On January 29, Consul General of Armenia Dr. Armen Baibourtian visited Jefferson Elementary School in Glendale accompanied by Greg Krikorian, President of the Board of Education at Glendale Unified School District, Board members Dr. Armina Gharpetian, Shant Sahakian and Nayiri Nahabedian, and Dr. Winfred Roberson, Jr., Superintendent of the Glendale Unified School District.

Students welcomed the Consul General with bread and salt and greetings in Armenian. The School administration arranged for Consul General Baibourtian a tour of the classrooms from kindergarten to grade six level. Dr. Baibourtian and visiting Board members had opportunity to get acquainted with class subjects and interact with students and teachers.

FLAG Armenian program Teacher Specialist Miganoush Melkonian presented to Consul General a detailed overview of the FLAG Armenian program. The Consul General had opportunity to assess the level of students’ knowledge of the Armenian language, history, and literature. The advantage of the FLAG program is that all classes, including math, science, and even physical exercise, are taught in Armenian. At the same time, students are well versed in English. The Glendale Unified School District leadership presented the teaching methods and the program’s accomplishments. The tour was completed by a beautiful performance by students.

In his remarks Dr. Baibourtian expressed his appreciation to the GUSD Board, the Jefferson School’s administration, and lead members of the FLAG Armenian program. He highly commended the FLAG program that enables Armenian students to be bilingual, excel in studies, and preserve Armenian mother tongue at American public schools. The Consul General pledged Armenia’s support to this wonderful program.