The Armenian Academy at Blair high school opened its doors to the first 50 students this August.
The Armenian bilingual high school program immerses students in Armenian language and culture. The 9th-12th grade program is located at Blair School, home to Pasadena’s International Baccalaureate secondary school programs.
The Academy comes to replace the only Armenian secondary school in Pasadena, Director of the school Norayr Daduryan said in an interview with Public Radio of Armenia.
He said teaching is online due to the coronavirus pandemic, but they hope to shift to in-class learning in the second half.
Students will have access to IB courses, where they will learn through a global approach to:
– Become internationally-minded.
– Explore human creativity and ingenuity.
– Learn through real world experience.
– Reflect on their learning.
– Develop empathy and community involvement.
The Armenian Dual-Language Program was approved in March 20 by the the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) Board in a 4-3 split vote.
