The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) will provide 2 educator workshops and 1 family webinar on April 7, April 8, and April 19, focused on effective methods for implementing Armenian Genocide education in classrooms and promoting cross-cultural understanding in the community.

“Teaching educators and community members about this dark – and often neglected – era of history is extremely important to the Armenian Cause,” remarked ANCA-WR Education Committee member Sedda Antekelian. “We must ensure that future generations understand the implications of the Armenian Genocide, to prevent future atrocities,” she continued.

On October 6, 2020, the LAUSD Board of Education unanimously voted to give families across the district the day off on April 24 to observe and remember the start of the Armenian Genocide. The resolution also called on the district to conduct professional development workshops to appropriately and meaningfully teach the students, staff and the community about the atrocities. The ANCA-WR has been working in collaboration with the office of LAUSD President Kelly Gonez to ensure that the staff and community understand the significance of the day and learn about the importance of human rights.

The educator workshops aimed at Elementary (K-5) teachers will help build foundational knowledge on Armenian Heritage, the Armenian Genocide and recent events in Artsakh. It will focus on helping educators empower the students to become caring community members, by exploring the significance of cross-cultural understanding, belonging and civil responsibility through the lens of the Armenian experience. Middle and High School teachers will further expand on these themes and will learn about stories of survival and resilience as well as the unique role that the U.S. played in providing humanitarian support during and after the Armenian Genocide.

The webinar for families will focus on how to have meaningful conversations about culture and identity to expand their skills for social-emotional learning and how to be a responsible citizen in their community. This workshop will also include remarks from California State Senator Anthony Portantino, California State Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian, and LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner.

Space for this workshop is limited. Interested participants can register online