Director:
Dirigente scolastico Marina Lenza
email: marina.lenza@esteri.it
Contacts:
email: scuola.chicago@esteri.it
Tel: (312) 995 5489
The Education Office promotes Italian language Programs in the american schools in the Consular District.
The Education Office’s primary responsibilities:
- monitoring the Italian language courses in K12 schools, in terms of continuity and quality;
- collaborating with public and private educational institutions, to support the activities of the Italian courses;
- establishing contacts with the Departments of Education of the States of the Districts, Counties and School Districts, to implement Italian language and culture programs in contexts where the teaching of Italian is not present, providing with information and teaching materials the Representatives of public and private schools;
- organizing professional development initiatives for Italian language teachers, in collaboration with local universities and professional associations;
- assisting schools in applying for grants from the Italian Government to contribute to the costs of teachers’ salary;
- organizing activities, contests and projects for students of Italian in American schools and universities;
- promoting cooperation agreements for Study Exchange Programs between American schools and Italian schools;
- facilitating cooperation agreements to promote scholarships and internships in Italy for American students enrolled in Italian programs;
- organizing initiatives to facilitate interaction between Italian students in American schools and universities with Italian and American companies.
1) PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLLABORATING WITH THE ITALIAN CONSULATE, EDUCATION OFFICE
All the schools in the Consular District involved in teaching Italian language collaborate directly with the Consulate General in Chicago.
41 schools (public and private) and 6 private language schools and cultural associations promote Italian courses in the States of Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin, in collaboration with the Education Office.
The annual survey promoted by the Italian Consulate for the academic year 2021/2022 recorded 5,463 students in Italian courses (4,676 students in public and private schools and 787 students in private language schools/cultural associations).
2) STARTING AN ITALIAN LANGUAGE PROGRAM
The Italian Consulate Education Office assists american schools willing to establish new italian Programs, through:
– Information to the Representatives of public and private schools interested in starting an Italian program, both as a curricular activity and as basic extracurricular activity (that should possibly evolve in a curricular full program). Hopefully not only High schools, but also Primary and Middle Schools, should be involved in the project.
– Assistance to schools in recruiting teachers for new Italian language programs, and providing teacher professional training and teaching materials.
3) APPLICATION FOR GRANT FROM ITALIAN GOVERNMENT TO SUPPORT ITALIAN LANGUAGE PROGRAMS IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS
The contributions from the Italian Government (Cap. 2619 pg 2) are aimed to support a portion of the expenses of the teacher’s salary.
It is not a donation: the teacher is recruited with a contract from the school/district who will pay for the salary. The school/district will receive the funds from the Italian Ministry at the end of the school year.
Procedures for application for the grant from Italian Government
- Schools can apply for the contribution from the Italian Government each year, in March, after the starting of the courses; they have to provide information about the number of the courses, number of teachers and number of students enrolled. The amount of the contribution will be determined after the beginning of the program and the grant will be paid after the end of the school year.
- In the following years, depending on the funds available and the data that the school will provide, the contribution may be maintained or reduced or increased, according to the number of weekly/total teaching hours, based on the teacher’s average hourly cost.
4) AP IN ITALIAN
The AP Italian Language and Culture Exam assesses students’ proficiency in Italian.
It is normally taken during High School senior year and is equivalent to a college-level course.
Students who pass AP Italian, depending on the score, can receive credits in most US universities and in many universities abroad.
A list of all universities which have an agreement with the College Board can be found in the College Board Website.
Students who have graduated from an American High School and have passed AP in Italian and 2 other APs in subjects related to the future academic studies, can directly enroll in the Italian universities.
2.200 students have passed AP Italian in 2022, with a slight increase despite of health emergency.
This trend is substantially confirmed for 2023, which is evidence of the great interest of American students for the Italian language.
Students taking AP in Italian can apply to Eduitalia Association, that is an association joined by about 100 Italian schools and universities, offering to USA students scholarships for a study experience in Italy.
5) OSSERVATORIO NAZIONALE DELLA LINGUA ITALIANA NEGLI USA
The Osservatorio Nazionale della Lingua Italiana negli USA is aimed to determine the annual Strategic Plan for the Promotion of Italian Language in american schools and the initiatives to implement these goals.
The Local Observatory consists of representatives of schools and universities as well of association and Italian businesses companies who cooperate to implement shared strategies to spread and improve the study of Italian language in the Consular District.
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