The Raphael Recanati International School:
Looking to the Future
By Joy Pincus

The following article was published in the Herzliyan, spring 2007 issue.

THE RAPHAEL RECANATI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL has come a long way since its inception five years ago. According to IDC Vice President for External Relations and Head of the RRIS Jonathan Davis the best is yet to come:

“I see the RRIS in the future as being not only one of academic excellence but an academic absorption center on which the state of Israel and the Jewish people can rely for helping IDC create a generation of leaders.”

Davis envisions the RRIS growing to become 25% of the student body at IDC Herzliya, with a significant expansion of its undergraduate programs. While the RRIS today offers undergraduate degrees in government, business and communications, its future growth will include undergraduate degrees in psychology and economics. In addition, Davis sees the RRIS providing graduate degrees in government, business, communications, psychology, economics and computer science – all taught in English.

One of the reasons Davis cites for RRIS’s popularity both with students and their parents is the administration’s accessibility. Emails are answered immediately. Parents can call up the school and talk to an RRIS representative about their child’s education. Personal care and attention for every student and his or her family helps to distinguish RRIS from other programs.

“Parents feel they can entrust their children with us. They know that their children will receive a warm welcome and be cared for in the most individual fashion….Parents realize this is a good investment in their children’s future.”

Also helping to spread the word are the school’s alumni, eager to share their experiences with others.

“They’re standing in line and saying ‘How can we help you market it? It’s been so good for us and we want other people to see it.’ And one of the secrets of its marketing is that a friend brings a friend. So we have more students volunteering to help with marketing than we can sometimes use and that’s a great feeling,” Says Davis.

Whatever the future holds in store for the RRIS, the times are definitely changing. This year, for example, the annual Hanukah celebration, once held in Prof. Reichman’s home, had to change venue as his house would no longer comfortably accommodate the swelling number of students.

“Six years ago, the Recanati family and Prof. Uriel Reichman had a dream of establishing an English academic program in Israel, and they went forward despite others’ doubts. Today those doubts are gone, and a lot more people want to get on the bandwagon. It is because of the vision of Reichman and Recanati that we were able to achieve it. As far as myself personally, I was just privileged to have been given the challenge on a silver platter and to have been able to choose a dedicated team which brought it to fruition. And there can be nothing more satisfying than this.”