Program made possible by cooperation between Moscow City Department of Education and Moscow Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International

CONTACT:
Chicago Sister Cities
sistercities@cityofchicago.org
(312)744-8074

CHICAGO, IL: On July 5, five Noble Street College Prep seniors–Hannah Oluyadi, Samantha Perez, Esmerelda Rivera, Lisette Garcia and Jose Castallanos–and their teacher, Ms. Erin Mueller departed a plane destined for the 8th Annual International Summer School of Russian Language in Moscow from July 6-28. The students were selected for participation based on academic excellence in Russian language classes and passion for Russian culture.  All are minority students and come from low-income families.  Although some have traveled outside the United States, none has taken a trip of this magnitude before.

During their 21 days in Moscow, students will immerse themselves in Russian language classes five days a week, participate in excursions of Moscow, and attend a national cultural festival.  At the culmination of the program, each student will be awarded a certificate of completion from the International Summer School of Russian Language.  Additionally, they will earn enrichment credit at Noble Street for completing the program. 

ABOUT NOBLE STREET
Noble Street College Prep is the founding campus of the Noble Network of Charter Schools.  The Noble Network is Chicago’s top-ranked open enrollment high school and is also Chicago’s largest charter high school network, serving 5,000 students.

Noble Street is one of a few high schools in the nation to provide Russian language classes.  Students studying Russian receive two years of study in reading, writing, history and culture.  They also attend monthly Russian cultural events, which in 2009 included a visit from His Excellency Sergey Kislyak, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States,  Since Noble Street opened in 1999, over 800 students have completed the two-year program.  The Russian program engages these students, the majority of whom are Hispanic, in learning a challenging language very different from their own, while gaining an understanding of another culture and broadening their global perspective.  

ABOUT CSCI
Chicago Sister Cities International is committed to promoting Chicago as a global city, developing international partnerships and networks, and sharing best practices on a city-to-city basis.