Kiryat Arba's Ulpana Girls Academy continues to thrive. The school boasts a unique integrative program, fully accredited and supervised by the Israel Ministry of Education. That ministry recently awarded the Ulpana its coveted Religious Education Prize for "excellence in consolidating and imparting religious education." In the Ulpana's classrooms, corridors and dormitories, native-born Israelis mingle with girls from North America, Eastern and Western Europe and Ethiopia. According to school officials, vocational and academic program students attend many classes together; Sephardic and Ashkenazic customs flourish and intertwine in prayer and song. The result, say Ulpana's directors, is a "cohesive, vibrant academic community and a unique experience that these young women will carry with them and cherish throughout their lives." About half the student body lives at the Ulpana's temporary dormitory accommodations, comprising rented apartments in the residential section of Kiryat Arba, recently augmented by the development of a pleasantly landscaped, 16-caravan "village" adjacent to the school grounds. To respond to its present needs, the Ulpana plans to construct a permanent multi-purpose building, with rooms for 400 students, as part of a comprehensive, twelve-dunam educational complex. The Ulpana dormitory will benefit from the services of various nearby municipal amenities, such as the community center, indoor swimming pool, park, gymnasium and sports fields.