Principal's Message
Arizona Gakuen School
Kumiko Hirano
The metropolitan Phoenix area is now the fifth largest city in the United States, and its development has been remarkable in recent years. Along with its rapid growth, the number of Japanese in Arizona is also increasing.
Arizona Gakuen School, which started in 1991 with 51 students, is the only Japanese supplementary school in Arizona. As of 2019, the number of students has increased five times, and currently there are more than 250 students. We meet at Mesa Community College every Saturday.
Honorable Japanese Consul Mr. Kerry Moeur, a former principal of Arizona Gakuen School, local community, and many people have dedicated their time and effort which resulted today’s prosperity and development of the school. We continue to thrive to meet the needs of the Japanese families and the local community.
In addition to expatriate families from Japan, the school consists of many local and permanent resident of Japanese families and international marriage families. Expectations for children with different family environments are naturally different, however, I believe that our mission is to help children grow in Japanese education with Japanese culture depending on their needs even though the needs of each child / student and their parents differ.
Unlike the full-time school system, the supplementary school offers lessons in accordance with the courses of study established by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan in a very limited situation. However, at present, the school faces the challenges such as enriching class content, dealing with children with different proficiency levels, and securing enough teachers.
In order to tackle these issues, the understanding and cooperation of local residents and parents is indispensable, and you can actively participate in and support the activities at the school. We believe that this will lead to the construction of a better learning environment for your children at our school.
In addition, a good learning environment for children attending supplementary schools is their home learning which occupies a great deal of importance. Children's learning activities which parents actively engage in daily base are as important as the classroom activities at school. It is truly valuable for better learning environment for success.
I hope that our students will be able to acquire Japanese language skills and culture as Japanese and actively play active roles in today’s international community as a global human. We hope for your understanding and support for the realization of our mission in Japanese education in Arizona.
Arizona Gakuen School, which started in 1991 with 51 students, is the only Japanese supplementary school in Arizona. As of 2019, the number of students has increased five times, and currently there are more than 250 students. We meet at Mesa Community College every Saturday.
Honorable Japanese Consul Mr. Kerry Moeur, a former principal of Arizona Gakuen School, local community, and many people have dedicated their time and effort which resulted today’s prosperity and development of the school. We continue to thrive to meet the needs of the Japanese families and the local community.
In addition to expatriate families from Japan, the school consists of many local and permanent resident of Japanese families and international marriage families. Expectations for children with different family environments are naturally different, however, I believe that our mission is to help children grow in Japanese education with Japanese culture depending on their needs even though the needs of each child / student and their parents differ.
Unlike the full-time school system, the supplementary school offers lessons in accordance with the courses of study established by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan in a very limited situation. However, at present, the school faces the challenges such as enriching class content, dealing with children with different proficiency levels, and securing enough teachers.
In order to tackle these issues, the understanding and cooperation of local residents and parents is indispensable, and you can actively participate in and support the activities at the school. We believe that this will lead to the construction of a better learning environment for your children at our school.
In addition, a good learning environment for children attending supplementary schools is their home learning which occupies a great deal of importance. Children's learning activities which parents actively engage in daily base are as important as the classroom activities at school. It is truly valuable for better learning environment for success.
I hope that our students will be able to acquire Japanese language skills and culture as Japanese and actively play active roles in today’s international community as a global human. We hope for your understanding and support for the realization of our mission in Japanese education in Arizona.
