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Give your child the gift of being bilingual!
The Russian Immersion program is ASD K-12 language program:
Grades K - 5 located in Turnagain Elementary School;
Grades 6 - 8 located in Romig Middle School;
Grades 9 - 12 located in West High School.
To learn more about the program, expand the tabs below.
The Russian partial immersion program (Mission Is Russian) started in 2003 with a help of FLAP (Foreign Language Assistance Program) grant from the U.S. Department of Education and Anchorage School District funding match. The district identified three schools to host the program and built K-12 Russian Immersion program with a first graduation class of 2016.
The idea to create a Russian Immersion program was supported by the local business communities, Russian middle and high school teachers, parents and University of Alaska Anchorage Russian language program. The local communities wanted to , said Janice Gullickson, Retired Anchorage School District World Languages coordinator. Furthermore, in one of her interviews she emphasized that leaning Russian, the less commonly taught language,
The Program opened its doors for kindergarten and first grade during the school year of 2004-2005. Each year the program expended by adding the next grade level. Currently, the program is in Romig Middle School and West High School. Thus, the model has been built up step by step and has already graduated two classes.
The Russian Immersion program is a public optional program. A lottery, which is held in Spring and Summer, determines entry with preference given to neighborhood families and siblings. Fifty students are enrolled into kindergarten to form two classes with 25 students each. The enrollment is open to all school district students of the age of 5 and 6. The cut-off for entry of a new student is the first grade at the second semester; although heritage and native speakers of Russian who have both speaking and literacy skills are allowed to attend the program upon completion a proficiency assessment in reading, writing and speaking.
Today the Russian Immersion program extends over 350 students from kindergarten through twelfth grade with nine native Russian teachers. In addition to the Russian Immersion program, Turnagain Elementary school, where the program starts, used to provide weekly Russian lessons by the Russian FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School) teacher.
The main school body of the program is English-speaking students who do not have any ties with Russian language or history, but living in Alaska. In addition, the program has few students from Russian-speaking families, the families of and students who were adopted by American families.
Anchorage School District has more than twenty years of Immersion program experience and is a home of five partial immersion programs (Japanese, Spanish, German, Chinese, and Russian). The District has developed Language Immersion Program Completion Requirements. The Russian Immersion program has developed a set of program cultural traditions that are implemented K-12. After completing six grade (the elementary level), students have a transition ceremony to middle school, the elements of which are based on the ceremony that schools of the St. Petersburg and Russian Far East employ. And the full scope of the ceremony takes place during 12th grade graduation ceremony at West.
Students who choose to continue in the Russian Immersion program at both middle and high schools will receive the as a formal ceremony and earn recognition at graduation. One of the requirements is in order to receive the cord students have to be enrolled in the immersion program, beginning in the elementary school and have continued each consecutive year, in an uninterrupted sequence, through the middle and high school. Last year, ASD approved the Seal of Biliteracy, an award given in recognition of students who have attained proficiency in two or more languages by high school graduation.
The model that the district has implemented is called partial immersion program. In this model, students are taught one half of the school day in Russian, and the other half in English. Each grade level has a team of teachers, one is an English-speaking teacher, and the other one is a speaker of Russian. During one half of each day, students learn Russian through various subjects (e.g. Social Studies, Science, and Russian Language Arts) and an English partner teacher is responsible for teaching Math and English Language Arts curriculum. The program follows ASD curriculum that is tailored for the second language learners. Partner teachers work collaboratively and plan for instructions, taking to consideration the need to separate languages and support one another in introducing or mastering individual content areas; partner teachers design thematic units, plan integrated content instructions, develop classroom room’s rules and strategies that implemented in both classrooms. This is one of the key components to build a successful program.
One of the routine items that the program follows is daily and quarterly rotations. During daily rotation students switch between two classrooms: English and Russian. If students have an English homeroom in the morning, after a lunch recess they will go to their English homeroom. A quarterly rotation will be the following: If students start their school day with a Russian class in the morning, for the second quarter they will start their Russian language instructions in the afternoon. Switching homeroom classrooms at each quarter grading period gives teachers an option to monitor the number of minutes of the instructional day, provides an opportunity to introduce different everyday vocabulary and address students' physiological needs (e.g., early learner's attention span, physical activities.)
According to NCLB (No Child Left Behind) Act of 2001 requirements, all program teachers are certified and highly qualified in Elementary or Middle/High School Education. The Russian language teachers that receive the immersion students in Middle and High School have to have an additional Highly Qualified Status in Social Studies Content. Currently, all Russian-speaking teachers are native speakers who hold degrees in World Languages or Social Studies. Most of them received their primary teaching education in Russia and confirmed their teaching credentials in the United States.
Anchorage School District puts emphasis on professional development and provides the immersion teachers with continued education through workshops with nationally known immersion teacher-experts (e.g., Dr. Helena Curtain, Dr. Mimi Met, and others) and Russian language specialists (e.g., Dr. Ben Rifkin), summer teaching academy, and others.
To monitor the immersion program student achievement, the program has been developing assessments that are formative and summative, content and proficiency based. The teachers used to routinely assess immersion students for Russian language proficiency using FLOSEM (the Foreign Language Oral Skills Evaluation Matrix). Currently, the program has started STAMP assessment that ASD approved for all World language programs. In addition, the Russian Immersion students have used AAPPL assessment developed by ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages), and NEWL Russian Language Exam developed by American Councils on International Education and endorsed by the College Board.
The Russian language teaching in the immersion program goes beyond the class instructions. The program teachers and the members of the Russian local community provide students with learning opportunities that are culturally focused and language enriched. Students learn Russian songs, dances, create folk art, play traditional Russian folk musical instruments, and play sports and games.
Overnight Russian camp for 4-5 graders had prepared the students for the program's future traveling to Russia. The Summer Russian Language Camp <Артек> for the students of K-4, offers learning opportunities through cultural themes, e.g., Лукоморье, Олимпик, Нептун. The Russian speaking camp staff and students' counselors from Romig Middle and West High Immersion Russian program collaborate to teach the young learners.
The Russian Immersion program has started its exchange program in May 2012. The Russian exchange school #534 in located Saint-Petersburg, Russia. The students of the Russian Immersion program travel to Russia every other year. Each time they travel, they visit two main Russian cities: Moscow and St. Petersburg, along with one of the oldest cities in Russia tht located close to either Moscow or St. Petersburg (e.g., Tula, Ryazan, and others).
Annually the program parent group (MIR Parents, Inc) fundraises and sponsors cultural events, such as New Year Celebration (Новый год) and Spring Carnival (Проводы Зимы). The program students of Romig and West are actively participating in these events. Additionally, many years the Russian artists-in-residence had worked with Turnagain and Romig students. MIR Parents, Inc. are working on reestablishing the Artist-in-Residency program as well as Overnight Summer Camp.
The Partial K-12 Russian Immersion program in Anchorage, Alaska has graduated its first class in Spring of 2016. The collaborative efforts of the Anchorage School District administration and teachers, students and parents, the University of Alaska Anchorage and local business communities with the support of the local Russian speaking community made it possible to set off the program and develop an infrastructure to study Russian language and culture at early age, to prepare the program students to be global citizens who will gain a higher level of language proficiency and cultural awareness in the less commonly taught language that the United States government has designated as one of the and express a need to have trained speakers of LCTL with a purpose of national security and economic competitiveness.
This information was prepared by Elena Farkas for ACTR Newsletter (Spring 2012), and was edited for this website in April 2018.
The Abbreviation of OWL Outstanding Wise Learner (English), and in Russian СОВА <Серьёзный Образованный Вдумчивый Активный> (Serious Educated Thoughtful Active)
Criteria for the Russian Immersion Program Academic Award The Owl:
Use Russian Language in class on a regular basis;
Thrive to improve Russian oral and written language speech by using new words, expressions, and grammatical structures;
Participate in the Russian Immersion Events;
Assist classmates during Russian class activities;
Be an active participant in class instructional activities (questions, discussions, pair/group work, and ext.);
Show respect to self and others.
Eligibility: Students of the Russian Immersion Program <9 through 12 Grades>
Who can nominate a student to the Award:
a student (self)
a classmate or a group of classmates
a teacher
Nomination Deadline:
Grades 9 -12 by April 9, each school year
Award Ceremony will take place during 12 grade Russian Immersion Graduation Ceremony in May of each school year.
The Award OWL will be accompanied with an Award Letter signed by all members of the Award Committee.
IMPORTANT PROVISION:
A student, who receives this award at least two times during his/her study at the Russian Immersion Program at West, will be awarded the Large Owl Academic Award at the Russian Immersion Graduation Ceremony in 12th grade.
There is no limitation on how many awards will be given per grade. It will depend on nominations and a decision of the Award Committee.
The Russian Immersion program (Romig Middle and West High schools) has established academic and cultural ties with their sister school # 534 in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. The exchange program started in May of 2012.
In March 2018 the Russian Immersion programs at West and Romig visited the sister exchange school for two weeks . The large group of the Russian students (7-11 grades), the Russian teachers, and parents traveled to Moscow. They visited Tula and Leo Tolstoy's Estate (Yasnaya Polyana), took a train to Saint-Petersburg, and spent a week with host families and the sister school. Next year (March 2019) the Russian Immersion program will be hosting the Russian exchange students.
Современная молодежь и культура (Contemporary Youth and Culture)
Course Overview: The focus is to improve language skills and content knowledge through themes of interest to young people. Examining these themes prepare students to compare and contrast aspects of the Russian-speaking world with their own.
Enduring Understanding: Students will understand that there are similarities and differences in youth perspectives in the Russian-speaking world.
The course consists of four thematic units:
1. Family and Friends: Students will understand how relationships shape individual and society
2. Multiculturalism and Society: Students will understand that language connects people in multiple ways and that cross-cultural skills are essential in today's globalizing society.
3. Leaders and Heroes: Students will understand what qualities make a hero, leader and an idol.
4. Youth Culture: Students will understand that there exist many differences in roles and expectations among teens in various societies.
PERSPECTIVES ON RUSSIA THROUGH LITERATURE AND MEDIA
(Взгляд на Россию через литературу и СМИ â€“ средства массовой информации)
COURSE OVERVIEW: The focus is to improve language skills and content knowledge through themes that are aligned with AP and IB. Students will read and write using authentic literary works and media: advertising, magazines, newspapers, and film.
Enduring Understanding: Students will understand that there are similarities and differences in youth perspectives in the Russian-speaking world.
The course consists of four thematic units:
1. Knowing ourselves and others
➢ Expending on stereotypes and prejudices, similarities and differences
2. Humor in Russian Daily Life
➢ Introduction to famous idioms, proverbs and sayings that were embedded to Daily life from the Russian History, literature, movie and cartoons, songs and reality shows.
3. Influence of the Media
➢ Introduction to the history of Russian advertising of 20th and 21st centuries. Creating posters, video clips and such.
4. Building Community Through Literacy/Drama
➢ Students will read short extracts from Russian famous play writers, watch feature movies based on classic Russian literary work, and write movie reviews.
➢ Students will participate in the service-learning project that is focused on building the community between West high students of the Russian Immersion program and program elementary students (Turnagain Elementary).
Course Overview: The goal of this course is to prepare each student to take the annual AP Russian Language Exam. Designed to provide students with an opportunity to develop their proficiency skills in comprehension, reading, writing and speaking at a much higher level. Students will be challenged with written essay, impromptu and planned oral presentations, reading of a variety of texts and listening and viewing comprehension of oral texts.
The course consists of thematic units:
Family and Community (family structure, house, city)
Dream Big (education and professions)
Beauty and Aesthetics (health, dining out, music and art)
Global Challenges(Weather and Travel)
Science and Technology (new media and communication)
Course Overview: Through advanced study of Russian, students will explore three unique aspects of history, and examine the similarities and connections of the lives, customs, and cultures of northern peoples. The focus is to improve language skills and content knowledge through themes that are aligned with AP and IB courses.
Enduring Understanding: By understanding the past, we appreciate the present, and build the future.
The course consists of thematic units:
Russian Exploration (People, Names, Places)
Russian America (XVIII-XIX centuries)
Russia and Alaska (World War II)
Russia and Alaska: Present and Future
