Certainly one of the most important goals of every Jewish family is to provide (good, in general, and Jewish in particular) an education for children. One of the institutes which helps the inhabitants of Odessa to achieve this goal is the non-governmental educational society “Habad – Or Avner” that provides traditional education for the following generation.
The Jewish kindergartens are some of the oldest in South Ukraine. The youngest attending child is just 9 months old. There are Jewish kindergartens located in the city's largest residential areas so the young children do not have to travel long or far to get there.
The school consists of three buildings that are located in the central part of the city and in the biggest residential areas (these accommodate the elementary school). There are also two buildings that accommodate the high school for older students.
Lessons at the school are conducted in Russian. Ukrainian is learned as the official language at a corresponding level. Two foreign languages (English and Hebrew) are also taught. The students also have a remarkable library at their disposal, computer labs with Internet connections, a gymnasium, a swimming pool.
The school’s graduates receive an official diploma. In addition to the ordinary school program required by the Ministry of Education of Ukraine, the students obtain extensive knowledge in Judaism as well. The school cooperates with colleges and universities in the United States, Israel and Ukraine.
The school operates full workdays, five days a week. There are excellent psychologists and speech therapists who follow the children’s development from the very beginning of their schooling helping them cope with school (and many other) problems.
The education in the school is gratis. The students enjoy hot Kosher meals three times a day. There are three buses, each with a specially developed route, which bring students to the school from different areas of the city.
