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The art of improving education By Jack Khoury Tags: art school, Arab sector  "It is forbidden to dance"; "it is forbidden to paint"; "it is forbidden to sing"; "it is forbidden to play an instrument." These statements were printed on signs displayed in mainly Arab neighborhoods in Haifa. The signs were hung as armor in the battle mounted by the Non-profit Organization for the Advancement of Arab Public Education in Haifa, to open a school for the arts to serve the city's Arab sector. The organization also collected parents' signatures in a petition that urges the Haifa Municipality and Education Ministry to reverse their positions and support the school, which would be the first of its type in the Israeli-Arab sector. In August last year, the organization filed an appeal to the High Court against the ministry and the municipality, demanding that the school be opened. Months later, while still waiting for the court's ruling, the organization decided to launch the campaign. According to the organization, the school could staunch the flow of students to Haifa's private schools and even boost the public education system in the city's Arab sector. Organization members stress that a swift ruling by the court is vital, because the placement committee for the city's special schools will soon complete its activities for the coming school year and the future of the school would rest in the hands of that committee. The organization explains that the concept of creating a school of the arts derived from the collapse of the public education system in the Arab sector. The organization's chairman Josif Khoury reports: "Aptitude tests conducted in recent years indicate that 30 percent of Arab pupils in the public education system are defined as 'special needs' pupils." Advertisement Khoury cites the thriving private education system that serves the Arab sector as another reason for establishing the school. "The Arab education system in Haifa creates extreme polarization. Those who have money and means turn to private schools. The socially and economically weak don't have a lot of options, and they find themselves in public schools," he says. According to the organization's statistics, 7,500 Arab pupils now attend school in Haifa, from mandatory kindergarten to 12th grade. Two-thirds of them attend private school. "The significance of that is that two-thirds of the Arab pupils in Haifa are not privileged to free education. That statistic represents a poor report card for the Arab public education system in Haifa," says Dr. Yasser Mansour, an activist in the organization. According to the plan, the new school would offer all the core curriculum classes in addition to the opportunity to study singing, theater, music, drawing and painting. "The school in Haifa could be a pilot for many other places in which the public education system is faltering," Khoury stresses. He says that art education, which is not offered in other schools in the city, could attract a large number of pupils. Dr. Emil Jabarin, another member of the organization, notes that there is no technical difficulty in opening the school. The organization has a list of more than 100 pupils, from grades 1-12, who want to attend the school, and the building already exists. "All the technical conditions are in place, but the Education Ministry is in no hurry to make a decision," he says. "We, as a non-profit organization, have even signed a document which indicates that 30 percent of the pupils in the school would come from families defined as weak and that we would even cover their expenses to avoid another case of polarization." The organization confirms that the municipality has made attempts to invest in Arab education in recent years. In 2003, the municipality presented a plan to advance Arab education and funds were invested to support that plan. Despite that, the organization maintains that the investment did not achieve the desired change. 'Elite schools' The Haifa Municipality rejects this criticism and notes that the municipality and the Education Ministry conduct a program in which each of the four Arab elementary schools specializes in a certain subject, such as music, theater, visual arts, communications, environmental studies and technology. The municipality maintains that its policy is in line with the Education Ministry's position that pupils not be classified according to artistic talent at age 5 or 6, to give each pupil the opportunity to develop his own talents and hidden potential. In addition to physical rehabilitation of structures, the municipality invests many resources in pedagogic fields with the objective of transforming Arab schools in Haifa into leaders in their field. The Haifa Municipality absolutely rejects the organization's claims, and maintains that the organization's plan would see elite schools being established, schools which would not be accessible to many pupils. "The municipality invites the organization to join in the process that it is leading with the Education Ministry," the municipality reported in its response. The Education Ministry reported it had no intention of addressing the subject because the question was currently being debated in court. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Fear of extinction The state of over 20 species of birds in Israel has worsened considerably. Taking advantage Jerusalem police probe possible gang rape of disabled woman.

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