Prof. Avima D. Lombard passed away on October 14, 2008 in Jerusalem.
 

It is with great sorrow, that we report the death of Prof. Avima D. Lombard, member of the NCJW Research Institute for Innovation in Education from its inception, founder and disseminator of the Institute’s early childhood programs and director of these programs worldwide.

Prof. Lombard, a developmental psychologist specializing in early childhood education, was among a rare group of researchers and social scientists able to apply their great expertise and intellectual activity to realities in the field.
 

Right from the start, Prof. Lombard recognized the importance of involving parents form socio-economically distressed sectors of society in their children’s education within the home setting – in contrast with the prevailing ideas of the time (1960s-70s) which promoted taking children out of home in order to have the 'experts' teach them. On the basis of her conclusions, Prof. Lombard established the Ha’Etgar (HIPPY, Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters) program in support of  disadvantaged families from immigrant, minority and other disadvantaged communities. Instead of perceiving parents as an impediment in preparing children for the intellectual challenges of school, she turned them into the paramount players in the process. In this respect, her work was a forerunner of the times. In just a few years, the program became a national educational program. Since then, over 150,000 families (out of a  population of some 7 million) in Israel have participated in the program. In 1980, the program became an international program under the name of HIPPY International, operating today in Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, El Salvador and the U.S.A.

 

Awards and Honors received by Prof Avima D. Lombard include:

 
Tribute written by Hillary Clinton about Prof. Avima Lombard and the HIPPY International program in 2002:
"So much has happened since the happy coincidence [...] when I read a newspaper account of this [HIPPY] wonderful program that encouraged and assisted parents to become their children's first teachers - I have met and come to value Avima's friendship; the HIPPY program has been introduced and welcomed in Arkansas and I have watched it grow and thrive as do the parents and children who participate; the HIPPY model has been disseminated literally throughout the United States and the world; and parents who saw the program as a guide to a better life for their children have themselves been encouraged to return to school.
 
We now have scientific evidence to support what Avima has known all along - reading to our children, playing games, interacting with them literally builds brain cells. It helps to create more connections in the brain, and builds vocabulary as it stimulates an interest in, and the ability for, learning. Not only does it help children do better in school, it also boots the parents' self-confidence.
There is a quotation from the Talmud that says for every blade of grass there is an angel that bends over it to whisper "grow, grow". I believe that Avima personifies that angel leaning over children and their parents throughout the world and encouraging them to "grow, grow"."

 
Excerpt from the book written in honor of Prof. Avima Lombard:
Westheimer, M. (ed.). 2003. Parents Making a Difference: International Research on the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) Program. Jerusalem: The Hebrew University Magnes Press.
www.magnespress.co.il

 
With great sorrow we part from Avima.  It was our privilege and pleasure to work alongside her and to benefit from her wisdom and nobility of spirit.We hope that her life's work and legacy will continue to serve vulnerable populations both at home and abroad.

 
Members of the Institute