2.6 Million Students Begin New School Year Across Israel As 260,000 Teachers Return To Classrooms

About 2.6 million students began the year, including approximately 180,000 first-grade students taking their first steps in school and approximately 143,000 twelfth-grade students beginning their final year in the education system. Approximately 260,000 teaching staff began the new school year nationwide, per Ministry figures.

Within that national opening, Israel Sci-Tech Schools (ISTS), Israel's largest independent “charter” school network, welcomed 100,000 students today across 265 educational institutions in 57 towns and municipalities throughout the country, supported by 8,373 teachers and staff.

"We are excited to open the new school year with an outstanding education staff that gives students the knowledge, tools, and sense of capability to dare, take initiative, and make an impact," said Raz Frohlich, CEO of Israel Sci-Tech Schools Network. "We are proud to raise, at ISTS, a curious, values-driven, and engaged generation that acts for the benefit of Israeli society. We will continue to cultivate excellence in values and academics, out of belief in our students and their ability to lead tomorrow."

Frohlich added: "Our role is not only to provide knowledge. Our role is to create the environment in which they will discover who they can be - to build a community of excellence, values, innovation, responsibility, and a sense of mission. To be the place where the seeds are planted that shape the Israeli society of tomorrow. This was the mission of the pioneers and leaders more than a hundred years ago, and it is also our mission today. I wish all of us a meaningful, successful school year.”

About Israel Sci-Tech Schools:

Founded in 1949, Israel Sci-Tech Schools is Israel’s largest independent charter school network, educating 100,000 students across 264 middle and high schools, vocational training centers, and colleges of practical engineering in 54 municipalities. The network delivers inclusive, life-changing iSTEAM education (innovation, science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) to students from all backgrounds—Jewish (secular to Haredi), Muslim, Christian, Bedouin, and Druze—regardless of gender, religion, or socio-economic status. Through academic excellence and values-driven leadership, the network empowers students to succeed in high-demand 21st-century careers and helps close social and economic gaps in Israeli society.