Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
near
Chicago
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. As of 1988 it is sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Education, now the
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community ...
(MEXT).Lyman, Rick. "The Japanese Way In A Quiet New York School, 463 Children Of Japan's Corporate Elite Get A Proper Education." ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
''. April 22, 1988. p 2 Retrieved on November 9, 2012. Before moving to Arlington Heights in 1998, the Futabakai education program was previously located in
Chicago
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, Skokie, and Niles in Illinois, with the day program beginning during the period in Skokie.
As of 1994 the school is not affiliated with any Japanese school system or university.Park, Andrew. "The ABCs of Asian schools." '' Transpacific'', Transpacific Media, Inc.. 9.4 (June 1994): p46+. Available on General OneFile, Gale Group, Document ID: GALE, A15239827
History
The Chicago Futabakai Japanese School Saturday school was first established by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chicago in May 1966. It opened in a Baptist church in
Chicago
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Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
''. June 25, 1986. F32. Retrieved on January 10, 2012. "To visit the Chicago Futabakai Japanese School at 8101 Cumberland Ave. in Niles .. and " ..he former Kenton School at 4600 Main St., Skokie, .. and " .. branch Saturday School ..he former Niles Township High School East, at Lincoln and Niles Avenues, Skokie" and " ..otre Dame High School, 7655 Dempster St., Niles, .. It was the first Japanese school in the
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
''. June 14, 1992. Page 18. Retrieved on January 10, 2012. The Saturday school moved to
Skokie, Illinois
Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, neighboring the City of Chicago's northern border. Its population, according to the 2020 census, was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's do ...
, in May 1978. At that time, the day school opened in Skokie, with four teachers sent by the Japanese government. The day school first opened with 100 students in grades 1 through 7. In 1981 a branch Saturday school for middle and high school students opened at the former Niles East High School in Skokie. In August 1984 the Saturday school and day school moved to
Niles, Illinois
Niles is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located in the townships of Maine and Niles, directly neighboring the City of Chicago's far northwest border. Per the 2020 census, the population was 30,912. The current mayor of Niles ...
. In April 1985, due to a lack of space in the Niles school, the Saturday school classes for grades 7 through 12 moved to rented classrooms at Notre Dame High School in Niles. As of 1988 the school was less than half the size of the
New York Japanese School
, also known as The Greenwich Japanese School (GJS), is a Japanese elementary and junior high school,economic recession in Japan had caused a decline in students. For a twenty-year period the day school operated in obscurity. This ended in 1998 when the day school moved into a new location.Deardorff, Julie and Karen Cullotta Krause. School Mourns In Its Own Way
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
''. May 20, 1998. Metro Northwest Start Page 1. Retrieved on January 10, 2012. The current campus in Arlington Heights opened on Monday April 6, 1998, and classes at that location began on Friday April 10, 1998. During that year its day school had 230 students and its Saturday Japanese language school had 720 students.Davis, Jon. Japanese school opens in Arlington Heights " '' Chicago Daily Herald''. April 7, 1998. News 6. Retrieved on January 10, 2012.
On Monday, May 18, 1998, two school officials boarded a helicopter so they could arrange the taking of aerial photographs of the school for a brochure. 49-year-old Shinobu Sada, the vice principal, 38-year-old Kazuya Yamaguchi, an art teacher, 62-year-old Yasuo Sato, a photographer from Wilmette, Illinois, and 40-year-old Scott Maras, a helicopter pilot from
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Lake Geneva is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Walworth County and situated on Geneva Lake, it is home to an estimated 8,105 people as of 2019, up from 7,651 at the 2010 census. It is located about 40 miles southwest of Milwa ...
, died when the helicopter crashed into a house in Arlington Heights.
Operations
The Futabakai operates the day school and the Saturday school, which are private schools registered with the State of Illinois. The parent organization of the Futabakai is the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community ...
provides the guidelines under which the day and Saturday schools are operated. The funding for the day and Saturday schools originates from tuition, support from the Japanese government, and donations from Japanese businesses in the Chicago area. As of 1986 the Japanese government provides faculty, financial assistance to cover building expenses, textbooks, and teaching materials at no additional charge. As of 1992 the Japanese government covers half of the school's operating expenses.
According to Ken Mitani, an administrator at the school, 20% of the school's funding originates from the Ministry of Education of Japan and from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Chicago.
As of 1994 there is a requirement that parents of students at the day school be members of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Chicago. They may be a part of a corporate membership or be individual members. As of 1994, the yearly tuition was, for students in grades 1–5, $1,620 ($ when adjusted for inflation), and for students in grades 6–9, $1,740 ($ when adjusted for inflation). Mitani stated that year that the decline in students could cause fees to increase.
As of 1986, in Japan, the Ministry of Education requires domestic schools to offer a 40-week school year, with six instructional days per week, making a total of 240 instructional days per year. The Japanese school year begins in April, and terminates in March. As of 1998, corresponding to the beginning of the Japanese school year, the Futabakai school year begins in April. Unlike domestic Japanese schools, Futabakai has to schedule separate Saturday schools, so it offers 200 school days per year for day school students. As of 1986, in order to qualify for state aid, Illinois public schools were required to have classes in session for at least 180 days, including teacher institute days. As of 1992 Futabakai has a day school year of around 200 days, while area public school students had a school year of 187 days. Both the Futabakai and American systems had an equal number of hours devoted to educational instruction. Students, as of 1998, have about ten weeks per year where they do not attend school. As of 1986, instead of having one large summer vacation, students have smaller intermittent vacations throughout the school year. As of 1990 holidays include traditional Japanese holidays and a holiday after the end of the school year.Evans, Kimberley D. Life Lessons
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
''. May 16, 1990. Style 12. Retrieved on January 11, 2012.
Futabakai operates a Saturday school program for students who attend local American schools. The Saturday program involves the study of the Japanese language and mathematics. The Saturday school, as of 1990, meets 44 times per year, and within its scope, students study many of the same courses that the day students study. In 1990, parents said that this causes the pace of the Saturday program to be more accelerated.
Campus
The day school opened at its current location in 1998.Davis, Jon. School provides link to homeland for Japanese kids in Chicago area " '' Chicago Daily Herald''. April 6, 1998. News 6. Retrieved on January 10, 2012. The current campus was the former Rand Middle School building, which closed in 1983.
When the day school opened, it was located in the former Kenton School in Skokie. That location is now used as the Arie Crown Hebrew Day School. In August 1984, the day school moved to the then-former Emerson Middle School in Niles, a two-story schoolhouse rented from the Park Ridge-Niles School District 64. Chicago Futabakai chose this location because it was central to many Japanese families living in the Chicago metropolitan area. While the school was in the Niles campus, all signage at the school was in the Japanese language. The former Niles campus is now used as Emerson Middle School.
Student body
As of 1994 almost all of the students are Japanese nationals.'' Transpacific, Volume 9, Issues 1-4''. AsiAm Pub., 1994 49 Retrieved from
Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
on January 11, 2012. "Almost 100% of the school's 280 students are Japanese nationals .. Most of the students of Futabukai reside in the U.S. temporarily while their parents work in the US.Temkin, Jody. Just Like Home " ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
''. January 8, 1995. Tempo Northwest 1. Retrieved on January 10, 2012. As of 1986 the student body for the day program was mainly in an area bounded by Deerfield to the north, the North Side of
Chicago
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to the south,
Schaumburg
Schaumburg is a district (''Landkreis'') of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (clockwise from the north) the districts of Nienburg, Hanover and Hamelin-Pyrmont, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (districts of Lippe and Minden-Lübbe ...
to the west, and
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
to the east. Some students attended the Saturday school only because they lived too far away to commute every day for school; some Japanese companies required employees to live in company-provided housing in the Chicago Loop. In 1995 most students came from Chicago suburbs in the north and northwest, and some students commuted up to one hour per direction to attend Chicago Futabakai.
In 1986 the Saturday school had 800 children in grades Kindergarten through 12. In 1992 the school had about 280 students in elementary and junior high school. During the same year around 1,000 children attended the Saturday school program. In 1995 the day school had 275 students in grades 1 through 9. While the school was located in Niles, the peak enrollment for the day school was 300, and the peak enrollment for the Saturday school was 1,000. In 1998, 230 students attended the day classes and about 730 attended the Saturday classes.
In 1995 Tsuneo Akasaka, the principal, said that it was common for a Japanese national student to transfer to Chicago Futabakai from a public school in preparation for eventually returning to Japan, while it is not common for a student to transfer from Futabakai to a public school. Akasaka added that if a student was going to an American high school instead of going to high school in Japan, then a student typically would transfer to a public school.
Faculty
As of 1986 the Japanese government assigns teachers for the day and Saturday program in three year shifts. In 1986 the day school had 21 full-time teachers and 2 part-time teachers. Of all of the teachers, the Japanese government had sent 14 of them. Of the 32 teachers of the Saturday school, the Japanese government sent 2. In 1992 the Japanese government sent 16 teachers to Chicago Futabakai. In 1995 the day school had 28 teachers, with 16 teachers from Japan and 12 local teachers. Some of the local teachers were English teachers who did not know how to speak Japanese.
Day school curriculum
As of 1998, American social studies and English as a foreign language are taught in English, but all other classes are taught in Japanese. As of 1992, in order to be admitted, the student has to be able to understand Japanese.
As of 1992 the students take
calligraphy
Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
classes. As of 1995 students tend to learn at a quicker pace than at American schools. For instance, in 1995 first graders at Futabakai learned addition, subtraction, and numbers up to 200. During the same year American first graders typically learned numbers up to 100. Takanori Tajima, a first grade teacher, said that in all subjects the acts of learning and playing are combined. As of 1990 students are required to take music and physical education classes. As of the same year, because the students have so many required classes, the school does not offer electives.
See also
*
Japanese in Chicago
Among the Japanese in the Chicago metropolitan area, there are Japanese-American and Japanese expatriate populations. Early Japanese began arriving around the time of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. During World War II, Japanese-Americ ...
* ''
Chicago Shimpo
The , published by Chicago Shimpo, Inc. (シカゴ新報社 ''Shikago Shinpō-sha''), is a Japanese-American newspaper published for readers in the Chicago, Illinois area. As of 1995 it was published twice weekly.Lev, Michael A. "Struggling To Kee ...
* 松平 昭二. "Current situation and issues in Japanese educational institutions overseas : Focusing in particular, on how to improve Children's Physical Activities and to promote the improvement of Teaching Skills of Teachers at the Chicago Japanese School" (在外教育施設の現状と課題 : 特に、シカゴ日本人学校における子供の体力向上と教員の指導力向上を図る取組を中心として). 運動とスポーツの科学 20(1), 99–111, 2014. 日本運動・スポーツ科学学会 See profile at CiNii.
* 白上 未知子. "海外でも調べ学習!(新連載・第1回)シカゴ双葉会日本語学校 補習授業校と全日校が共有する図書館の試み (図書館を使った"調べる"学習賞コンクール 特集号)." Owl (あうる) (76), 32–35, 2007–04. 図書館の学校 See profile at CiNii.
Chicago
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Chicago
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