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AN ARMENIAN SCHOOL IN PHILADELPHIA FIGHTS TO SURVIVE
ARMENPRESS
APRIL 4, 2012
PHILADELPHIA
PHILADELPHIA, APRIL 4, ARMENPRESS: Only 16 students walked through
the door in 1967 when three nuns from Lebanon opened a school for
Armenian youth in a Southwest Philadelphia house, reports Armenpress
citing Philly.
But the Armenian Sisters of the Immaculate Conception held fast to
their mission. They taught classes, served lunches, and drove buses
as 16 grew to 225, and the rowhouse eventually was replaced by a
converted Radnor estate.
Thirty-five years after the first homework assignment was given, the
Armenian Sisters Academy - one of about 15 Armenian day schools in the
United States and the only one in the Philadelphia-South Jersey region
- is facing the same enrollment and economic challenges confronting
other schools.Student enrollment is 135, down from 225 10 years ago.
The pre-K-to-8 academy is faced with the dilemma of competing against
good schools in the western suburbs at a time when parents are holding
their purse strings more tightly.Future plans for the independent
private school include boosting recruitment efforts, expanding
fund-raising sources, and finding ways to help with transportation for
students who live in neighborhoods where distance is an issue, said
Asadur Minasian, chairman of the school's board.The school's mission is
to educate Armenian American youth and to pass down Armenian culture,
history, and language. About 90 percent of the students are of Armenian
heritage.he first wave of Armenian day schools were founded in the
early 1960s. In the last 10 years at least two Armenian day schools -
in the Detroit and Boston areas - have closed, Libaridian said.
From: A. Papazian
ARMENPRESS
APRIL 4, 2012
PHILADELPHIA
PHILADELPHIA, APRIL 4, ARMENPRESS: Only 16 students walked through
the door in 1967 when three nuns from Lebanon opened a school for
Armenian youth in a Southwest Philadelphia house, reports Armenpress
citing Philly.
But the Armenian Sisters of the Immaculate Conception held fast to
their mission. They taught classes, served lunches, and drove buses
as 16 grew to 225, and the rowhouse eventually was replaced by a
converted Radnor estate.
Thirty-five years after the first homework assignment was given, the
Armenian Sisters Academy - one of about 15 Armenian day schools in the
United States and the only one in the Philadelphia-South Jersey region
- is facing the same enrollment and economic challenges confronting
other schools.Student enrollment is 135, down from 225 10 years ago.
The pre-K-to-8 academy is faced with the dilemma of competing against
good schools in the western suburbs at a time when parents are holding
their purse strings more tightly.Future plans for the independent
private school include boosting recruitment efforts, expanding
fund-raising sources, and finding ways to help with transportation for
students who live in neighborhoods where distance is an issue, said
Asadur Minasian, chairman of the school's board.The school's mission is
to educate Armenian American youth and to pass down Armenian culture,
history, and language. About 90 percent of the students are of Armenian
heritage.he first wave of Armenian day schools were founded in the
early 1960s. In the last 10 years at least two Armenian day schools -
in the Detroit and Boston areas - have closed, Libaridian said.
From: A. Papazian