Neama Abo Dalu: If a child has a good environment, he or she will be able to learn

Neama Abo Dalu, aged 47, was born and grew up in the East (Arab) Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Safafa. She now lives not far away in what later became the West Jerusalem neighborhood of Katamon, though his husband’s family built the house before 1948. She is the mother of three children: two daughters who are pursuing higher education and a son in high school.

When did you start working in binational schools?

“I have always worked in the bilingual, binational school system. When I was preparing for student teaching, one of my teachers suggested I work in the Hand in Hand high school in Jerusalem. ‘This is for you,’ she told me.

“I started as a math teacher, went on to teach Arabic, and for the last six years was a guidance counselor in the school. In the process, I deepened my knowledge of education within the bilingual school system, taking intensive courses and teacher enrichment workshops, one of them a two-year course of study.”

Were you familiar with Wahat al Salam - Neve Shalom and its primary school?

"As a teacher and educator in another bi-national school of course I knew the school through professional interactions, especially in the area of teacher training in bi-national education and development of joint teaching materials.

"In addition, many of the graduating primary school students go on to the Hand in Hand high school, so I knew about their previous education and background as students in the WASNS school.

"Over the years I made several visits to the village. When, on separate occasions the Jerusalem school and the school in WASNS school suffered attacks by extremists, there were mutual solidarity visits, in which I took part."

How have you found the change in role – from counselor to principal?

“Obviously these have different job descriptions, but I am finding that my years of experience as a guidance counselor are coming in useful in leading this school. Because the first thing I do is listen. I listen to what the individual teachers have to say, and I’m careful to let each of them have their say when a decision has to be made. And then I do my research and assess the lay of the land before coming to any conclusions. When we do make decisions, I may have to use my powers of persuasion, but it is important to me that decisions arise from the group – that everyone feels they have been a part of the process – rather than me making decisions from above.

“One of the things I am working on is getting the teachers to work more closely together, and to have regular teachers’ meetings.

“Of course, the beginning of the school year has been intense. The kids have been happy to be back to classroom learning, but, like all schools in Israel, we have been dealing with difficult and confusing rules for corona testing and restrictions. In addition, the Jewish kids and teachers were out most of September for holidays, so the school was missing half its students right at the beginning. The Arab kids felt that loss. Only now is the school year truly beginning.”

What are your plans for the coming school year?

“We want to ensure that each child reaches their full potential. That means we have to look beyond the classroom and work on building the parents’ involvement in the school.

“Building the parents’ community will be one of my first tasks. It is important to clarify who we are and what we stand for. Then we’ll ensure the parents are in line with that. We also will need their help in building a parents’ community to support our educational system.

“Some of the kids only speak one language at home, and have not felt the need to learn the other language. We need to get their parents behind the way we teach in two languages and give the kids crucial support for bilingual learning when they get home from school as well. And we are seeing that the violent events of last May, the continuing disquiet in the mixed cities and the emotional fallout, have trickled down into the school atmosphere. We need to help the parents understand the circumstances, on a deep level, that have led to today’s crises, and we need them, in turn, to help us deal with maintaining respect for others in our school.

“After a year of coronavirus lockdowns and violence in our cities, I will be working on rebuilding the social fabric of the school – starting with the teachers.”

How do you deal with the fact that the children in the school come from widely different backgrounds?

"I have found that children’s ability to learn depends very much on their environment - on what is happening around them. The role and intent of the parents’ community is to build a safe, peaceful, caring atmosphere where all children, no matter what baggage they carry, will feel encouraged to learn.

“Our school has room for everyone; that is an important part of who we are.”

How do you see your future in the school?

"I have been aiming for a job like this, where I have influence and can lead. Together with Nir [Nir Sharon, the association’s director for children’s education], the association board and the communications & development staff, we will be building a three year plan for the further development of the school and its programs. One long term goal I already have is to increase the scholastic achievements of the children. Of course, Hebrew and Arabic are important, but we need to work toward giving them a high level of math, English – and basically everything!”