. We admit students based solely on their merit, motivation, and thirst for knowledge. The IASA student body represents the full mosaic of Israeli society. For gifted students from families of limited finances, attendance at IASA is a door into an education that paves the way towards future leadership in all fields. In 2017, IASA opened its new Middle School for students of all backgrounds in the Jerusalem area. Its diverse students study an advanced curriculum based on the IASA high school approach, as well as a unique gender studies program, wide variety of elective courses, and Israel's only mandatory middle school Community Service program. Last year, the Ministry of Education selected the IASA-MS as 1 of only 9 schools across Israel to be named "model middle school of the future." IASA's national STEM programs extend our educational expertise throughout Israel and internationally. The Al Ma Da math and science teacher training program raises the quality and content of classroom education by equipping in-service teachers with the materials, skills, and coaching to enable them to inspire their students with the joy of learning. IASA also operates a number of enrichment programs to improve Israel's PISA international test results, as well as the Ramon Space and Astronomy competitions for the Ministry of Science, Israel Space Agency, and Ilan Ramon Foundation. Our national programs operate in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and local education authorities. Programs operate in Hebrew and Arabic, in Jewish (secular, national-religious, and Ultra Orthodox) and Arabic-language schools throughout the country. IASA's Excellence 2000 program for gifted students has gone beyond Israeli borders and operates in schools in the USA, Singapore, and Macao.