Armenian Teachers Association

Armenian Educators Association

Sara Chitjian created The Armenian Teachers Association with the intention of providing specific help for the incoming Armenian students arriving from Beirut because of the civil war and Soviet Armenia in the early 1970’s. This was a time when most teachers were not familiar with the Armenian culture. Initially the district saw no need for the Armenian program however Sara persisted and constructed her first program thru comparing parallels between Native Americans and Armenians, two cultures having lost their homeland and experienced Genocide.

Cultural Awareness by Sara Chitjian

In The Beginning

Teaching Armenian Heritage in the school system.

Sara’s mandate to establish the “Ethnic Studies Program”

A letter of gratitude Sara received after a teacher experienced attending the first Ethnic Studies program

Sara Chitjian played a crucial role in the development of education within the LAUSD and received many awards for doing so.

Governor Deukmejian congratulates Sara for her contributions as a teacher.

Vital Documents from The Armenian Educators Association

Our Armenian Heritage in comparison

LAUSD begins to incorporate Armenian studies in areas with large clusters of Armenian students.

English classes now offered for adults

The school nurse was the first to need a document translated into Armenian. Hampartzoum was enlisted to help translate until the school got an Armenian typewriter.

Sara’s letter of explanation

Three Significant Armenian Holidays

Sara Chitjian addressed the Mayor of Los Angeles to include Three significant Armenian Holidays into the calendar of the city with emphasis placed on April 24th. It was her efforts that created April 24th into the Los Angeles school calendar as an excusable absence for that day.