ORT in Argentina

View Gallery of Photos

ORT Argentina was created in 1936. It opened its first school in Buenos Aires in 1941 to support the influx of refugees and meet the country’s need for skilled workers. It provided a high level of education, including trigonometry, algebra, chemistry, and Jewish studies. There were also evening courses for adults under a 12- to 18-month curriculum. The Women's ORT Committee of Argentina provided a much-appreciated cafeteria.

By 1945, ORT Argentina was providing technical courses and apprenticeship training to 150 students. A school for agro-mechanics in the ICA settlement at Dominguez acquired new agricultural machinery through grants from ICA and the World ORT Union. In Dominguez and Clara, courses were conducted in sewing, knitting, and design and a workshop was opened to train children of Jewish farmers.

After the Second World War the ORT school in Buenos Aires continued to build on its reputation as a centre of excellence and it became the school of choice for Jewish families from all sections of the community. In 1963 the school was formally constituted as the ORT Buenos Aires Technical School, attracting government recognition for its now expanded curricula. From that point, ORT Argentina began to grow rapidly. During the 1970s students were being trained for careers in electronics, chemistry, data processing and other subjects. Adult evening courses in radio and television were also offered.

Today, the school has more than 8,000 students from kindergarten through high school to adult education and teacher training on two campuses.