(IsraelNN.com) A new Israeli high school program embraces young men who have dropped out of the conventional educational system – and brings them on the ride of their lives.

The school, called Lech Lecha (meaning ‘You shall go out’ –G-d’s words to Abraham telling him to sojourn from his birthplace to the Land of Israel) is based in Jerusalem’s Lifta valley - but is also on wheels. Twice a week students and teachers board Land Rover jeeps and embark to a different part of Israel for a study expedition.

“There are some people that just cannot be confined to the walls of a classroom,” says Rabbi David Samson, who is the founder of the innovative program. Four other frameworks for youth at risk are also run by Rabbi Samson as part of the Atid Institutions network. “Just being inside of a conventional classroom causes them to become depressed and they simply can’t learn. These youth cannot function in the conventional educational system. After being dismissed from their high schools, they often begin to view themselves as outcasts who cannot succeed.”

The program’s jeep trips are fully integrated into the curriculum. Geography, Bible and History are all taught in the Judean Desert and in Israel's rough terrain. Students are also offered rappelling and other extreme sports to increase self-confidence and encourage exercise.

Daily classes take place in Lifta, the abandoned valley below the main entrance to Jerusalem. With old ruins and a large natural spring, the area suits the school perfectly. “It is a place without borders,” says Rabbi Samson. “People that have a problem with borders can feel at home there. Paths from the school campus gradually lead into orchards and then to the spring below, surrounded by a horseback-riding area.”

The students, eleventh and twelfth-graders, study the first part of the day. In the afternoons, they rehabilitate the ruins in the area and even build additional rooms for the high school – which itself is based in an old structure.

“It is excellent to be in a place that realizes that not just books are important, but also values, building and creativity, seeing and feeling,” says Aviv, who travels each day to Jerusalem from the south. “Avoda Ivrit (Jewish Labor) is something that you don’t talk about, let alone engage in, in other schools.”

“Building is very much part of the curriculum,” says Rabbi Samson. He notes that several of the students who were forcibly evicted from Gaza in the 2005 Disengagement Plan often take part in the construction with particular enthusiasm. “We had Gush Katif expellees who witnessed so much destruction, that they built with such fervor. One poured cement nonstop from morning to evening – constructing a beam for a roof alone. You could tell it was very therapeutic for them.”

The Idea is Born
Until about five years ago, Rabbi Samson taught at various institutions with normative frameworks. “I discovered that there were a lot of youth who did not have an educational framework where they could prosper,” he recalls. “I began developing programs to help these students at various Jerusalem schools.”

It was while running these programs that Rabbi Samson noticed a specific type of student who could not enter a school building without becoming depressed. “The Lech Lecha program is an answer for these kids,” he says. This year, the school consisted of one class of 20 seniors. Next year it will double, with a junior class added.

Israel's National Nightly TV News program Mabat recently aired a short feature on Lech Lecha. While the reporting is in Hebrew, the visuals are powerful. Click here to see the 3-minute video.

Rabbi Samson's Atid Institutions also include 1) Maaleh Erev Evening High School in Jerusalem, and 2) the Eden Rehab Farm for high school-aged students located north of the Dead Sea. Without the farm, some of these students would be sleeping on park benches.

Rabbi Samson is considering opening a high school framework for American youth in the 2008-2009 school year.

"With boundless love and patience," explains Rabbi Samson, "our staff aims to create a positive, non-judgmental environment where each student is guided towards a renewed belief in himself, and his or her future. In contrast to being appreciated for academic achievement, the focus at Atid is on overall self-strengthening that is not dependent upon any variable.   Faculty, staff, and fellow students become an alternative support group to the street, and the former dropout comes to feel at home in a learning environment where he feels accepted for whom he is."

For more information about Atid Institutions, email Rabbi Samson.

Photos: Josh Shamsi, Arutz-7 Photojournalist]