Assyrian language course reaches district school board in milestone proposal

Board members indicated early favor of the program ahead of a November vote on new course proposals. The course would make the district the first in the US to offer Assyrian as an accredited world language course at the high school level.

Yasmeen Altaji | Oct. 12, 2022

(Featured image/Yasmeen Altaji)

CHICAGO — A public high school district’s board of education on Tuesday heard a proposal for what could become the first Assyrian language course of its kind in the US.

Niles Township High School District 219, serving areas just outside of Chicago, could be the first in the nation to offer an Assyrian course at the high school level that would fulfill a world language credit, effectively counting toward students’ graduation requirements.

It’s an effort more than seven years in the making, initiated in 2015 by D219 Suraye, a group of parents and guardians of the district’s Assyrian students. Since the effort’s inception, it’s gained the support of local and state officials as well as hundreds of community advocates, according to the group.

At Tuesday evening’s public meeting, D219’s seven-member board heard emotional remarks from students, parents, employees and alumni advocating for the addition of the course to the district’s curriculum in a final push ahead of a November vote on new course proposals.

With approval from the Illinois State Board of Education earlier this year and the Curriculum Standards for School Improvement (CSSI) Committee’s recommendation last month, a vote from the district's board of education would finalize the course’s inclusion in the district’s 2023-2024 curriculum. 

Here are key takeaways from Tuesday’s meeting.

• Board members indicated favor for the program. Members Ignacio Lopez and Mateo Mohammad Farzaneh were among those in the room doling out remarks of support, the latter crediting development at this stage as a step toward “Assyriologists from the Assyrian community actually writing their own history.”

• Standards for community language proficiency are a priority and a work in progress, according to Todd Bowen, director of the world languages department at D219. Such standards factor into the hiring process, he said, adding that it remains “essential” that relevant staff have a background that allows for success in the course sequence. “It’s important that…we are focusing on what students are able to do with the language,” he said, indicating extant community resources will be tailored to fit curriculum standards.

• Advocates on the board, in administration and in the community are relying on the D219 iteration of the course to move on to become a national model for Assyrian language instruction. “We will be forging a new path for not only our community and for our students, but in the world of language education in the United States,” Bowen said.

• Ignacio Lopez, board member and secretary, voiced concerns for students unaware of how the state board “recognizes or does not recognize the world language credit.” The proposed Assyrian sequence was approved as an accredited world language course by ISBE in January. Assistant superintendent Sandra Arreguín said, “That is something we can be honest with our community about.”

• The course was modeled after existing world language course curricula, according to Arreguín, and Bowen said world language standards were written to be applicable to “languages of various backgrounds”. Resources to meet expectations, and ensure achievement of what Lopez dubbed “the ‘great’ mark” at the meeting, are coming from within the community, Arreguín said.

• Naema Abraham, board president, said, “Being an Assyrian myself…I will forever be grateful for this.” D219 Suraye estimates 20-30% of the district’s student population is Assyrian.

In a general discussion on new course proposals, Lopez said, “I'm very much in favor” of cultural representation in the district’s curriculum, calling the evening’s public commentary on the Assyrian language course “brilliant”. 

“The only trepidation is we’ve got to be great,” Tom Moore, district superintendent, said at the meeting. “We’ve got to be a role model for every other district in the country.”

Voting on new course proposals will take place at the district board’s next meeting, scheduled for Nov. 1.