Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel announced the awarding of a $261,029 Foreign Language Assistant Program/Local Education Agency grant, issued by the United States Department of Education, to the South Orangetown Central School District. The grant will enable students to learn Chinese, Korean, Russian and Japanese.

Rep. Engel said, “Learning these four languages will better enable children to prepare for a global society. With the increasing globalization of the world’s economy, the need to become proficient in these languages has become much more vital. The best way to prepare our nation is to train our next generation to better be able to communicate with other parts of the world.”

The funding will enable the district to hire capable teachers to instruct students in these languages, with a first-year focus on Chinese. The funding will also help to build a curriculum that not only teaches the language skills, but also provides insight into the rich history of the four nations’ cultures.

“We are thrilled as this is something everyone in the district has wanted. It gives options and opportunities to be exposed to less common cultures and languages and everyone here is very excited about this wonderful opportunity,” said Juliet Gevargis, the Assistant Principal at Tappan Zee High School. Ms. Gevargis co-wrote the grant application with the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Lynn Gorey. “This will give students and the community a leg up, in what Tom Friedman has called an increasingly ‘flat world.’ We cannot be in isolation and we must have an understanding of these other cultures. We plan on having an integration of technology as a huge part of the program, and believe it will help our students become successful in college and beyond,” added Ms. Gevargis.

Orangetown Town Supervisor Thom Kleiner, a parent of two students in the South Orangetown School District added, “It is not only important to communicate with our own culture and those in Europe, but it is critically important to our economic well being to communicate with and understand cultures from around the world. Congressman Engel’s efforts in this regard are truly needed and appreciated, and the school district’s advocacy for this grant is to be commended.”

The grant program aims to establish, improve, or expand innovative foreign language programs for elementary and secondary school students. In awarding grants under this program, the Secretary of Education supports programs which show the promise of being continued beyond the project period and demonstrate approaches which can be duplicated in other locations.

Congressman Engel is a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.