In Manhattan will open the first Russian-speaking public school
Half day children will study General subjects in Russian, half in English.
NEW YORK, may 13. /Offset. TASS Natalia Slavina/. The first public Russian-language school will open in the new school year in Manhattan. About it the correspondent of TASS said on Friday, the President Russian-the American Heritage center (RAKSI) Olga Zatsepina.
“With the new academic year at school 145 in the district of Columbia University started a program where all the teaching will be carried out in two languages, she explained. — Half day children learn General subjects such as Russian, half — English. When classes are completed as children from Russian-speaking families and English-speaking Americans.”
“For us the main goal is not only to preserve the cultural heritage of our historic homeland, Russian language, traditions, basics of education, but also to distribute it further, emphasized Zatsepin. And such a school is a big and welcome step in this direction, the success of public diplomacy, creating new bridges and links between Russia and America.”
As explained by the correspondent of TASS Olga Ilyashenko — one of initiators of creation of a new school in September will open two Russian-language classes — preparatory and first, and then every year will be added same new class until the last year of study.
In each class enrolled 24 people — 12 Russian-speaking and 12 English-speaking children
“The majority of parents wishing to send their children to this school, represent blended families, where one spouse speaks Russian and the other native American — said Ilyashenko. The parents want the children to know Russian language, read literature in the original, writing and well speaking in Russian, know the culture, traditions”.
After the basic lessons in school will act “care”: chess, music, drawing, choir, something that usually offer students in Russian institutions of additional education.
“The Americans are showing great interest in the new school because it will be the only one around with such a strong educational program, — said Ilyashenko. And educational standards in Russia are considered to be very high here”. The Director of the school, she said, “it is also with great enthusiasm, took the initiative of Russian parents, as hopes not only to attract new classes of students, but also significantly raise the expense of a strong program rating, which is very important for any educational institution in the United States.”
Many of the materials for the program are taken from the Russian school textbooks. Currently, this school is in new York only in Brooklyn, where a large Russian-speaking Diaspora, but all are there to learn, more than 400 people. Manhattan has one French and one German school, where instruction is provided in two languages. In the state of new York currently there are about 1.5 million Russians, most of them live in the city of new York.