The Armenian Sisters Academy (ASA; ) is a

Pre-K Pre-kindergarten (also called pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through eighth grade institution located in the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

suburb of

Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania Upper Merion Township is a Township (Pennsylvania), township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 33,613 at the 2020 U.S. Census. Located from Philadelphia, it consists of the villages of Gulph Mills, Pennsylva ...

, with a Radnor postal address. It is in proximity to Radnor Township. Its campus is a former estate. The name is also shared by two sister schools founded later in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The Armenian Sisters Academy is run by Sister Emma and Sister Hovanna who teach

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

and

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

classes, while a mostly

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faculty teach homeroom classes.

History

In 1963, at the request of Msgr. Stephen Stepanian, then pastor of St. Mark's Armenian Catholic Church in Philadelphia, three nuns, Sister Valentine, Sister Hripsime and Sister Arousiag, were sent from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to establish an Armenian day school. All three originated from

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. After four years of preparation, the first Armenian day school on the East Coast was started in a two-room facility, a rowhouse, with an initial enrollment of 16 children, in 1967. The school was initially in

Southwest Philadelphia Southwest Philadelphia (formerly Kingsessing Township) is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The section can be described as extending from the western side of the Schuylkill River to the city line, with the SEPTA. The no ...

. The Board of Directors was formed in 1968 made up of Armenian-Americans of the Philadelphia area community. Generous financial and moral support of the Armenian community assisted the Board and the Sisters in their efforts to establish this school. Between 1967 and 1975 a grade was added each year, and the enrollment grew to 165. The school was relocated three times to accommodate its growing needs. At one time it was in

Newtown Square Newtown Township, also referred to by the name of its post office of Newtown Square, is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Prior to 1789, it was part of Chester County, along with the rest of Delaware County. As of t ...

. In October 1975, after eight years of moving from one facility to another, the first students of the new school building moved into the current hilltop campus in the Radnor area. Thanks to the financial generosity of the Philadelphia Armenian community it has been able to keep tuition low in order to provide an education to any Armenian child that desires it. It received an expansion in 2004. In 2005 the Academy doubled in size when it added a new state-of-the-art educational wing and gymnasium. The Radnor location was renamed the Armenian Sisters Academy- Vosbikian Campus in honor of Peter and Irene Vosbikian for their great support of the expansion project and the school itself throughout the years. In 2002 the enrollment was about 225. In 2012-2013, the school added smartboards to all the classrooms which significantly helped teachers have the resources they needed to maintain the students' education. The eighth grade class of 2012 visited Armenia as their class trip after graduating, and the eighth grade class of 2014 did the same. These two grades were able to visit many historical Armenian sites and give them a true vision of what they had been learning while at the Academy. By 2012 the enrollment was down to 135. Kristin E. Holmes of ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' wrote that by 2012 area parents were more cautious about spending money and the public schools in the area were considered to be of high quality. It was scheduled to begin a program for children aged 1 1/2-2 1/2 in September 2012. During the 2020

COVID-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Pennsylvania in March 2020. , the Pennsylvania Department of Health has confirmed 1,464,264 cumulative cases and 29,814 deaths in the state. , Pennsylvania has administered ...

, the school has remained open for in-person classes.

Curriculum

It has a

Montessori education The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...

curriculum for preschool.

Demographics

People of at least partial Armenian origins, in 2012, were about 90% of the student body.

References

External links

Armenian Sisters Academy official website
{{Armenian schools outside of Armenia Armenian-American culture in Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1967 Philadelphia Main Line Armenian-American private schools 1967 establishments in Pennsylvania Schools in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Private K–8 schools in Pennsylvania Schools in Philadelphia

History

Curriculum

Demographics

See also

References

External links