Students with Down syndrome, autism graduate as teaching assistants
The first cohort completed a joint Herzog College-Shekel training program aimed at bringing people with disabilities into Israeli classrooms as paid teaching assistants.
A group of students with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and autism graduated from Herzog Academic College as teaching assistants, completing the first stage of a vocational-academic program designed to integrate people with disabilities into Israel’s education system.
The program, run by Herzog College in partnership with the Shekel Association and Israel’s Ministry of Welfare, trains participants to work as teaching assistants in preschools and schools. The students studied at Herzog College’s Migdal Oz campus alongside students training to become early childhood and special education teachers.
According to the college, the program is one of only two in Israel that offers this type of vocational training for people with disabilities on an active academic campus, placing participants within mainstream higher education rather than in a separate framework.
Graduates are expected to enter paid work through a practicum framework
The graduation ceremony marked the completion of the students’ academic studies. Next year, the graduates are expected to enter paid work through a practicum framework, taking on teaching assistant roles in schools while continuing to receive support and guidance from Herzog College.
College officials said the program carries added meaning because many of the graduates previously struggled within the Israeli education system. They will now return to classrooms as staff members, assisting children with daily learning tasks while also serving as models of inclusion.
Students with various physical and developmental disabilities graduate from Herzog Academic College as teaching assistants in June 2026. (credit: SARAH MANNING)
In preschools and schools, the graduates are expected to carry out the same hands-on work performed by other teaching assistants, including helping children complete assignments, sitting with them during activities and offering encouragement.
A major transformation for the students
Naama Amit, coordinator of Herzog College’s vocational program, said the graduation reflected a major transformation for the students.
“It was exciting to see the students standing in front of an audience, speaking confidently and honestly about their learning and their work in schools,” Amit said. “Each has undergone significant changes, through the knowledge, tools, language, professionalism and confidence that they have acquired, preparing them to enter the world of employment as teaching assistants.”
Herzog College said the program responds to two needs at the same time: creating real employment paths for people with disabilities and helping address staffing needs in Israeli schools.
Dr. Avichai Kellerman, Herzog College’s academic director, said the initiative challenges the way society often views people with disabilities.
“We all talk about ‘inclusion’ and ‘embracing difference,’ but we’re usually accustomed to seeing people with disabilities as those who need help,” Kellerman said. “This program turns that picture upside down.”
Kellerman added that as schools prepare for the next academic year, Herzog College is sending more than 200 newly trained teachers into the education system, along with the newly qualified teaching assistants.
“Their presence in preschool classrooms will teach the next generation a lesson that can’t be found in any textbook: a lesson in self-acceptance and the triumph of the human spirit,” he said.
