The Coalition of Community-Based Language Schools is a nationwide initiative established to support, guide, and promote the interests of community-based heritage language schools and organizations across the United States. Our main goals:
- Facilitate communication among community-based heritage language schools/programs
- Develop official statistics on HL teaching and learning by collecting comprehensive data about community-based schools and press for inclusion of these data in official U.S. education statistics
- Increase the visibility and recognition of these schools/programs within the U.S. education system on local, state, and national levels
To learn more, visit: https://www.heritagelanguageschools.org/coalition
Slavic and East European languages are well-represented among the Language Representatives, including:
Albanian | Bulgarian | Czech/Slovak | Hungarian | Polish | Russian | Serbian | Ukrainian
We are very lucky to have Angela Hasheva as the Bulgarian language representative:
Bulgarian-pt-jv1-pt-qxu-xs-22z.jpg) | Angela Hasheva is a highly accomplished educator and founder of the Bulgarian School of Seattle. With a career spanning over 31 years, she has taught French at all levels, from middle school to Advanced Placement, and has held U.S. teaching certification for nearly two decades. In addition to her work as a French teacher, Angela has served as an Adjunct Faculty member at Washington Academy of Languages at City University of Seattle, where she has taught French language courses and developed curriculum. As Founder and Director of the Bulgarian School of Seattle, Angela has been instrumental in forming partnerships with ALTA testing authorities and the Seal of Biliteracy Advisory Committees in many states across the United States. She is also an active member of the Association of Bulgarian Schools in America (ABSA), where she serves as a Pioneer and helps to increase the visibility of Bulgarian heritage language schools. |
There are also State Representatives, including, from Washington state:
Washington | Ema Shirk is the Heritage and Dual Language Program Supervisor and Multilingual Education State Supervisor in the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Washington state. She is a heritage and dual language specialist and an advocate for effective multilingual programing. Her work is focused on the development of sustainable PreK-12 programs that ensure access to all heritage learners. She is very interested in connecting community-based schools with public and private schools so that we can celebrate the learning that our students do together.Email: ema.shirk@k12.wa.us |
Heritage Language Programs in the U.S. Survey
The Coalition is conducting a national survey to document community-based heritage language schools in the United States. This is the first survey that attempts to reach out to and document this specific set of schools and students. Survey results provide important data about these schools — their key features, challenges, and accomplishments.
Please ensure that your school is documented! Simply take a few minutes to complete our Heritage Language Programs in the United States Survey.
