The New York Times
By ELISSA GOOTMAN
Published: February 13, 2007
The New York City school system will open its first public school dedicated to teaching the Arabic language and culture in September, with half of its classes eventually taught in Arabic, officials said yesterday.
The school, the Khalil Gibran International Academy, is one of 40 new schools that the Department of Education is opening for the 2007-8 school year. It will serve grades 6 to 12 and will be in Brooklyn, although a specific location has not been determined.
Debbie Almontaser, a 15-year veteran of the school system who is the driving force behind the school and will be its principal, said that ideally, the school would serve an equal mix of students with backgrounds in Arabic language and culture and those without such backgrounds.
“We are wholeheartedly looking to attract as many diverse students as possible, because we really want to give them the opportunity to expand their horizons and be global citizens,” said Ms. Almontaser, who emigrated from Yemen when she was 3 and is fluent in Arabic.
“I see students who are excited about engaging in international careers, international affairs, wanting to come to our school. And I also see Arab-American students who would want the opportunity to learn Arabic, to read it and write it and have a better understanding of where their ancestors have come from.”
Next year, Ms. Almontaser said, the school, which is named after a Lebanese poet and philosopher, will have only sixth graders. It will grow year by year, and will eventually serve 500 to 600 students; by the third year, she said, she hoped that half of the school’s classes would be taught in Arabic and half in English.
The school is opening in partnership with New Visions for Public Schools, a nonprofit group that has helped create dozens of small new schools in recent years, and the Arab-American Family Support Center, a Brooklyn social service agency that will provide the Arabic language instruction next year, as well as other programs. It will benefit from donations from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has helped Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg create many other small schools.
Half of the 40 new schools the department will open in September were announced last month and the others were announced yesterday. The schools include 10 middle schools, 3 elementary schools, a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school, 12 schools for grades 6 to 12, nine high schools and five transfer schools for students who struggled elsewhere.
Many of the schools will be located in buildings of schools that are being closed for poor performance.
By ELISSA GOOTMAN
Published: February 13, 2007
The New York City school system will open its first public school dedicated to teaching the Arabic language and culture in September, with half of its classes eventually taught in Arabic, officials said yesterday.
The school, the Khalil Gibran International Academy, is one of 40 new schools that the Department of Education is opening for the 2007-8 school year. It will serve grades 6 to 12 and will be in Brooklyn, although a specific location has not been determined.
Debbie Almontaser, a 15-year veteran of the school system who is the driving force behind the school and will be its principal, said that ideally, the school would serve an equal mix of students with backgrounds in Arabic language and culture and those without such backgrounds.
“We are wholeheartedly looking to attract as many diverse students as possible, because we really want to give them the opportunity to expand their horizons and be global citizens,” said Ms. Almontaser, who emigrated from Yemen when she was 3 and is fluent in Arabic.
“I see students who are excited about engaging in international careers, international affairs, wanting to come to our school. And I also see Arab-American students who would want the opportunity to learn Arabic, to read it and write it and have a better understanding of where their ancestors have come from.”
Next year, Ms. Almontaser said, the school, which is named after a Lebanese poet and philosopher, will have only sixth graders. It will grow year by year, and will eventually serve 500 to 600 students; by the third year, she said, she hoped that half of the school’s classes would be taught in Arabic and half in English.
The school is opening in partnership with New Visions for Public Schools, a nonprofit group that has helped create dozens of small new schools in recent years, and the Arab-American Family Support Center, a Brooklyn social service agency that will provide the Arabic language instruction next year, as well as other programs. It will benefit from donations from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has helped Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg create many other small schools.
Half of the 40 new schools the department will open in September were announced last month and the others were announced yesterday. The schools include 10 middle schools, 3 elementary schools, a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school, 12 schools for grades 6 to 12, nine high schools and five transfer schools for students who struggled elsewhere.
Many of the schools will be located in buildings of schools that are being closed for poor performance.
brother and sisters it says
