Beged Kefet's high school classes are designed for students in grades 9–12 who want to strengthen their Hebrew language skills and earn high school credit to fulfill the foreign language requirement (which is also required by some collegiate institutions). Placement in the appropriate level is determined after staff evaluation.
Colleges throughout the United States require a minimum of two years (and often three of the same language) of foreign language study in high school to ensure that a student has acquired a high level of language proficiency.
Beged Kefet has been recognized as a foreign language course by many Silicon Valley school districts, in partnership with Jewish Community High School of the Bay in San Francisco. Transcripts at the end of each semester will arrive at your high school via email from Jewish Community High School of the Bay. You should add it as the organization through which you will take our Hebrew course when you fill out forms required by your school/district to take an external language course.
In the last few years, our high school classes have expanded to further cities and new students have joined. Beged Kefet had established itself as a one-of-a-kind, independent supplementary language school.
In February 2020, Beged Kefet received full accreditation by the Western Association for Schools and Colleges (WASC). The accreditation is a voluntary dual-purpose process. Schools must be worthy of the trust placed in them to provide high-quality learning, and clearly demonstrate continual self-improvement. An accredited school is focused on a mission and goals for students; it is student-oriented and examines its students' performance continuously; it accepts objective evaluation from a team of outside peer professionals trained by ACS WASC; it maintains a qualified faculty within an effectively organized school; it collaboratively assesses the quality of its educational programs on a regular basis; and it plans for the future.
By taking an accredited course at Beged Kefet, not only are you ensured of high-quality education, but you earn credits that will go toward your public high school and college "E" requirement of Language Other Than English (LOTE).
Students are required to take 100 hours of study per year, accumulated through weekly three-hour lessons, typically during the evening hours (6:00–9:00 PM). To complete the required hours of study, the student will participate in cultural enrichment and community events. All school events, such as Independence Day and Memorial Day ceremonies, are examples of events in which students are invited to participate and attend. At the end of each semester, the students will earn five credits, or the equivalent number of credits for a semester course at their school, towards their foreign-language requirement. Typically, students earn ten credits a year.
In addition to class participation, interested high school students are invited
to apply for
Beged Kefet's Hadracha Program.
Working at the OFJCC will enrich their job experience and provide students with
a letter of recommendation from the Beged Kefet team.
Course Levels and Curriculum
Beged Kefet offers high school courses at various levels and all courses are accredited by WASC. Students are placed in classes based on their ability and work with appropriately-selected study materials. At Beged Kefet, course levels are based on a scale starting from Hebrew 1 to Hebrew 6 Honors.
The
curriculum is based on the CET program, an acronym for Center for Educational Technology in Israel, and it includes resources chosen by experts in the field of teaching Hebrew as a second language. The program cultivates
all aspects of Hebrew language learning—grammar and content, conversations and
literature, poetry and factual information, exercises and practice, topics
for lively discussion, songs and moral dilemmas, writing assignments and
independent reading, current events and biblical texts.
Bishvil HaIvrit (For the Hebrew) by CET books offer quality material for all
levels of Hebrew, from beginners (Hebrew 1) to advanced (Hebrew 6 Honors).
Beged Kefet includes technology in our classes that enhances and supports learning. Audio recordings,
interactive technology, documentary films and more are used in classes and at home. As students speak, read,
write and listen to spoken Hebrew, they encounter varying viewpoints on Israeli
daily life, Jewish tradition and history, and general world knowledge. The availability of this technology also allows them to continue to deepen this knowledge on their own outside of class.
Hebrew 1: Mechina Class for High School Students who do not Read or Write in Hebrew
The Mechina class is based on a curriculum developed by Bishvil HaIvrit. The intensive year-long program helps students acquire reading and writing skills based
on content and texts appropriate for high school students. During the first months,
students will acquire reading and writing skills while working through online assignments and tasks both during class and at home for homework. As
students continue their progress, they will start using the first book within
the Bishvil HaIvrit series (Bishvil HaIvrit 1).
Special Programs for Advanced High School Courses
Beged Kefet is proud to present two new special programs as part of our curriculum that will give our advanced students some added value to their Hebrew studies. These programs were specifically designed and created for our students by the Beged Kefet pedagogical team.
The two programs are:
- Jewish Identity, Israeli Identity, and Everything In Between
- Israeli Cinema
- Israel Through Time (Time Tunnel)
These programs will be added to the appropriate level classes based on pedagogical consideration and student ability.
Class Participation, Student Evaluation, Class Time and Schedule
The schedule for each class
can be found on the
Campuses page. Information about tuition and
fees can be found on our
Registration Guidelines page. Since Beged Kefet is a supplementary program that meets in the evenings, and as we know how busy high school students are with extracurricular activities, our high school classes meet once a week for three hours.
Beged Kefet is obligated to the annual total hours of instruction and hence regular attendance is required. High school students can only miss up to two classes
during each semester. It is the student's responsibility to attend
make-up classes if needed, in coordination with their teacher. Students who miss
more than two classes during a semester will not
qualify to finish the course and will not get a grade or a transcript.
Students' attendance in class is necessary for their progress in language acquisition. During the school year, students are evaluated on class participation, completion of homework, presentations, essays, digital assignments, reading and other other tools that the teachers use to check students' progress. Based on each of these assessment tools, students receive a grade at the end of each semester. This grade is transferred to the high schools via their transcript.
Public School Permission to Take Hebrew as External Language Course
As they register to Beged Kefet, high school students should contact their high school registrar or advisor and ask to fill out the school's forms related to external language classes. Every school has its own forms and they might change from year to year. Please make sure to be in contact with the school guidance counselor or admin regarding this topic and to complete any school requirements and forms before the beginning of the school year. Make sure that you mark Jewish Community High School of the Bay as the organization through which you will take our Hebrew course. The course numbers are based on the Hebrew level being studied and are listed in the table below:
| Hebrew 1 |
60101 |
| Hebrew 2 |
60102 |
| Hebrew 3 |
60103 |
| Hebrew 4 |
60104 |
| Hebrew 5 Honors |
60109 |
| Hebrew 6 Honors |
60110 |
You can contact us to schedule a placement test after registering for classes or with any questions at [email protected]. You can also contact your campus head. Emails are listed on each campus' page.