Qatar gives $100,000 to Texas school to teach Arabic language, culture

The Qatar Foundation International (QFI) granted $100,000 to a Texas school district to promote Arabic language and culture classes that begin next school year.

This marks the third school district in Texas to accept funds from the Qatari non-profit’s global gift-giving arm.

The Austin Independent School District accepted the $100,000 from QFI to jump start new Arabic language and culture classes coming to three of its campuses in Fall 2016. The grant funds teacher salaries, curriculum development, instructional materials and unnamed resources.

Also, the University of Texas at Austin’s Arabic Flagship Program supports Austin ISD’s new Arabic classes. UT-Austin is one of four federally funded Arabic flagship college campus programs nationwide. Other participating universities are in Arizona, Maryland, and Oklahoma. The program started in 2000.

The Flagship Language program says it strives to prepare students to enter college with a “measurable” second language skill and to “push the model” to the elementary level, calling it vital to “educate a citizenry prepared to address the nation’s well-being in the 21st century.”

The language program currently boasts 27 Flagship centers that provide a pathway to professional-level proficiency in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi-Urdu, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili, and Turkish.

In May, Austin ISD World Languages Coordinator Tina Dong called it paramount that the school district prepares students for college, career, and life by “equipping them with the skills needed to authentically interact with individuals from diverse cultures.”

The school district folded the Arabic language and its culture among its clarion call. In a press release, Austin ISD described QFI as committed to providing skills “to enable K-12 students to be engaged global citizens through education.”

QFI is an organization that gives to educational causes. In 2011, they partnered with the US Department of Education’s Connect All Schools consortium “to connect every school in the US with the world by 2016” digitally, which President Obama unveiled in his 2009 speech delivered from Cairo.

QFI grants monies to over 20 U.S. schools in 10 states, reaching over 2,400 students.

According to QFI, their support comes with the intention to establish or expand Arabic and culture programs in K-12 public and public charter schools.

In addition to Texas, benefitting schools are located in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Utah, and the District of Columbia. QFI also funds programs in schools across the United Kingdom and in Brazil.

Courtesy: breitbart.com