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Lithuanian language this year was represented by Gaila Narkeviciene (Director of Boston Lithuanian School), Neila Baumiliene (Director of the Kazickas Family Foundation, NY), Irena Sebeda (Teacher at Boston Lithuanian School) and Gintaute Genender (Director of A. Kazickas Lithuanian School).

Just like 45 Lithuanian Schools in the US, all community-based heritage language schools are typically non-profit organizations founded and operated by parents from the respective immigrant or heritage language community for the purpose of maintaining and teaching the language and culture of their heritage.

Even though they typically operate outside the public and private school systems and receive no financial support, they supplement the education that students receive in their regular schools and contribute to students’ overall academic achievement. By raising young Language Ambassadors and Cultural Interpreters, schools raise awareness of the value of bilingualism in the country.

The 2019 conference offered informative sessions for school administrators, teachers, and researchers about developing and maintaining a strong community-based program, the possibility of gaining language recognition for students through the Seal of Biliteracy and the Global Seal of Biliteracy, project-based learning, differentiating instruction, and outreach strategies and tools for community-based schools.

Lithuanian Heritage Schools’ have been struggling to get access to Lithuanian language exams evaluating students’ language proficiency which directly translates to school credits, better chances to college admissions and scholarships. Meeting representatives from the Seal of Biliteracy and Global Seal of Biliteracy and searching for ways to make it available to Lithuanian students is a big step toward a wide range of possibilities to young Lithuanian language Ambassadors all across the US.

Every year language representatives learn from each other’s experiences and share the latest accomplishments. This year Gaila Narkeviciene presented the workshop on differentiating instruction to engage and meet the needs of all learners, while Neila Baumiliene shared her experience in developing and sustaining effective community-based school.

The Coalition of Community-Based Language Schools is a nationwide initiative established to support, guide, and promote the interests of such schools and organizations across the United States. It helps to increase the visibility and recognition of these schools/programs within the U.S. education system on local, state, and national levels; and documents places where heritage language teaching and learning are taking place in these schools in the United States. The coalition works closely with the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL); National Heritage Language Resource Center (NHLRC) at UCLA; the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and Global Seal of Biliteracy.

The Kazickas Family Foundation has been supporting Lithuanian Heritage Schools in the US through Alexandra Kazickas Grant Program since 2012 giving Lithuanian education in the US a boost to develop stronger curriculum, prepare students for Lithuanian language proficiency exam and teach them responsibility to serve as Lithuanian Language Ambassadors.