Endangered Western Armenian Finds New Future as Glendale Launches California’s First Public School Immersion Program in 2027

Western Armenian will be taught as a language of instruction at a California public school for the first time in fall 2027, as Glendale Unified School District prepares to open a new bilingual program to help preserve the language for future generations.

The program will launch at Glenoaks Elementary School with its first kindergarten class during the 2027-28 academic year. Students will spend half their school day learning in Western Armenian and the other half in English, studying subjects such as math, reading and writing in both languages.

The initiative is particularly significant for Glendale, a Los Angeles-area city with one of the largest Armenian communities in the United States. Many Armenian families have maintained their language and cultural traditions for generations, but passing Western Armenian on to younger generations remains a growing concern across the diaspora.

Western Armenian developed as one of the two main forms of modern Armenian and is widely spoken among diaspora communities whose roots trace to the former Ottoman Empire. Unlike Eastern Armenian, the official language of the Republic of Armenia, Western Armenian is classified by UNESCO as endangered.

The new program will give children an opportunity to use Western Armenian throughout the school day rather than learning it only as a separate language subject.

Glendale Unified already offers Eastern Armenian immersion classes, along with programs in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Korean. Western Armenian will become the district’s eighth immersion language.

The district began offering dual language education in 2003 with a Spanish immersion program. Its programs have since expanded across elementary and secondary schools, allowing students to continue studying additional languages through high school.

In 2024, the Association of Two-Way and Dual Language Education named Glendale Unified a “District of Distinction” in recognition of its multilingual education programs.

District officials say the new Western Armenian program will combine academic instruction with opportunities for students to strengthen their cultural connections.

“We are especially excited to introduce families to our new Western Armenian program at Glenoaks,” said Nancy Hong, the district’s director of dual language immersion and English learner services.

“Alongside our established programs, it offers another opportunity for children to grow as learners, develop language skills and connect across cultures,” she said.

Glendale Unified is now inviting families to visit participating schools and learn about its immersion programs ahead of enrollment for the 2027-28 academic year.

Tours of the Western Armenian program at Glenoaks Elementary began October 26, with additional visits scheduled for Nov. 4 and 10 and December 2 and 9. The tours begin at 9 a.m.

Applications open November 1, 2026, and must be submitted by January 31, 2027, to qualify for the enrollment lottery. Families living outside district boundaries may also apply, although they must obtain an interdistrict permit if their child is offered a place.

Tour schedules, registration details and application instructions are available at www.gusd.net/tours⁠.

The program is expected to expand beyond kindergarten in subsequent years, creating a longer-term path for children to study Western Armenian within the public school system.

For a language whose future depends heavily on its transmission within diaspora families and communities, the opening of a Western Armenian classroom in Glendale will mark a significant development in efforts to keep it in everyday use.

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