AGBU to Phase Out Its School Activity in Toronto - Shall Direct Its Resources to Strengthening Cultural and Youth Programs - Establishes a Major Endowment in the Name of Taniel and Alice Zaroukian

New York, NY (January 26, 2012) – The AGBU Central Board of Directors announced today that it will phase out the operation of its Zaroukian School in Toronto by the end of the current 2011-2012 School year. The AGBU Central Board concurrently announced the establishment of a Major Endowment in the Name of Taniel and Alice Zaroukian, in recognition of their substantial gift to AGBU and their past generosity in constructing the Taniel and Alice Zaroukian School and donating it to AGBU. Through this new endowment, AGBU will provide scholarships annually to college graduate and/or university undergraduate and university post-graduate candidates of Armenian descent starting with the academic year 2015, to memorialize the dedication of Taniel and Alice Zaroukian and their support for AGBU's educational and cultural initiatives. The Central Board is confident that this new initiative will help many aspiring young and talented college graduates and university students achieve their goals and aspirations through generous tuition assistance and fellowships. The AGBU elementary school of Toronto named after Daniel and Alice Zaroukian was established in 1985 and for the past 27 years has offered an enriched curriculum that combines an academic program based on state standards with Armenian language teaching and cultural experiences in a small school setting. Over the past five years, in spite of the targeted efforts of AGBU's Education Department in collaboration with the school board at maintaining a strong academic program and instructional best practices, through administrative and faculty changes, teacher development initiatives and better communication with the parents and the community, enrollment has steadily declined and has reached a point where it is now prohibitive to the sustenance of an optimal learning environment. Consequently, the Central Board of Directors decided to relinquish its school activity in Toronto and phase it out at the end of the current 2011-2012 school year. AGBU appreciates the support of the parents, dedicated administrators, teachers and families, donors and the school community, who over the many years of the school's existence helped provide a safe and nurturing atmosphere in which students thrived in an Armenian educational and cultural environment. AGBU will divert its financial resources to strengthening its cultural and youth programs in Toronto, and to encouraging participation in its many activities, such as its Armenia-based programs that provide internships and strong bonding opportunities through camps, work-and-study experiences, and excursions that combine social service initiatives, in addition to the online multilingual Armenian language, history and cultural resources provided through the Armenian Virtual College, by subsidizing their expenses. AGBU remains committed to supporting the global educational initiatives of its constituencies worldwide, providing financial and technical support to the existing schools where the quality of the academic programs and the support of the local communities make the operation of these schools viable, concurrently offering a variety of alternative programs which target the larger population of adolescents and youth outside of our traditional community organizations, incorporating social media and online information technologies.