Representatives of the BeYachad Partners toured northern Israel on June 14th - meeting with mayors, heads of regional councils, and heads of municipal education and welfare departments - in order to learn about the successes and the plans for their BeYachad-sponsored programs.
Representatives from UIA Canada, the Federation of San Francisco, the Sacta-Rashi Foundation and the Israel Venture Network spent the day being updated regarding over fifty-five projects in six municipalities. 
The tour began with an early morning visit to the Local Council of Tuba-Zangaria, during which Mayor Hussain El-Haib and Education Director and Director of Bedouin Education at the Ministry of Education, Mohammad El-Haib, discussed with the BeYachad representatives the progress they have made in their schools as a result of BeYachad’s involvement.
“I don’t have the words to thank you,” said Mayor El-Haib to the BeYachad representatives, who all agreed that, despite the progress, there is still a great deal of work to be done in this town – which is suffering from serious economic hardships and educational difficulties.
“Tuba-Zangaria can be a flagship for changing management culture and enlisting staff to work correctly", said Ilan Hadas, Director of BeYachad.
In Yesod Hama'alah, where the local council has not been able to pay its employees for five months, BeYachad’s involvement is minimal but important, as cutbacks continue to plague the town.
Regional councils of both Mevo'ot Hermon and Upper Galilee presented detailed accounts of their activities. These councils have made significant progress in both formal and informal educational programs, but despite these advances, they highlighted the long road that lies ahead of them before they can achieve their objectives.
In Kiryat Shmonah, where the greatest number of BeYachad’s activities is taking place, it was encouraging to see the progress made by the staff in quantitative evaluation. In a town where one quarter of the 6500 children leave Kiryat Shmonah to receive their formal education, they are in urgent need of innovative ideas and effective tools to combat the brain drain.
The education and social welfare staff of the town were able to present data-based decisions on issues that had never been quantified prior to BeYachad’s involvement. This included the development of programs for dealing with the town’s youth, and to setting measurable objectives to assist youth-at-risk. 
As BeYachad’s programs expand in the region, these visits and discussions become increasingly important in understanding the significant improvement in evaluation culture, data-based decision making, and the development of trust between the schools and the councils.
“It was incredible to see how our suggestions have been implemented and how widely evidence-based decision-making has been accepted and is being used,” said Hadas.
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