PERACH is headed by a public board whose members are appointed by the Minister of Education. A managing committee is elected from among the board members to supervise and direct PERACH’s ongoing activities.
PERACH is financed by the Council for Higher Education, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labor and Welfare, the various universities, colleges and municipalities. Additional funds are provided by PERACH’s benefactors.
PERACH has a pyramid-like structure, with a small head office located at the Weizmann Institute of Science and with regional branches and offices in the universities.
Each of PERACH’s regional branches is headed by a manager, who is in charge of 50-70 coordinators, depending on the area supervised by the branch. The coordinators, all of whom are students and former mentors themselves, are each responsible for 45-50 mentors. The coordinator pairs up each mentor with a mentee, after interviewing them each separately and obtaining background information on the mentee. In the course of the year, the coordinator provides ongoing counseling for the mentors, and holds follow-up discussion groups, in which problems are aired, support given and solutions proposed.
PERACH is supported by the universities and colleges, generally through the Office of the Dean of Students. All activities are carried out through close contact with officials of the Ministry of Education, the local authorities, the school principals and other educators.
The work of the mentors is closely monitored and supervised by professionals. Seminars are held for coordinators; study days and discussion groups are provided for mentors. Counselors, social workers and psychologists are available for consultation and to give professional guidance whenever necessary.
PERACH has become a grand-scale publisher of educational aids and teaching materials, which are distributed among coordinators, mentors and children. These are particularly useful for mentors who live in distant regions in the country.
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