Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: info@aaainc.org
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    
May 5, 2006  
CONTACT: Karoon Panosyan
E-mail: kpanosyan@aaainc.org

CA ASSEMBLY EDUCATION COMMITTEE PASSES BILL OFFERING ARMENIAN
CREDENTIAL FOR TEACHERS

Beverly Hills, CA – The Armenian Assembly welcomed the news that
the California Assembly Education Committee unanimously passed
legislation that would expand the single subject foreign language
California Subject Examination for Teachers (CSET) to include the
Armenian Language (AB 2913).

The Armenian Assembly sent a letter of support urging the passage of a
bill which ensures that the Armenian language is included in the CSET’s
single subject teaching credential. The bill states that the first
Armenian CSET must be administered by September 1, 2009 and will allow
high schools, colleges and universities to offer the Armenian language
as a course in the curriculum by teachers credentialed in Armenian.

“Our state boasts the largest Armenian population outside of Armenia,
and yet we have no program available for teachers who want to be
credentialed in the Armenian language,” California Assembly Majority
Leader Dario Frommer (D-Glendale) said in a press statement on April
27. “This bill will not only better equip teachers in districts
with large Armenian populations, it will also allow all interested
students to study the Armenian language in high schools, colleges
and universities.”

“We appreciate Assembly Majority Leader Frommer’s leadership on this
issue,” said Western Office Director Lena Kaimian. “We are pleased
that the Armenian language teaching credential is in the process of
being added to the curriculum given the increasing number of students
that claim it as their native language and we look forward to its
complete approval.”

Frommer’s assembly district, representing the communities of Glendale,
Burbank, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, North Hollywood and Toluca Lake,
has the largest concentration of Armenians in the United States. The
Glendale Unified School District, reported that it had 3,904 English
language learners who primarily speak Armenian, making up 49% of the
districts total English language learner population. This legislation
will provide a balance in that the Armenian language will be treated
equally as other numerous foreign languages are in the State. The
legislation will next be considered by the Assembly Appropriations
Committee later this month.

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of
Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

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