The Fund Development department has notified us that this project is now oversubscribed, with a conservative estimate of money raised now at $874,000! Our original goal for ORT Montreuil was $750,000, but thanks to the generosity of ORT supporters, we have far exceeded our expectations.

Also, please note the upcoming World ORT mission to France, April in Paris, which will visit ORT France schools in Montreuil, Strasbourg and Villiers-le-Bel (as well as take in the sights in Paris).

ORT Montreuil (or How ORT Transformed an Old Pasta Factory into a Renowned ORT School)

ORT Montreuil in the Montreuil suburb of Paris, a combination high school, post-graduate school and adult learning center, is the oldest of France's eight ORT schools, and the pride of ORT France. The unqualified success of the school is evident in its students' excellent test scores and immediate job placement-approximately 90% of ORT Montreuil's students are hired immediately after graduation.

The original building was a former pasta factory built in 1920 (and acquired and modified in 1947 by ORT, with significant assistance from Women's American ORT and American ORT).

Though the school is open to everyone, 90 percent of the students are Jews from Paris and the surrounding suburbs.

CRISIS: Today, ORT Montreuil's buildings are no longer adequate to support the demands of a modern school, delivering high-tech education courses:

Classrooms are too small.

General building services are old and in need of repair and renewal.

Improved recreational and personal study facilities are needed.

Security and safety provisions fall short of modern acceptable standards.

RESPONSE: In order to maintain its high standards of education and to make room for the increasing numbers of students seeking admission, ORT Montreuil has begun an urgently needed program of modernization and refurbishment:

ORT France plans to rebuild and re-equip the interior of the school to enable it to deliver a series of new computer and technology related courses.

Each of the new courses will have its own department and facilities within a designated area of the multistoried school plant.

The first part of the renovation program commenced in the summer of 1999 with the completion of the project expected in early 2004. The total cost of the project in US dollars is approximately $10.8 million.

PROBLEM: A newly renovated ORT Montreuil with more usable space and increased enrollment, however, means little without providing the supporting infrastructure of furnishings, equipment, textbook, state-of-the-art computer technology and the security needed for our students to learn in a safe and secure environment.

SOLUTION: After a long hiatus, since the time when Women's American ORT successfully raised the funds for a new kitchen in the ORT Strasbourg school, Women's American ORT is once again reaching her hands across the ocean to show support for ORT France by undertaking the ORT Montreuil Campaign. We look forward to our membership's interest, involvement and generous support of the effort to help our ORT family in France.

When completed, the newly renovated and refurbished ORT Montreuil will have more usable space and will be able to accommodate 200 additional students per year over the present 600 currently enrolled-a vital contribution in providing more Jewish students the opportunity to take advantage of the excellence of an ORT education delivered in a modern, refurbished and safe building with the latest equipment and teaching facilities.