More and more Zionist Orthodox grade schools have no summer vacation, and more and more move to teach by rote, rather than by analyzing texts.
Ha’aretz reports that there is a growing trend among Zionist Orthodox schools to follow the lead of haredi schools and stay in session all year, eliminating most of summer vacation.
It notes that a student at a Zionist Orthodox yeshiva elementary school in Beit El got only one scheduled day off this summer – the fast day of Tisha B'Av. School was even in session on Israel’s Independence Day, albeit with shortened hours.
Unlike its haredi counterparts though, the Beit El school teaches secular subjects like math and science along with Torah.
The Zionist Orthodox schools tend to consider summer session optional, and while most students attend, many take a few vacation days to go on trips with their parents and siblings.
Most haredi schools normally have a three week scheduled vacation between Tisha B’Av and Rosh Hodesh Elul.
However, some hasidic schools – especially those in Mea She'arim that officially get no government money – don't have summer vacation. Instead, they limit vacation time to Sukkot, Passover, and few days before Passover needed for preparation for the holiday.
Though the Beit El school, Sha’arei Shamayim, has existed for almost 20 years, it reportedly became more strict only recently when it adopted a haredi-like curriculum, the Zilberman Method, that stresses memorizing the Torah and Mishnayot rather than analyzing the text.
The Zilberman Method began to be adopted by Zionist Orthodox schools because of the hardal (haredi dati leumi) faction of Zionist Orthodoxy, whose members are Zionist and often – but not always – serve in the army. But in almost every other way, including theologically, hardal followers are close to haredim.