Meet Duaa and Guy, the Co-Teachers of Haifa's First Bilingual 7th Grade Class
Guy Aloni and Duaa Odeh are the co-teachers of Hand in Hand’s inaugural 7th grade class in Haifa, which opened this year. Guy and Duaa believe that shared Jewish-Arab education can transform society, and that they are educating the future leaders of this country, who can help usher in a new, more equitable reality for all.
As in all of Hand in Hand’s schools, Duaa and Guy implement a multicultural, humanistic educational approach in their classroom, and always encourage students’ input and feedback. This makes for a dynamic and culturally-sensitive learning environment, in which students feel comfortable to express themselves, and regularly suggest ideas for lessons or modes of studying.
The power of the Haifa community
The expansion of the bilingual Haifa school to 7th grade was not without challenges, and would not have been possible without the perseverance and determination of the Hand in Hand Haifa community and parents, who advocated for a bilingual, integrated middle school in Haifa for years.
When bureaucratic challenges arose, and it appeared as if the municipality might not be able to provide space for our new 7th grade class, the Hand in Hand Haifa parents refused to take no for an answer.
The result of their lobbying efforts is this historical bilingual, integrated 7th grade class, which is currently being hosted by a public school in Haifa by the name of ‘Ironi Aleph.’
Haifa is one of Israel’s most heterogeneous and integrated mixed cities, and therefore we view our bilingual secondary school as absolutely essential to its diverse population.
We hope and believe that this secondary school will continue to expand as a bilingual track within an existing host school, or as an independent school in the future. In growing this school, we hope to bring bilingual, integrated education to as many Arab and Jewish families as possible in Haifa.
Watch Duaa and Guy and hear more about this remarkable 7th grade classroom, and its dedicated co-teachers.
