Burbank Teachers and Administrators Attend Armenian Cultural Awareness Workshop

ANC-Burbank Teams with Burbank Teachers Association to Promote Cultural Understanding in Schools

Thursday, April 8, 2004 (Burbank, CA) – Seventy teachers and administrators from Burbank Unified School District attended a workshop last week at the Buena Vista Library to gain awareness and understanding of Armenian history and culture, and to have an opportunity to discuss cultural diversity issues in the public schools.

The workshop was organized by the Burbank Teachers Association in cooperation with the Armenian National Committee of Burbank (ANC) so teachers would gain a greater ability to understand and relate to the increasing Armenian-American student population of Burbank schools. Currently, approximately one of every seven Burbank students is of Armenian descent, and that number is expected to grow.

The rich diversity of our students is one of the great strengths of the Burbank Unified School District," commented Board of Education Member Paul Krekorian, one of the speakers at the workshop. "To realize the benefits of that diversity, though, educators need to understand their students' unique cultural and historical backgrounds. This workshop was an excellent vehicle to achieve that understanding, and I applaud our teachers and the ANC for organizing and participating in it," Krekorian said.

The workshop featured a panel discussion moderated by Kim Allender and Diana Abasta, the Co-Presidents of the Burbank Teachers Association. The panel of speakers included Krekorian, ANC Western Region Executive Director Ardashes Kassakhian, Burbank High School Principal Bruce Osgood, teacher Mimi Zarookian, and high school students Meher Aboolian and Anita Asagholyan. The speakers offered an overview of Armenian history and public policy issues, insights about Armenian culture, and suggestions for dealing with diversity issues.

ANC-Burbank member Hoori Chalian introduced a collection of materials gathered by the ANC that was presented to each of the participating teachers, including informational resources and curricula for teaching about the Armenian Genocide, history and culture. The workshop also included a music and dance program by students from the Mairamian Davidian Armenian School, and the participants enjoyed an Armenian buffet and a display of Armenian arts and crafts.

Jina Kim, the BTA's Human Rights Chair, initiated the workshop. Kim and her committee worked very closely with the ANC-Burbank School Relations Committee to ensure the event would be well-organized and would provide teachers with meaningful and useful information.

We were excited to see such an overwhelming interest and response to the workshop from the teachers and administrators,” commented Nayiri Nahabedian-Poladian, who leads the School Relations Committee. “This is just a first step in our program to build bridges among students, parents and teachers in Burbank schools and to promote cultural understanding.

The ANC-Burbank School Relations Committee members who helped organize the event included Nayiri Nahabedian-Poladian, Hoori Chalian, Tamar Krekorian, Armineh Kazarian, Lara Peltekian, Vahe Shahinian, Arbi Ohanian, Nora Essayan, and Taline Mirzayan.

The ANC-Burbank School Relations Committee develops programs and works with community groups to develop relations between the Armenian community and Burbank school teachers and administrators. For more information on its programs, or to receive informational materials from the recent workshop, contact Nayiri Nahabedian-Poladian at (818) 548-4251 or email webmaster@burbankanc.org.