108 | JULY 14 • 2022 

A

s an Israeli town with 
one of the highest 
percentages of new 
immigrants, it was only natural 
that Kiryat Yam would attract 
refugees from Ukraine who 
have been streaming to Israel in 
the last couple of months. One 
of the most important elements 
of helping these families 
process their trauma and settle 
is ensuring their children’s 
education can finally resume. 
Kiryat Yam’s low socio-
economic index means that 
local students are more 
academically challenged 
in comparison to their 
counterparts in the center of 
the country. But it’s specifically 
here that kindergarten children 
are being taught how to build 
and even program simple 
robots, enabling them to gain 
rudimentary familiarity with 
technology in preparation for 
studying STEAM (science, tech, 
engineering, art, math) subjects 
in the future. 
“Through our World 

ORT robotics programs in 
kindergarten and continuing 
at the D. Dan & Betty Kahn 
STEAM Center at the Rodman 
school, we provide under-
resourced children with an extra 
boost from the youngest age 
possible so they’ll gain the tools 
and the confidence to pursue 
higher education and fulfilling 
careers,
” said Dr. Conrad Giles 
of Bloomfield Hills, who has 
served as World ORT president 
for the last six years. 
Giles was speaking to World 
ORT delegates who, for the 
first time in over two years, 
convened in Israel to experience 
firsthand the extensive work of 
World ORT and meet students 
directly impacted by it.
During a packed visit to 
Kiryat Yam, between meetings 
with the mayor and high-level 
municipal and educational 
representatives, delegates got 
an up-close view of the natural 
progression of World ORT’s 
STEAM education in action. 
After watching 5-year-olds 

playing with robots they’
d built 
and programmed, the group 
met middle school students 
at the D. Dan & Betty Kahn 
STEAM center’s robotics lab 
who were delighted to show 
off the robots they’
d learned to 
build and code. 
As an added value to 
the program, students who 
have gained a basic level of 
proficiency are encouraged to 
mentor their peers, thereby 
acquiring additional skills that 
will serve them well as they go 
forward. 
Technion graduate Natalie 
Korlick, a resident of Kiryat 
Yam and originally from Russia, 
is one of the instructors at 
the STEAM center. “While 
STEM used to be considered 
nerdy, today it’s become cool. 
Everyone wants to learn 

robotics.
” 
Korlick, who also works as 
a math and science tutor, says 
academic gaps are evident in 
almost all students from all 
grades. “It’s as if they lost an 
entire year,
” she says, referring 
to the sporadic, long-distance 
schooling caused by COVID. 
“They have to work extra hard 
this year to catch up.
” 
If that’s true for the students 
at Rodman, it’s all the more 
so for the Ukrainian students 
who’ve seen their whole world 
turned upside down, and who 
must adapt to a new country, 
language and mentality. Thanks 
to her knowledge of Russian, 
Korlick can provide an extra 
level of support for the newly 
arrived Ukrainian students.
“Helping these kids who have 
been through so much and who 
arrived with little more than the 
clothes on their backs is exactly 
what we’re about,
” Giles said. 
“We couldn’t be happier that 
our programs are being used 
to help get them on track to a 
better future.
” 

ORT in Action

PHOTOS BY NITZAN ZOHAR

Ukrainian refugee students 
receive STEAM education at 
Israeli middle school.

SHARON GELBACH SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

LEFT: Howard Lanznar, ORT 
America board chairman, and 
wife, Gail, a member of the ORT 
America Executive Committee of 
the Board of Directors, interact 
with students at the Rodman 
school in Kiryat Yam. 
BOTTOM: World ORT President 
Dr. Conrad Giles with Israeli 
Minister of Diaspora Affairs Dr. 
Nachman Shai, the keynote 
speaker at the opening ceremo-
nies of the World ORT Mission.

ERETZ

