Hand in Hand's Bilingual Schools Are About Much More Than Language Acquisition

There are many factors that determines a school’s success—its educators, the resources at its disposal, the families that choose to enroll their children—and of course, the school’s leadership. Principal Geezel Jarroush Absawy has been leading the Hand in Hand Haifa elementary school since 2021. Over these past nearly six years, Geezel has strengthened the schools’ pedagogy through Place-Based Education and second-language acquisition—while also placing an emphasis on dialogue, conflict resolution, and cultivating graduates who are independent, connected to themselves, and aware of the world around them.

Through bureaucratic hurdles, extended school closures, and the disruptions of war, the Hand in Hand Haifa community has sustained remarkable growth and an unwavering sense of community. Language learning, we believe, is the foundation of this community, which enables mutual understanding and compassion through times of conflict and routine alike.

“Bilingual schools are not only about language learning. Language is a tool, a bridge for getting to know others,” Principal Geezel recently shared with our team.

“So much of shared society work is about dialogue, solving conflicts together, getting to know one another, learning about others and accepting them. It starts with our own identity, so we strengthen each child’s identity, and this allows them to get to know and learn about others without feeling threatened, or dismissing anyone else.

On the contrary – we strengthen our own identities to accept others, and that’s how we find our similarities and differences, and that’s how we encourage acceptance, inclusion, and empathy, and that’s how ‘real life’ happens – we celebrate holidays together, work in mixed teams – all of that and more happens at our special school.”