The Glendale Unified School District Board of Education unanimously approved the launch of feasibility studies to explore the potential of expanding the school district’s widely acclaimed Dual Language Immersion and World Languages programs to include Western Armenian and Filipino/Tagalog languages, the district’s press office said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Glendale Unified School District currently offers programs in seven languages and has 3,000 students enrolled in them, beginning in elementary schools at the TK and Kindergarten grade levels.
The current DLI programs include Armenian, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. The innovative dual immersion programs are designed to develop high levels of language proficiency and literacy in both English and the target language.
The approved feasibility studies represent the first step of an anticipated multi-track process to explore the potential of expanding the school district’s Dual Language Immersion and World Languages programs to include Western Armenian and Filipino/Tagalog.
The initial feasibility study work will begin with a survey to GUSD families to determine the school community’s interest in the potential future educational opportunity as well as an administrative review of classroom space availability across the school district.
“I am proud that our Board of Education has unanimously approved feasibility studies to explore the potential of expanding the school district’s widely acclaimed Dual Language Immersion and World Languages programs to include Western Armenian and Filipino/Tagalog languages,” stated Glendale Unified School District Board President Shant Sahakian.
“The Glendale Unified School District and Board of Education have taken an exciting step to build on our legacy of supporting bilingualism and bi-literacy, academic achievement, and cultural competency,” he added.
“Our school district is committed to maximizing student academic achievement and providing a safe and nurturing learning environment that prepares all students for college, career, and life success,” stated Glendale Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Darneika Watson.
“We are excited for the work ahead and the opportunity to expand our educational programs to meet the needs of current and future GUSD students and families,” she added.
The Western Armenian and Filipino/Tagalog language program interest survey is anticipated to be distributed to GUSD families in August.
In addition to the DLI program, the school district offers a wide range of World Languages program course offerings for students throughout its middle schools and high schools. These educational opportunities are open to students living in and outside of the GUSD public school boundaries.
The current Dual Immersion Language programs have developed and expanded over several years since the founding of the school district’s first programs in Spanish, Armenian, which focuses primarily on Eastern/Federal Armenian, and Korean.
YEREVAN – On Wednesday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with Jeremy Weir, CEO of the Singapore-based multinational company Trafigura, to discuss cooperation in the mining sector and explore opportunities for investment projects in Armenia.
According to the government’s press service, Weir presented details about Trafigura’s global operations and expressed interest in launching projects in Armenia as well.
Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasized the importance of ongoing dialogue and discussions to define the next steps in fostering bilateral cooperation.
According to Armstat, Armenia’s industrial output for January–April 2025 totaled more than 812.25 billion drams (at current prices), reflecting a 16.1% decline compared to the same period in 2024. Specifically, the mining sector’s output was nearly 135 billion drams—a 6.8% decrease—while the manufacturing industry produced over 535.4 billion drams, marking a 23.5% drop.
Trafigura Group Pte Ltd. is a Singapore-based multinational commodity trading company. Founded in 1993, it specializes in the wholesale trade of metals and minerals, oil and petroleum products, natural gas and electricity, including renewable energy sources.