Year Course - Gap Year Program in Israel

Last year our son went on Young Judaea Year Course. www.yearcourse.com It truly was a remarkable year for Jackson. In his words, "the best year of his life". He grew tremendously and seemed so together and settled into himself when he returned. He meshed his emotional being, his intellect, humor, and inner drive. We couldn't be more proud of him and are so excited for his next adventure at AJU.

All of the staff at YC surpassed my expectations in regards to the care and support that he received. When I think about all that he has experienced during the year, I am so thankful that he had this opportunity. He is on a great path. We can't wait to witness all that he will bring to this world!

Parents looking to send children to Israel for the gap year after high school face a daunting task, so many available programs, so little feedback. However on the surface there appears to be one program that stands out above the rest, namely; Young Judaea Year Course or the Young Judaea Gap Year Program. When you study the Young Judaea Year Course web site and programs you realize the following: that the lure of the perfect program promising to give your child the experience of a lifetime; trips, lectures, volunteering, kibbutzim, marva/army experience, living on your own etc. is possible. But alas, it’s just that. A lure, a trap, costing the average family $20,000 that many parents will need to save, beg or borrow in order to qualify for the few scholarships still available.
Most of us, despite the hardships, are very happy to do so because we know we will be giving our 18 year old child an experience never to be forgotten. What they don’t tell you on the Young Judaea Year Course site is, that your 18 year old child who is actually still only a child and might get into occasional trouble i.e. getting drunk, smoking a joint, getting into fights, or the other common things teenagers do nowadays, and that if caught, will get kicked out of the Young Judaea Year Course program with out any recourse. Young Judaea Year Course will have your child shipped home the same day, without a warning, without a hearing or any probationary period shipped home guilty, gone! Regardless of the fact that the program has just started, you will not get any money back, If you’ll want your child to still have the Israel experience you will need another $20,000 for another program (I couldn’t afford to pay another $20.000) because Young Judaea Year Course cares about you only if you are part of their program. The minute your child gets kicked out he does not count any more, you will not be able to argue your case because no one will talk to you. They will not take your calls, they will tell you to e-mail them and they will answer you with a 3 line e-mail dismissing anything you say. This is what happened to my child. My sons Rabbi ( who loves my son because of the great kid that he is) tried to talk to Young Judaea Year Course directors Adam Jenshil and Kate Nachman trying numerous times for 2 weeks but finally telling me that there is just no one to talk to.
Of course it’s great that they keep the program clean of drugs and alcohol or any other bad influences, but, do they really do their job? Or do they just need to find a few scapegoats so that everyone sees and has duly noted to stay clean? My sorry experience tells me that what Young Judaea Year Course cares about is only what looks good and not the truth. My child admitted what he did despite others being involved but did not squeal on his friends. He said that he did it by himself. When I spoke to them (on the one phone call they made to me telling me that he is dismissed from the program) they told me that they knew that other kids were involved but that they were not going to pursue it. So my son, was publicly humiliated, cut of from all the new friends that he met on the program, and shipped off back to home feeling like a failure. Adding to the woe of no refund I still owe them my last payment and some of the MASA money that they had to give back to the MASA program. So not only did they choose my child to be the scapegoat, they also threatened to send me to collections if I didn’t pay the balance. When Young Judaea wants your business they will tell you how great their program is (and to be fair it is a great program) but if your child gets into any kind of trouble, regardless of the severity it will be Adam Jenshils decision alone that will affect your childs life forever. Because lets face it, just like Young Judaea Year Course is a life changing experience, getting kicked out of Young Judaea Year Course is an experience that will stay with you and your child for the rest of your life, and the way Young Judaea directors treat you if your child is dismissed from the program will make you wonder how Adam Jenshil and Kate Nachman the director and deputy director of Young Judaea Year Course ever became directors of a teenage program to begin with, having no tolerance for teenage stupidity or high jinks. I would like to point out that the Young Judaea New York office was in communication with me even though they are just a managing office and they don’t have any influence on the Israeli office decisions. Also while looking into other programs I found out that although most programs will not tolerate trouble with their students, they all understand that they are dealing with teenagers and as such, keep an open mind to helping the kids as best as possible and will work with the parents to help every child to do his/her best. Sadly not the case with Young Judaea. No guidance counselors, no guidance, no tolerance, not a place for your child. My son is now relegated to a minimum wage job with a negative attitude until college starts in September. Thanks Young Judaea. Great job. Enjoy the money...

Interesting fact: On orientation weekend the kids are told that about a 3rd of the students will not make it to the end of the program for various reasons, I would safely assume that half of that 3rd, (about 17%) are dismissed for violation of rules, in other words, in a program of about 300 kids approximately 50 kids will be sent home for violating the rules.

Year course is a wonderful program that provided an out of the box educational experience. I formed life long friendships, and interpersonal skills that have served me well every day of my life. Nothing compares to living in Israel for a year and becoming engrossed in the society. Year Course is a great program.