Kaylie Family honored for support of innovative program for students from Israeli-Ethiopian community

(Top, from right: Alicia and Danny Yacoby and Kaylie Foundation representative Oshik Porshian listen to first-year accountancy student Aviva Reuven. Below: Scholarship recipients with (seated, from right) Rabbi Rafi Feuerstein, Prof. Reuven Feuerstein, Prof. Stroumsa and Oshik Porian; and (standing) the Yacobys, the Director of the Division for Development and Public Relations Joseph Benarroch and Feuerstein Institute members.)

January 24, 2012: Harvey and Gloria Kaylie of New York were honored at a ceremony held at the Hebrew University last week to acknowledge their generous support for 19 first-year students from the Israeli-Ethiopian community who are participating in a pilot program being conducted jointly by the University and the Feuerstein Institute in conjunction with the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption. The Kaylies, who have provided full scholarships for the students through the Feuerstein Institute, were represented by their daughter and son-in-law Alicia and Danny Yacoby.  Speaking at the ceremony, Hebrew University Rector Prof. Sarah Stroumsa stressed the importance of giving the 19 students the opportunity to study at the University and fulfill their potential, adding that she sees them as future leaders of Israeli society.
Feuerstein Institute founder Prof. Reuven Feuerstein and his son Rabbi Rafi Feuerstein, vice-chairman of the Feuerstein Institute, both expressed their pleasure at seeing the students immersed in their university studies and they reiterated their commitment to the students’ future. Also attending the ceremony were the Kaylie Foundation’s representative in Israel Oshik Porshian and head of the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption’s Student Authority Ofer Ofan.
The support from the Feuerstein Institute and the Hebrew University is highly significant for each of the students, said first-year accountancy student Aviva Reuven on behalf of the 19 students. In addition to receiving full scholarships that cover tuition, accommodation and a living stipend, the students have also been given laptop computers.  
Speaking on behalf of her father Harvey Kaylie, Alicia Yacoby said that together with the representatives of Hebrew University and the Feuerstein Institute, he was committed to the success of this most important project.
The pilot program, which began in the current academic year, is based on the Feuerstein Mediated Learning method and aims to enable Ethiopian Israeli students with proven potential to be accepted into, and succeed in, the Hebrew University departments of their choice. The first cohort of students comprises graduates of the University’s one-year preparatory program (mechina) at the Joseph Saltiel Center for Pre-Academic Studies and regular high-school graduates.
The Feuerstein Mediated Learning-Instrumental Enrichment Program is designed to enhance each student’s learning capacity in their chosen field of study. It comprises two key elements: a pre-acceptance evaluation of each student’s learning potential and personal guidance throughout their studies via the Feuerstein Institute-developed Instrumental Enrichment Program.
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