At Mountain View Elementary School in Tujunga about three-fourths of the population is of Armenian heritage. Parents have been looking for years for a way to pass on the language and culture to their children.
Some left for the neighboring Glendale Unified School District, which has had an Armenian dual-immersion program for years.
As The Los Angeles Times reports, last year, Mountain View launched a pilot program with two kindergarten classes. Students spent half their time in a classroom in which their teacher spoke only Armenian to them and half their time in an English-speaking classroom.
On Tuesday, the school expanded the program to first grade, with hopes to add a grade each year up to fifth grade. About 80 students are in the program, about half classified as English learners, said principal Richard Guillen.