The Board of the Gidon Association is attentive to the needs of the local community and aware of the changes  continually evolving.  We believe in the direction we have chosen.

We ensure that from time to time an external evaluation is carried out on the organization to check the general performance, goals, implementation and results which will lead to the empowerment of the organization and the community in general.

In 2004/5 an external evaluation was carried out by Mishtanim Program Evaluation and Organizational Development.

A constructive, integrative and summarizing evaluation was conducted, employing a variety of evaluation tools. Evaluation tools were developed in the course of the evaluation, some 150 interviews with the various interested parties were held, and more than 60 observations of lessons, events and administration meetings were conducted.

The evaluation was based on two main questions:

1.   What is the efficacy of the main activities compared with the products, procedures and results?

The scope of MAKSAM’s work is far greater than expected in terms of the number of participants, the number of volunteers, duration, and continuity. It appears that work time at the centers is fully exploited, all available space is used for activity, and this was found on all of our visits to MAKSAM, whether they were prearranged or not.

We have shown how the organizational structure and work modes have been perfected, undergone institutionalization and produce the most systematic and unique processes of thinking and work in this field in Israel. The organization’s modus operandi is networked and egalitarian, and well suited to the objectives it has set itself.

Accordingly, the results are extremely positive as shown in detail in the final section, and this includes the different aspects of learning, personal and social contributions to the student, parental involvement, and increased cooperation with schools.

2.   What are the program’s strengths and weaknesses, its influence on increasing academic achievements, and integrating the population into schools and society?

The program’s strengths are extensively detailed throughout the report and include the establishment of an institutionalized organization on the one hand, and an organization with vision and a sense of mission on the other. Furthermore, with the passing years MAKSAM has undergone a process of professionalization in the educational sphere, and a process of recognition by other bodies, by which it has become a model for them.

Notable among the children is a general sense of satisfaction, a sense of belonging in both children and parents, progress in the field of learning, development and enrichment of the inner world, the ability to look forward to a better future, and dealing with the children’s behavioral problems.

It is clearly evident that MAKSAM contributed to the children’s empowerment and also to that of the population in the area.

During the academic year 2008/9 an evaluation was carried out by three students from the Ruppin Academic Center.

Their evaluation concentrated on the unique contribution of the MAKSAM centers.  The conclusions in their report were based on the results of questionnaires filled in by the pupils and their parents.

The pupils that answered the questionnaires have been attending the MAKSAM centers since they were very young.  The questionnaires checked the different aspects of MAKSAM’s contribution to the pupils  both academically and socially.

In the academic sphere:

It is clearly obvious that MAKSAM is a very important academic framework for the pupils.

MAKSAM improves the pupils’ self-confidence by closing academic gaps.  The children noted that the academic reinforcement they receive at the MAKSAM centers allows them to succeed in school just like the rest of the pupils in their class.

In the social sphere

The MAKSAM centers also serve as a very important social framework for the pupils.  The children reported that they enjoy attending MAKSAM and that they come because “it is fun”.

In the framework of MAKSAM the children acquire a wide-ranging and long standing social network.

The parents also regard the MAKSAM centers as an important educational and social framework for their children

In conclusion, it is obvious that although the process of assimilating the pupils into a heterogeneous Israeli society is long and complicated, the MAKSAM centers, without a doubt, constitute a very important, significant and influential milestone in the pupils’ advancement through this process.

The MAKSAM centers indeed provide the pupils an opportunity for a better and brighter future.