Alexander Muss High School in Israel

AMIIE MERGED WITH THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND ("JNF") BETWEEN DECEMBER 2013 AND JANUARY 2014. IN THE ORGANIZATION'S LAST YEAR AS AN INDEPENDENT ENTITY, AMIIE'S TOTAL ENROLLMENT WAS 895 STUDENTS. IN 2022, THE FIRST YEAR THAT COVID-19 WAS MINIMIZED AS A FACTOR IN ENROLLMENT, THE ORGANIZATION'S TOTAL ENROLLMENT WAS 1,500 STUDENTS-AN INCREASE OF 78%. THE ORGANIZATION'S TOTAL ENROLLMENT IN 2023, AS A CONSEQUENCE OF OCTOBER 7, WAS 1068 STUDENTS. AMIIE OPERATED TEN CORE PROGRAMS AND THREE PARTNER PROGRAMS IN 2021, WHILE IN 2022, WE HAD EIGHT CORE PROGRAMS AND FOURTEEN PARTNER PROGRAMS. We had eight (8) core programs, and although some partner programs were temporarily canceled, six (6) new programs resulted in ten (10) partner programs operating in 2023. We developed a Small School Alliance program that will enable smaller schools to join and permit their students to attend our offerings. We added a social worker in 2023 and provided expanded mental health services to students. Our summer programs, in part, were modified to offer more significant opportunities to students interested in acquiring Muss Magic but not committed to a rigorous academic experience. Of these, the Entrepreneurship program with an NYU entrepreneurship certificate was a top selection. Our evaluations demonstrated the indisputable fact that we change lives. An example was the reaction of students whose programs were shortened because of October 7 and the need to send them home. They could only take one piece of baggage, although they came with several. These teens took all the clothes they were leaving, washed and pressed everything, and sorted them by gender and size. They left these as gifts with individually written notes to evacuees from the south who would soon move into the dormitories as temporary housing. COMPARING STUDENT ENROLLMENT IN 2021, OUR CORE STUDENT ENROLLMENT WAS 637, AND OUR PARTNER PROGRAMS HAD REDUCED ENROLLMENT DUE TO CONCERNS REGARDING COVID-19, WITH ONLY 155 ENROLLED STUDENTS AND A TOTAL ENROLLMENT OF 792 STUDENTS FOR THAT YEAR. IN 2022, OUR CORE STUDENT ENROLLMENT WAS 595, AND OUR PARTNER PROGRAMS' ENROLLMENT INCREASED TO 905 STUDENTS, WITH A TOTAL ENROLLMENT OF 1,500 STUDENTS FOR THAT YEAR. In 2023, our Core student enrollment was 648, and our Partner Programs' enrollment was reduced to 420 students due to October 7. The anticipated and actual cancellations in November and December were 244 students. In total, our 2023 student enrollment was 1068. AMIIE celebrated fifty (50) years of educating students with Muss Magic in 2022. The collected materials and history were assembled into our history, which significantly impacted the lives of over thirty thousand students. In 2023, AMIIE opened a wholly renovated second campus, Muss South, in Be'er Sheva, with a summer "soft opening." A portion of the facility was set aside for future expansion needs. This affords us both additional educational capacity and the opportunity to test out a wide range of options in anticipation of the eventual move to the proposed World Zionist Village. As a result of the ongoing regional conflict, which began with hostilities on October 7, 2023, AMIIE has observed a significant decline in short-term demand for study abroad programs in Israel. Nearly 130 students were immediately evacuated in the aftermath of the beginning of hostilities. Several partner schools cancelled their programs for late 2023. As a result, the campuses were repurposed at the end of 2023 for war-related displaced people. As of January 2024, the program returned with far fewer enrollees than anticipated. Additionally, partner programs have been slow to return to Israel. Consequently, AMIIE added alternative programs and solidarity missions to remain active. While the geopolitical instability continues to present challenges, AMIIE remains committed to navigating these complexities with resilience and adaptability. Our leadership team is actively evaluating the situation to ensure the continuity of educational programs, focusing on the safety and security of our students and staff. In light of the current conflict, we are revising our growth projections downward in the short term but planning for significant growth post- conflict. While uncertainty remains, the AMIIE Board and leadership are confident in adapting and evolving.