“The vision of the Belin-Blank Center has led to a worldwide awareness of the unique needs of gifted students and promoted excellence in education in general.”—Hezki Arieli, Director General, The Society for Excellence through Education, founding organization of the Israel Arts and Science Academy, the Excellence 2000 Program and the Chais Teacher Institute, Jerusalem, Israel
The Belin-Blank Center began a partnership in the 1990’s with the Israel Arts and Science Academy (IASA), a residential high school in Jerusalem, Israel. This partnership focuses on an extracurricular mathematics and science enrichment program for high-ability middle-school students. The curriculum used in the Iowa Excellence program was developed by IASA educators and has been adapted for use in Iowa.
Dr. Nicholas Colangelo and Dr. Susan Assouline visit with Hezki Arieli at the Israel Arts and Science Academy.
Over the past six years, a number of staff members and educators from the Belin-Blank Center have traveled to Israel to learn about the Excellence program and its curriculum. In 2004, five Israeli education officials, including the Director General of the Israel Ministry of Education, visited the Belin-Blank Center and an Iowa school. During their visit, they met with Belin-Blank Center administrators, educators, and students to discuss the Excellence curriculum.
American and Israeli educators also take turns writing math and science riddles for students in the United States and Israel who are participating in the Excellence programs. In addition, Israel hosts an annual math and science competition for students, which is broadcasted as a Webinar.