What is the difference between magen avot and rappaport?

heartinzion

Tue, Aug 08 2017, 12:18 pm

Making aliyah next summer and looking into schools for my will-be-almost 12 year old son. What are the main differences between those 2 schools and which one is better at tutoring and integrating olim?

juggling

Tue, Aug 08 2017, 1:02 pm

Will your son be going into sixth grade? It may be worth considering that rapaport elementary ends at sixth grade. They do have a junior high, but it's in a different building and with entirely different staff. Magen avot continues through eighth grade.

What is your long-term vision for your son? Most rapaport kids get bagrut certificates and ultimately do army. Magen avot doesn't really encourage either.

heartinzion

Tue, Aug 08 2017, 3:24 pm

Yes, he would be going into 6th grade.
Yes, we would definitely want the matriculation exams.
Wow, I didn't realize that they only went through 6th grade. That's a significant point. So what do the kids do for middle school and high school?

heartinzion

Tue, Aug 08 2017, 3:32 pm

What's the education like in magen avot? Is it good enough that my son can then continue on to a high school with bagrut?
And what's the population like in magen avot? Mostly chareidi or do they have DL and chardal, as well?
We wouldn't feel comfortable in a chareidi place. Looking for a more chardal place.

juggling

Tue, Aug 08 2017, 5:27 pm

The kids from magen avot do often go to high schools with bagruyot, as someone else mentioned. Also kids do go from magen avot to the rapaport high school, although I can't imagine the school encouraging that.

Many rapaport kids stay in the rapaport system for junior high. Some also for high school. But it is a switch. They make a big deal out of sixth grade graduation. If your son won't mind joining the class and then switching after a year, sixth grade is a pretty fun year. And if he continues to rapaport's junior high he will probably go with most of his new friends.

Or he could do magen avot for 6-8 and then switch. But if he switches to rapaport he will be in the minority.

There is also moriyah, just to confuse you. Much more chardal, but no secular education. Kids from there also switch to rapaport after eighth, sometimes.

If you don't consider yourselves charedi rapaport is probably a better match. But self-definitions can be tricky. What type of school is he in now?

heartinzion

Tue, Aug 08 2017, 5:54 pm

Thank you so much - that's really helpful!
We are more like DL but I cover my hair, don't wear pants, long sleeves, I would wear a knee length skirt with sandals. We definitely want a good secular education. So is that chardal? Is Rappaport a good fit for us?
Is the Rappaport junior high and high school also in RBS? Why do some kids not continue there?

SpottedBanana

Tue, Aug 08 2017, 5:59 pm

heartinzion wrote:

That might actually be more Dati Torani (right-wing DL) than chardal. I have family friends who send to both Rappoport and Magen Avot and Rappoport seems like a much better fit for you. Magen Avot is the closest I have seen in Israeli schools to American yeshivish, not American RWMO.

amother

Scarlet

Tue, Aug 08 2017, 7:38 pm

SpottedBanana wrote:

Fwiw, my relatives who went to Rappaport Talpiot for elementary school all went to high schools with bagrut. Think American style BY for the girls and Maaravah (its own being) for the boys.

amother

Copper

Wed, Aug 09 2017, 9:54 am

as for the tutoring, you need to go through the iriya and get your son approved that he in need of support. only the boys who are really struggling or have a diagnosis of some sort get the tutoring, so you have to push hard for it. this can take some time and you have to really be on top of it. tutoring is not given from the get go which is really when it is needed.

you also have to make sure your son is getting the hours the iriya approved. there was an issue of a boy getting less hours than he was approved for (about half) and the school gave the "extra" hours to another boy - who didn't go through the whole approval process (that his parents fought for). the school got called out for it - schools are not allowed to distribute the hours how they see fit.

happy to hear if anyone experienced this issue differently.

all in all, you will need to pay privately for support for the beginning, which is the most important (in my opinion).

amother

Copper

Wed, Aug 09 2017, 9:56 am

heartinzion wrote:

definitely more charedi. mechitzah in the children's shows, must wear tights, etc.

amother

Firebrick

Wed, Aug 09 2017, 10:51 am

heartinzion wrote:

Yes, the jr high and HS are a block away from the elementary schools, all in RBS.
My son just graduated 6th grade and I think at least 80% of his classmates are continuing in Ahavat Yisrael (BTW, that is the actual name of the school. )
There are a few who may want a different HS experience but the majority definitely continue.

Magen Avot will not allow fathers at the girls graduation, for example. The girls uniform is much more "BY-ish" - blue button down shirt, pleated skit. The girls uniform for AY elementary school is a t shirt with the school logo.

My older son went to Magen Avot through 8th grade and then AY HS and he had a lot of catching up to do, in Kodesh subjects, as well as secular subjects. The learning in AY is on a bit of a higher level.

New olim will get ulpan in school and leniency for tests and bagruyot for up to 10 years.

amother

Royalblue

Wed, Aug 09 2017, 11:09 am

amother wrote:

definitely more charedi. mechitzah in the children's shows, must wear tights, etc.

Does this mean that MA mothers are expected to wear stockings all the time, including outside of school?

juggling

Wed, Aug 09 2017, 12:31 pm

amother wrote:

In my experience the majority of the boys in ay continue for junior high. But then the majority do switch out for high school. That said, my son went all the way through and had a great experience. It depends on the class.

One slight note of correction, not that it matters much. The ay girls sixth grade graduation is also without fathers. It is a musical production, so makes sense.

juggling

Wed, Aug 09 2017, 12:34 pm

amother wrote:

Fwiw, my relatives who went to Rappaport Talpiot for elementary school all went to high schools with bagrut. Think American style BY for the girls and Maaravah (its own being) for the boys.

Rapaport in jerusalem serves a more charedi population than the one in ramat beit shemesh. Rbs rapaport is dati-torani. It's very unusual for a boy to go to maarava from there, or a girl to by.

juggling

Wed, Aug 09 2017, 12:38 pm

heartinzion wrote:

Sounds to me like rapaport would be a good fit for you. They are also very olim-friendly.

Health is a Virture

Wed, Aug 09 2017, 4:07 pm

rappaport is daati leumi---meaning, pro-army
magen avot some boys go to more open yeshivas for high school and some go to high schools with a combo of Torah and secular (maaravah is a first choice for many)

both from what I understand are very helpful for olim----mostly Anglo students in both

heartinzion

Wed, Aug 09 2017, 4:22 pm

Op here. I really want to thank everyone for the replies. They are so helpful.
I have another concern: how does it work there with getting into the schools? Someone just told me that it is possible that even if you live in the district you might not get into the school you want. Is this accurate?
We would be moving to RBS specifically for the school we want. Is it possible that we would then not get into it?