P.S. 191, on West 61st Street, one target of efforts at establishing a Russian dual-language program made by Julia Stoyanovich, Olga Ilyashenko, and others (Photo by Jakcons Chen via Manhattan Express)
Russian-English dual language programs exist in two public schools in Brooklyn, and now parents on the Upper West Side are trying to get a third one adopted at a school in district 3 on the Upper West Side, writes Jackson Chen in Manhattan Express.
Julia Stoyanovich and Olga Ilyashenko have enlisted the support of more than 90 families and their 150 or so kids to introduce a Russian dual-language program to the city’s School District 3 on the Upper West Side.
More than just a way to practice their language skills, the program would be a way for students of Russian ethnicity to retain their culture while English-speaking kids would be exposed to a different culture. In dual-language programs, the curriculum is taught in both English and a second language, with the goal of students learning to be bilingual.
To sell the idea to the Department of Education – which would make the final decision – the two mothers are combing through a list of schools to find one that has the space, resources and demand for such a dual language program, and whose principal would be willing to institute the program.
Go to Manhattan Express to find out how their efforts are faring, and what they are doing in the meantime to ensure that their children get a multilingual upbringing.