The significance of Shalom Aleichem's ranking lies in the fact that in reaching the top 10 it has not only beaten some 60 other schools in the city but that amongst those schools are many ‘gymnasia', which are considered the most prestigious of high schools.
      "The news has been greeted enthusiastically by students, parents and the community," Mr Jakobas said. "But it has also created a difficult situation because the demand is now so high for a place at our school that we have to reject many applications."
       He was particularly grateful to World ORT for the part it has played in the school's successful development.
Shalom Aleichem's teachers benefit from World ORT's staff development programmes for educators in the Former Soviet Union, which is conducted by the Research and Development Department of ORT CIS. The intensive training includes participation in World ORT's international Hatter and Wingate Seminars, distance learning, technical assistance, pedagogical support and in-service training.
       In addition, the school is recognised as one of the best equipped in the city in terms of ICT, thanks largely to the generosity of major World ORT donors Mauricio Merikanskas, ORT America, as well as the alumni organisation of ORT Anieres. 
       "I am very grateful to these people and organisations," Mr Jakobas said. "They have believed in the presence of a Jewish school in Vilnius - they believed in the idea, in the people and in the school itself. They continue to believe." 
                ^{_{Article date: 20080829        Source (http://www.ort.org/asp/article.asp?ID=708)}}