People of the Educational Ministry

Students and Families | Director | Principals | Faculty and Staff

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Students and Families

The people of the Holy Land are at the heart of the ELCJHL’s educational work. First and foremost, the ELCJHL Schools and Educational Programs are working to educate the next generation of Palestinian citizens and leaders in a spirit of creativity and tolerance. We pursue this goal by offering our students the highest quality educational opportunities in the region in a safe, open, and stimulating environment.

The ELCJHL Schools enroll approximately 2,000 students between the ages of 4 and 18. The schools have always enrolled both boys and girls, both Muslims and Christians. Of our students, approximately 55 percent are boys and 45 percent are girls. Although Palestinian Christians constitute less than 2% of the population in Palestine, 60 percent of the students in the Lutheran schools are Christian and 40 percent are Muslim. Students learn together in an open and peaceful environment and are prepared for lives of dialogue and exchange with all people.

Through student councils, parent councils, teacher committees, and a variety of extra-curricular and outreach programs, we seek to involve deeply the entire school community in the life and mission of the ELCJHL Schools.

Our students come from families with a wide variety of backgrounds. Some have rich histories in their villages going back hundreds and thousands of years; others are political refugees from all over Palestine-Israel living in the UN-administered refugee camps located in the Bethlehem and Ramallah areas.

All of our students receive financial assistance from one or more sources to help cover their tuition fees.

ELCJHL Director of Education

Dr. Charlie D. Haddad, the ELCJHL Director of Education, was born in Jerusalem in 1957. He graduated from St. George's High School in Jerusalem in 1975. In 1981 he graduated from the Engineering school of the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A., with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree and a Master of Engineering (M.E.) degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Between 1983 and 1988, he was a member of the Faculty of Engineering at Birzeit University, the largest Palestinian university, located approximately 23 kilometers north of Jerusalem. In 1988 he began work on his Ph. D. degree at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne in northeastern England and received a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering in 1991. He then returned to Birzeit University and continued on the Faculty of Engineering until 1995. Between 1992 and 2000, he was the director of the Vocational Training School of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Beit Hanina, part of East Jerusalem.

In 2000 he became the first Principal of the newly founded ELCJHL’s Dar Al-Kalima School in the town of Bethlehem, approximately 8 kilometers north of Jerusalem. He accepted his present appointment as the ELCJHL Director of Education in 2002.

According to Dr. Haddad, the ELCJHL Schools need to provide a happy, productive and safe environment for students, teachers, administrators, support staff and parents. In such a setting, all are able to participate in and contribute effectively to learning, decision making, and developing educational programs and activities. Such an environment and process leads eventually to a true school democracy and a sense of community and ownership by all.

A holistic, participatory approach toward learning results in unique and complementary programs and activities. The ELCJH Schools have embraced this principle to help achieve this vision.

Faculty and Staff

While the faculty and staff of the ELCJHL Schools and Educational Programs bring a variety of gifts and experiences to their work, all share a common desire to educate and empower young people from their communities today.

The ELCJHL Schools and Educational Programs employ approximately 200 persons in full and part-time positions as eachers, administrators, support staff, counselors, and social workers.

Nearly all faculty and staff serving the ELCJHL Schools and Educational Programs are Palestinian, and most come from the Bethlehem, Ramallah, or Jerusalem areas. Some grew up in the Lutheran school system, while others received their primary and secondary education in other local private or public schools. Most teachers and administrators have Bachelor’s degrees from local or international universities, and many have continued to pursue Master’s degrees in education or in their fields of specialization.

Principals and Contact Information of ELCJHL Schools

Contact Information for ELCJHL Educational Programs