NEW YORK — A. Fantis Parochial School of Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Brooklyn has been designated the First Greek Dual-Language UPK4 Program in New York City.

A. Fantis School of Saints Constantine and Helen Cathedral is pleased to announce it has been designated as NYC’s first Greek Dual Language UPK4 Program starting in the Fall 2021. With nearly 60 years of experience teaching Greek language, culture and history, Fantis was uniquely positioned to initiate this program. This application was years in the making and we are thrilled to begin this work.

Dual Language (DL) classrooms target an equal blend of families, half with English and half with Greek as the home language. Similarly, the days are split equally between English and Greek instruction so all students have an immersive experience in both languages. This has been shown to promote balanced bilingualism and biliteracy. With this early childhood immersion model serving as a foundation, our goal is to enhance Greek language fluency for all students throughout their education at Fantis.

Ongoing research has demonstrated the ample benefits of bilingualism beyond simple language fluency, including enhanced executive functioning and cognitive flexibility. In addition, our dual language learners will be able to more fully experience the rich culture and history of Greece through the language and traditions. The UPK4 DL Program fully aligns with our school’s vision of graduates who are fluent in Greek with a cultural literacy that stems from over a decade of exposure to its traditions, values and history. Similar to a university “study abroad” program that is distilled over their education and culminates in a week-long senior trip to Greece!

Want to learn more? Visit our final Open Houses in March so you can apply before the deadline in early April, 2021.