This month, we honor Arabic-American Heritage Month, and are pleased to feature Baltimore International Academy-East’s language immersion program as a wonderful gateway to understanding Arabic culture.
Learning the language—and the culture—is at the core of Baltimore International Academy-East’s program. The school in the Frankford community provides total language immersion in five languages: Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French, and Russian. For students in kindergarten and first grade, the entire curriculum is taught in the immersion language selected by families. Beginning in second grade, teachers introduce language arts and reading in English for one period a day. In later grades, computer science, art, and music are also taught in English. In sixth grade, students select an additional language to learn.
One only needs to walk down the colorful hallway of the “Arabic Village” to see the energy these
students bring to the language and the culture. Kindergarteners loudly recite the Pledge of Allegiance in Arabic before two students enact a lengthy conversation—ending with a firm handshake. A first-grade classroom erupts in joy as students sing and dance to العلم نور ياصغار (“Learning is Light”). Second graders eagerly answer questions about geography: the only words a non-Arabic speaker can recognize are “Grand Canyon.” Fifth graders solve algebraic equations in their newly-learned language—almost all of the 150 students in the Arabic immersion speak English at home.
Cultural immersion extends beyond the classroom with a year-long schedule of events and celebrations. Students take field trips, most prominently to embassies in Washington, D.C., and speakers and visitors introduce them to the culture and customs of other countries. They enjoy performances, cooking and celebrating holidays in each of the school’s languages.
In December, students were treated to sweet Middle Eastern delicacies and tea as they entered the school on World Arabic Language Day. In late April, the entire BIA-East community will celebrate Arab-American Heritage Month with a week of celebrations. School-wide activities will include a parade, door decoration contest, classroom cultural activities, and cultural celebrations.
Representatives from the Iraqi Embassy in Washington will also visit the school. BIA-East has a strong partnership with the Embassy, which also provides proficiency development resources for classroom instruction.
In addition to full language immersion, BIA-East is City School’s only International Baccalaureate program for elementary and middle school, where students develop intercultural understanding and respect through inquiry-based instruction, project-based assessments, and collaborative group work. At BIA-East, the full Primary Year Programme and Middle Years Programme are conducted in the immersion languages.
On an early April morning, teachers and administrators at Baltimore International Academy-East 
were gathered in a classroom. A beautiful buffet of homemade foods awaited their celebration of Ftour, the end of Ramadan: the Yemeni breakfast treat Lahsa, Lebanese Labneh with za’atar, kabob, the Iraqi clotted cream favorite Geymar, glistening Moroccan desserts, and four kinds of tea.
Rather than immediately enjoying the food, the staff wanted to share stories about their Arabic-language learners.
“Students wanted to fast when we did,” says Noor Alsamraai, a 4th and 5th grade Arabic Language Arts and Social Studies teacher. “They embrace this culture. They’re learning about and embracing people’s differences. They’re open-minded and caring.”
“Some students wear scarves because we do," said Mawj Al Juboori, a middle school Math and Science teacher. “They didn’t want to eat or drink in front of us during Ramadan, out of respect for our culture.
“We’re not just teaching Arabic language, “said Noor Al Juboori, who teaches second and third grade Arabic Language Arts and Social Studies. “Our students are understanding Middle East culture and what it means to be a global leader.”
“Language is culture,” echoes Henriette Sindjui, the school’s Coordinator of World Languages.