Yemin Orde Education Visionary, Chaim Peri, To Receive Honorary Doctorate at Brandeis University

Online, April 8, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Friends of Yemin Orde is pleased to announce that visionary educator, Dr. Chaim Peri, will receive an honorary doctorate degree from Brandeis University at its May 19, 2013, commencement ceremonies in Waltham, MA. Dr. Peri is internationally noted for his work on behalf of Israel's at-risk immigrant youth. He currently serves as Director-Emeritus of Yemin Orde Youth Village and Founder of Yemin Orde Educational Initiatives (YOEI) in Israel. The University honors individuals for distinguished achievement in areas such as education, arts, social justice and Jewish life, among others. Dr. Peri served as Director and Head Educator of Yemin Orde for three decades and created the successful methodology, called the "Village Way", which is credited with transforming the lives of traumatized children into optimistic and productive adults.

Friends of Yemin Orde is the U.S.-based fundraising arm of Yemin Orde Youth Village and Yemin Orde Educational Initiatives. Yemin Orde provides a home, a safe haven and an education to hundreds of Israel's at-risk youth from around the world; YOEI is an independent entity created in 2006 to spread the successful educational methodology implemented at Yemin Orde to other youth villages and schools in Israel. For more information, visit www.yeminorde.org, email [email protected].

At the urging of Israel's Ministry of Education, Peri launched Yemin Orde Educational Initiatives, an independent educational project aimed at rejuvenating youth villages and schools throughout Israel, based on the Village Way methodology developed at Yemin Orde. YOEI provides teacher training, workshops and interventions to other schools for at-risk youth and therapeutic residential facilities, thereby helping even more of Israel's vulnerable youth.

By 2017, YOEI will be partnered with a total of five therapeutic residential communities and ten schools for at-risk youth in Israel. Today, YOEI and its resources are credited with transforming education for at-risk youth in Israel.

In addition to his work at Yemin Orde, Dr. Peri also established the Shvut Am Institute, located at Yemin Orde, which addresses the identity conflicts of adolescent immigrants and founded the Yemin Orde Mechina, Israel's only pre-military leadership program designed specifically for immigrant youth. He is also the author of numerous articles and two books about his unique approach to education: "Reclaiming Adolescents" and "Teenagers Educated The Village Way", which both document Yemin Orde's traumatized children who achieve success through the teachings from Yemin Orde Youth Village.

Peri is internationally-recognized for his work on behalf of Israel's youth and was honored with the "Guardian of the Child" award, one of Israel's highest civilian honors, by then-Prime Minister Shimon Peres. He also was honored to light a ceremonial torch during the official opening of the Independence Day Celebration in Jerusalem. In 2007 he was awarded the Exemplary Educator Award by the Minister of Education.

Dr. Peri holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bar Ilan University in Israel, a Masters degree from Columbia University in New York, and a Doctorate in Education from the University of London.