ARCS Project

Global Competence Certificate for Heritage Language Speakers
2021-04-24 - 2023-09-07
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Migrant/Bilingual Department has awarded a first-ever Heritage Language Program Grant to Evergreen Public Schools in Vancouver, WA, to develop a year-long remote-learning program for Heritage Language speakers of Romanian, Russian, and Spanish. The project will support the students to develop their language proficiency and literacy in their Heritage Language while also preparing a portfolio for the Global Competence Certificate in the Heritage Language (and English too, if they like) through the World Affairs Council in Seattle.

Upon completion of the program, students will also have the opportunity to complete World Language Competency-Based Credit testing to earn high school credits in their language and potentially qualify for the Washington State Seal of Biliteracy. They may also qualify for the Global Seal of Biliteracy https://theglobalseal.com/.
The grant will also fund a series of workshops for teachers throughout the state to learn more about effective Heritage Language teaching practices.
Evergreen Public Schools will be partnering with a number of community-based organizations, including the American Romanian Cultural Society, Ethnic Heritage Council, Slavic East European Teachers Association of Washington, Washington Association for Language Teaching, Washington State Coalition for International Education, and the World Affairs Council Global Classroom.
The program will be open to Heritage Language speakers of Romanian, Russian, or Spanish in Evergreen Public Schools and other public high schools throughout the state.
To receive our email announcements please fill in this contact form. Or contact:

Dr. Michele Anciaux Aoki, Grant Project Manager
intledwa@gmail.com
Dr. Otilia Baraboi, Romanian Program Lead Instructor
otilia.baraboi@arcsproject.org
Dr. Svetlana Abramova, Russian Program Lead Instructor
svetlana.v.abramova@gmail.com
Mr. Pedro Lopez, Chaves, Spanish Program Lead Instructor
pedroeuropais@gmail.com
Ryan Hauck, Education Director, World Affairs Council
rhauck@world-affairs.org

View our presentation at the WAFLT 2020 Virtual Conference.
Info Sessions on Zoom October 22, 26, 29, Nov 2 and 5 – Register Now!
Come learn more about the new Heritage Language Grant for the Global Competence Certificate for Heritage Speakers.
What:
Year-long remote-learning program for students to earn the Global Competence Certificate for Heritage Speakers and the Global Seal of Biliteracy.
Who:
Public high school heritage speakers of Romanian, Russian, or Spanish. The students need to have intermediate knowledge of Romanian, Russian or Spanish.
When:
The program will run through the school year, beginning mid-December.
How Much:
The program is free for qualified public high school students, but space is very limited.
To receive our email announcements please fill in this contact form. To access this information in Romanian go here.
FAQs
Q: Who can register for this program?
A: Because of the state grant funding through OSPI Migrant/Bilingual, this program is only open to students attending public high schools in Washington state.
Q: What is the cost of the program?
A: The cost of the program is funded by the state grant, so there are no registration fees required of students and their families.
Q: When does the program begin?
A: We are planning to recruit students during October-November and expect to begin the program mid-December.
For more details about the program please go here.

Romanian American National Heritage Award - 6th Edition
2022-06-30 08:00 - 2022-11-30 17:00 UTC
Romanian American National Heritage Awards 2022, 6th edition The Romanian American National Heritage Award is an annual competition for high school students with Romanian heritage or background. Applicants of non-Romanian descent may qualify, as long as their work and experience relate to Romania or the Romanian community in the US. The award recognizes exceptional contributions to the cohesion of the Romanian community and the preservation of its heritage, language, culture and traditions. The jury representing the three organizations involved based their decision on the national and international impact of the volunteering activity described, the candidate's academic achievements and leadership potential and tracked record, as well as their future vision for the benefit of the Romanian community, locally and beyond. Congratulations to the Winners of This Year's Edition : • Platinum, National - Andreas Miclea (Northside College Preparatory High School, IL) • Gold, National - Briana Feier (Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School, OH) & Alexandra Rîmbu (Highland Park Senior High School, MN) • Silver, National - Robert Alexandru Cusmir (French-American School of New York, NY) • Platinum, East Coast - Mircea Gruia Florescu (The Hudson School, NJ) • Gold, East Coast - Ian Saracila (Spring Valley High School, SC) • Silver, East Coast - Liam Alexe (Avon High School, CT) • Platinum, Mid-West- Vlad Lovin (Culver Military Academy, IN) & Alexandra Lehene (Glenbrook South High School, IL) • Gold, Mid-West- Erin Tamasi (Community District 99 Downers Grove North High School, IL) , Daniel Rîmbu (Highland Park Senior High School, MN) and Nicholas Moigradan (Maine South High School, IL) • Silver, Mid-West - Inara Zayic (Minnetonka High School, MN), Dan Haidău (Wheeling High School, IL) , and Petru Matei Busu (Maine South High School, IL) • Platinum, West Coast - Victor Ene (Sunset High School, OR) • Gold, West Coast - Ana Gîrniță (Portola High School, CA) • Silver, West Coast - Larisa Sâmbotin (Skyline High School, WA) Granted by the American Romanian Cultural Society and Romanian United Fund, with the endorsement of the Embassy of Romania to the United States. The Award Ceremony will be hosted at the Alianța Gala on November 30th. With the support or ARCS Arizona and ARCS Detroit. Community Partners: Casa Română Please email us at contact@arcsproject.org if you want to join us as a community partner. Recognition and Awards All eligible participants will receive the official recognition of the Romanian Embassy in the United States and the top winners will receive awards of up to $1000. In the past years the award has helped the recipients distinguish themselves in their admission process to top colleges and institutions, such as Dartmouth College, Wesleyan University, Pitzer College, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, Whitman College, Purdue University, UW Honors, Harvard and many others. Timeline June 30 - Submission of Applications Opens October 15th - Submission of Applications Closes October 30 - Winners Announced Apply here. Eligibility: ​​Age and residence: For the 2022 edition, participants must be enrolled in High School in United States for the 2021-2022 academic year. Academic standing: Minimum unweighted High School GPA of 3.0 – or equivalent, running average for the last school year.Team work: Both individuals and teams can participate in the competition. Participation in teams is encouraged. To encourage leadership and simplify the evaluation process, the maximum team size is 5, including the leader. There are no Romanian or US citizenship requirements. There are no fees required, this competition is entirely free to participate for eligible students. ​Eligibility for national participantsThe top 5 winners of the regional competitions advance to the national competition. Evaluation criteria The following criteria will be used in the evaluation process (not all criteria are required, but they will strengthen your application): 1) Community work and leadershipThe number of volunteering hours and their visible outcome and results will be a strong factor in the evaluation. Where applicable and possible, volunteering and community work in Romania (e.g. groundbreaking projects with children, youth and seniors from underprivileged social backgrounds, or religious and ethnic minorities) will receive the jury's highest consideration. Please highlight this aspect in your application. Please provide a detailed description of your working experience, highlighting the ways in which your activity and leadership initiatives impacted the targeted community, strengthening its civic spirit and sense of unity. 2) Essay Please submit a short motivationalessay that will describe how your community work influenced your own personal growth and brought awarness to your bicultural and bilingual identity in the US. We strongly encourage applicants to model their essay from their college application essays, following a similar structure and attention to detail. The essay shall have no less than 200 words and no more than 650 words. 3) Recommendations from local community leadersYour essay and recommendations (up to 2) will play an important role in the evaluation process. A formal letter is not required, a name and contact info (email and/or phone number) will be sufficient. The contest organizers will reach out to confirm the recommendations. Romanian Heritage ConnectionApplicants of any cultural background may qualify, as long as they are able to prove their interest, work experience and connection to Romania. Examples of such proof: Passing an officially recognized Romanian language test – where availableAn essay in Romanian Volunteer work in Romania

ARCS Romanian Heritage Language and Culture School - Fall 2022
2022-10-03 - 2022-12-16
Are you interested in stimulating your children’s creativity, nourish their bicultural and bilingual heritage?
Our Romanian Heritage Language School offers innovative virtual classes and workshops for children, youth and adults with Romanian background or with an interest to learn Romanian, nationwide. Our teaching methods are based on the core principles of Heritage Language Education to nourish bilingualism and address holisitically the bi-cultural identity of our students through project-based activities, play, authentic sources, critical thinking, and meaningful interactions with their families and communities. Our students gain pride and confidence as heritage language speakers and learners of Romanian, while developing a global understanding of the world.
We are the first Romanian secular community-based school to have developed a teaching curriculum according to the priciples of HERITAGE EDUCATION, since 2016.
Our current students come from numerous regions in the US. We can accommodate to various time zones and have demonstrated experience teaching multiple levels and age groups.
Registration
REGISTRATION is now OPEN for ages 6+. Please REGISTER HERE. We will contact you to schedule a brief language evaluation, if necessary. Please see the payment options below after you register.
Payment Options
Most of our courses cost 25$/hour, $250 for 10 sessions in the winter quarter 2023.
We offer a 15% discount for students who have previously taken three classes with us.
Please scroll down to chose the payment option right for you. Thank you.
Scholarships
We offer scholarships to families in need. Please email us at contact@arcsproject.org if you would like to be considered.
Calendar & Holidays
We will work with parents and students to find the best times and days that work for you. The times indicated in the schedule are only orientative. Please fill out the registration form to let us know your availability.
Fall Quarter: October 3 – December 16

Thanksgiving break: November 21-25

Winter Quarter: January 9 – March 24

Mid-winter break: February 20-24

Spring Quarter: April 3 – June 16

Spring break: April 10-14
