Learning Arabic in Houston

8/20/2019 Learning Arabic in Houston

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Learning Arabic in

Houston, InshallahDespite an angry outcry from far-right protesters, Houston is embracing an

Arabic immersion school that educators

hope may give students an edge.


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Courtesy Houston ISD

First day of class at the Arabic Immersion Magnet School,

August 24.

Except for the angry protesters, the rst day of school atthe Arabic Immersion Magnet School in !ouston in late

August "as a #oyous occasion. $he school "elcomed its

inaugural class of %% &indergartners and 44 pre'

&indergartners "ith an assembly in the cafeteria.

$he &ids "ore their school uniforms, green'and'"hite polo

shirts embossed "ith the school(s calligraphic logo. $hey

learned their ne" school song. $hey recited the )ledge of

Allegiance and the $exas )ledge. Alicia *ahn, "hose +'year'

old daughter Maiara attends the school, described the moodas positi-e and upbeat. /utside, though, she said it "as

mayhem.

A small cro"d organi0ed by the anti'immigrant group Stop

the Magnet had gathered near the school entrance for the

!ouston )atriots )rotest. 1a-ing signs and American ags,

the protesters shouted their message at entering parents.

Forcing a child to ha-e to spea& Arabic should be against the

la", one protester yelled at a "oman pushing a stroller "ith

http://houstonisdphotos.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/20150824-AIMS/G0000tq2YWkAoBjY/I0000uysoTlcFo1Mhttp://houstonisdphotos.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/20150824-AIMS/G0000tq2YWkAoBjY/I0000uysoTlcFo1M


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a &indergarten'age &id in to". Another protester held a sign

reading, E-erything I e-er cared to &no" about Islam "as

taught to me by Muslims on 3''255.

Houston Petitions

)arents and faculty "ere not entirely surprised by the rude

"elcome. At a May 25+ !IS6 board meeting, they got a

dose of "hat some people thin& of the country(s rst public

Arabic immersion school. It "asn(t pretty.

About a do0en indi-iduals too& to the podium to gi-e mini'

lectures on the dangers of Islam and the need to prioriti0e

English'language education. I(m a proud monolingual

American citi0en, said a middle'aged man, )hil 7ady,

reading a prepared speech from his cellphone. I belie-e it is

"rong to teach babies Arabic or any other language before

their reading and "riting in English is procient. Eli0abeth

$heiss, founder of Stop the Magnet, directed her anger at the

board8 It(s a disgrace, all of you are anti'American.

$hough the school, "hich plans to expand to fth grade,

hasn(t recei-ed any direct threats, administrators aren(t

ta&ing any chances, employing a security guard to &eep

"atch during school hours.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ32OY-vu9whttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ32OY-vu9w


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)arents are ta&en abac& by the anger and the protesters(

apparent belief that the school is part of an attempt to

establish a multicultural caliphate.

$hat is one thing that(s scary, said *ahn, because you see

these sort of American fundamentalists "ho are -ery anti'

anything that has anything to do "ith the Middle East. 9 It(s

really a shame that that needs to be a part of the

con-ersation.

:ut *ate Adams, the principal of the Arabic Immersion

Magnet School ;AIMS


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and cultural golden age of !ouston that "e(re li-ing in right

no", said :ada"i, "ho also ser-es on the AIMS board, and

that subsumes e-erything > oil, gas, medical, education.

/ne might argue that !ouston is in an anxious moment >

gi-en the recent layo=s at 7he-ron, !alliburton and other

corporate giants > but the prospects certainly loo& bright for

Arabic education. !IS6 has placed a premium on gi-ing

students "hat it calls a global education, e-en opening an

/@ce of lobal Education that pushes its immersion and dual

language schools. In a city that rises and falls "ith the global

mar&ets, learning a second language li&e Arabic, educators

hope, may gi-e students an edge in an uncertain future.

If you "ant to learn a language, immersion is the "ay to doit > a principle that AIMS embraces.

?nli&e an Arabic'language class or a bilingual school, math

and science courses at AIMS are strictly in Arabic. ;Social

studies and English are taught in English.< $he teacher only

spea&s Arabic to the students > coupled "ith a lot of

gesturing and facial expressions > and, as the students pic&

up -ocabulary, they start tal&ing bac&.


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Some parents as& if their child "ill be uent in Arabic by the

end of third grade. And I(m li&e, "ell, no, but your child is not

going to be uent in English by the end of third grade, said

)rincipal Adams. $he other thing I remind parents of8 $hese

are not adults "ho are learning ArabicB these are children

"ho are coming in and learning for the rst time in a school

setting.

!IS6 Superintendent $erry rier rst publicly announced the

possibility of an Arabic school in February 254. $he district

had successfully opened a Mandarin 7hinese immersion

school in 252, as "ell as se-eral Spanish immersion schools.

In Co-ember 254, the nine members of the !IS6 board

unanimously -oted to appro-e the school.

1ithin t"o years this entire thing "ent from an idea to a

reality, said :ada"i.

$he school, located in a reno-ated elementary school on a

busy street in the historic !ouston !eights neighborhood, is

full of special touches. )hrases in both Arabic and English are

painted on the "alls of the main hall"ay, listing the Dualities

of an !IS6 lobal raduate8 7ritical $hin&er, S&illed

7ommunicator, eader. Each classroom is eDuipped "ith

interacti-e smart tables and i)ads, made possible by a


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G5,555 donation from Aramco, "hose parent company is

the Saudi national oil company. Hust do"n the hall"ay is a

technology lab fully outtted "ith ne" )7s.

Courtesy Houston ISD

$he Arabic Immersion Magnet School recei-ed o-er 4+5

applications for its G2 seats.

http://houstonisdphotos.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/20150824-AIMS/G0000tq2YWkAoBjY/I00009.ivvU_KiBAhttp://houstonisdphotos.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/20150824-AIMS/G0000tq2YWkAoBjY/I00009.ivvU_KiBA


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Co parents I spo&e "ith expressed misgi-ings about the

school(s corporate funding. Many of the parents "or& in the

energy industry, and Adams pitches the association as a

bonus on the school "ebsite8 1hile it may seem far a"ay,

learning Arabic "ill help your children gain #obs in the oil and

gas industry, State 6epartment, and many multinational

corporations, she "rites.

Amy 7rouser describes her disco-ery of AIMS as a &ind of

random thing. !orn Elementary in :ellaire "as her top

choice for her +'year'old son an, but "hen the school

informed her that all spots "ere lled, she began her hunt for

a ne" school on the !IS6 magnet "ebsite, starting at the

letter A. She "as intrigued by the idea of an Arabic school

but also a little uneasy. My son doesn(t spea& any Arabic and

I didn(t "ant him to be thro"n into a mix "here he "ould fall

behind or feel out of place, she said. Amy reached out to

Adams and recei-ed a prompt response that impressed her.

She applied immediately.

Amy has no family ties to the Middle East > she is from

afayette, ouisiana > but an(s father is ebanese and li-es

in ebanon. an only has contact "ith him a fe" days out of

the year, Amy "rites in an email, continuing, In the day'to'

day life, an is #ust a $exas boy "ho calls pita bread atortillaJ


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I as& if an(s attending the school is about connecting to his

heritage. It sounds good to say, but I don(t really feel that

"ay, she said. She belie-es her son probably should be

familiar "ith his past, but that she really #ust "ants him to

be bilingual. She(s taught an his numbers in Arabic and he(ll

utter the occasional Arabic phrase. $o him, they(re #ust

"ords. I don(t thin& he e-en thin&s about it too much as

language, she said.

:y Adams( estimate, only + to 25 percent of the G2

students ha-e been pre-iously exposed to Arabic and an

e-en smaller percentage spea& Arabic at home. $he ma#ority

of students are $exans "ith no ties to the Middle East or

Arabic language. $he student body is almost eDually split

among "hite, blac& and !ispanic &ids. Enrollment is open to

any student in !ouston > but the competition is sti=.

AIMS recei-ed o-er 4+5 applications for its G2 seats.

Mahassen :allouli, the school(s magnet coordinator, still gets

calls from parents chec&ing on their "ait'list status, e-en as

the school year begins.

:ellaire has o=ered Arabic as a foreign language since 3%K,

ma&ing it possibly the longest running *'2 public Arabic

program in $exas.


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:allouli recruits for AIMS throughout the year. She(ll -isit

!ead Start programs and attend !IS6 recruiting e-ents to get

the "ord out. !er goal is to ma&e sure the school represents

the di-ersity of !ouston, but Arabic is not al"ays the easiest

sell. L)arents &ind of gi-e me this pu00led loo&, :allouli

said, and they(ll come o-er and as&, N1hy ArabicO( She

explains to them all the per&s to learning a second language

in general > increased cogniti-e ability and critical thin&ing

s&ills and impro-ed test scores.

Amanda /(eary, the magnet coordinator at :ellaire !igh

School(s 1orld anguages )rogram, uses a similar approach

"hen she recruits at !ouston #unior highs, encouraging

students to study one of the languages on o=er at :ellaire,

including Arabic. /(eary presents Arabic as a path to a six'

gure corporate salary or a go-ernment #ob. $hat appeals to

some of the more ambitious &ids. $he ones that are tal&ing

about the I-y eague colleges, the ones "ho really &no"

"hat they(re about, they(-e heard of Arabic before and

they(re interested, she said. :ellaire(s language program

recei-ed o-er 2,555 applications in 25G'254 and too& #ust

GP students.

:ellaire has o=ered Arabic as a foreign language since 3%K,

ma&ing it possibly the longest running *'2 public Arabic


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program in $exas. $hat(s impressi-e because sustaining such

a program has pro-en to be a di@cult tas&. In the 25G'254

school year, G public schools in $exas o=ered Arabic classes

to at least 424 students, an increase of 24 students and

three schools from the pre-ious year. :ut the gro"th has

been une-en, at best. /-er the past decade, *'2 Arabic

programs ha-e launched in unexpected places such as

1axahachie and Mercedes in the Qio rande alley only to

close shortly thereafter.

?sually the reasons for failure are mundane > lac& of

enrollment or sta@ng issues > but occasionally Arabic

programs attract the suspicions of the conspiracy'prone.

In 25, Manseld IS6 attempted to o=er Arabic as aforeign language in its elementary and middle schools. False

rumors spread among parents that it "as mandatory. $he

school had accepted a .G million grant from the federal

go-ernment under the Foreign anguage Assistance )rogram,

"hich had recei-ed a huge boost in funding, about 24

million, through the :ush'era Cational Security anguage

Initiati-e ;CSI


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After 3R, calls to increase the number of Arabic spea&ers in

the military, intelligence and diplomatic communities had

reached a fe-er pitch. 1e(re reduced to putting %55

numbers on the $ screen as&ing for people "ho spea&

Arabic, the New York Times Duoted one public policy expert

as saying in 2554. )undits on the left and right called for a

-isionary nation"ide program to boost language learning,

something a&in to Eisenho"er(s Sputni& moment. $he CSI

"as supposed to be such a program. :ut fol&s in Manseld

apparently didn(t get the message.

At public forums, parents expressed concern that the cultural

component of the curriculum meant indoctrinating their

children "ith Islam. a"ma&ers helped sto&e their fears.

State Qepresentati-e 6an Flynn described the program as an

attempt by the federal go-ernment to sensiti0e our children

to this culture. 6ue to the public outcry, Manseld IS6

announced it "as going to resubmit its grant proposal "ith

changes to appease the community. $he 6epartment of

Education denied the re-ised application for un&no"n

reasons. In 252, 7ongress defunded the program.

After 3R, calls to increase the number of Arabic spea&ers in

the military, intelligence and diplomatic communities had

reached a fe-er pitch.

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20110306-proposed-mansfield-isd-arabic-language-program-retooled-but-still-on-track-after-criticism.ecehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/stacie-nevadomski-berdan/dont-kill-foreignlanguage_b_952918.htmlhttp://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20110306-proposed-mansfield-isd-arabic-language-program-retooled-but-still-on-track-after-criticism.ecehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/stacie-nevadomski-berdan/dont-kill-foreignlanguage_b_952918.html


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$he old fears came roaring bac& at the !ouston IS6 board

meeting in May.

Stop the Magnet supporters "ere incensed that AIMS had

accepted funding from the atar Foundation International, a

nonprot established in 2553 that(s funded by the atari

go-ernment. /n its "ebsite, the foundation claims it is

dedicated to connecting cultures and ad-ancing global

citi0enship through education. $he foundation has helped

fund at least 3 *'2 Arabic programs in the ?nited States, as

"ell as a fe" in 7anada and :ra0il. $he nonprot also

pro-ides mentorships, trainings and fello"ships for Arabic

teachers in the ?nited States.

:ut Stop the Magnet(s opposition barely registered in di-erse

!ouston. /n the second day of school at AIMS, a group of

neighbors gathered outside the school to o=er a more

"elcoming message to students, holding signs reading,

America "as built on di-ersityJ

$he scene brought tears to Alicia(s eyes. /*, not

e-erybody suc&s, she told herself. Alicia has "or&ed as a

biostratigrapher at 7he-ron for almost a decade, examining

fossils. She &no"s a little bit of Arabic, gleaned from tra-eling

http://qfi.org/about/http://qfi.org/about/


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in Egypt after college and spea&s "istfully about her

daughter learning about foreign cultures.

I lo-e her coming home and saying stu= in di=erent

languages. It(s so neat and so mind'opening, she said.

Maiara has attended a Spanish immersion camp and spea&s

some )ortuguese. ;!er father is :ra0ilian.< Arabic, ho"e-er,

"as completely alien to her before her rst day at AIMS.

Co", Alicia said, Maiara is already counting in Arabic and

saying her colors.

Alicia doesn(t expect some &ind of o-er"helming

transformation in her daughter after attending AIMS, though

she does hope she feels a deeper connection to the "orld.

I thin& e-en #ust &no"ing or being exposed to another

language opens up your "orld, she said. E-en if you don(t

go to Egypt, Syria or ebanon, though hopefully you "ould,

e-en "al&ing on the street, you go to )hoenicia mar&et and

you hear Arabic, and all of a sudden your context changes.

!ouston nati-e eah 7ald"ell is a "riter and editor li-ing in Austin.

Documents

Learning Arabic in Houston