ANC-Glendale Chapter Hosts Path to College Forum for Parents
October 4, 2007

Glendale, CA –Glendale, CA – In an effort to further reach out to the Armenian-American community, the Armenian National Committee – Glendale Chapter joined forces with the Glendale Unified School District in hosting a Path to College Community Forum for parents and students Wednesday evening. 

The program began at 6:30pm with a welcome speech by ANC-Glendale Chapter Executive Director, Elen Asatryan, followed by comments from GUSD Superintendent Dr Michael Escalante, CA State Assemblymember Paul Krekorian, and GUSD Board of Education President Greg Krikorian.

“ANC-Glendale Chapter organized the Path to College forum series to help Armenian-American parents better understand the Glendale School System  The information provided will ultimately allow them to be effective in guiding their student to success,” stated Executive Director of ANC Glendale, Elen Asatryan. “Our mission is to serve the community, we hope to see more parents join us during the second forum, which will take place on October 17th,” added Asatryan.

GUSD Board Member, Nayiri Nahabedian informed parents about ELAC (English Learner Advisory Committee), Healthy Start and CASPS (Committee for Armenian Students in Public Schools), while PTA Council Historian, Elizabeth Manasserian discussed the benefits of joining the PTA (Parent Teacher Association).

The main presentation prepared and presented by GUSD Counselors, Karine Turdjian and Arsine Hovannesian included information about high school graduation and college/university admission requirements, calculation of GPA, transcripts, ELD and AP classes, as well as ways parents can effectively communicate with their students’ school.  At the end of the program, parents were given the opportunity to ask questions to school officials present.

"It was a privilege to be one of the presenters at the educational forum.  I would like to thank the ANC for organizing this one-of-a-kind event and giving us the opportunity to provide much needed information to our Armenian parents pertaining to high school graduation and college admission,” stated Karine Turdjian, Counselor at Daily High School.  “Our mission will be complete if this presentation served its purpose of increasing parents' involvement in their students' academic lives which would lead to great academic success and creating safe and caring learning environment," added Turdjian.

The second of the two forums will take place on Wednesday, October 17th from 6:30pm-8:30pm at Toll Middle School’s Auditorium, located at 700 Glenwood Road, Glendale, CA.  During the forum, information will be provided about university admission requirements, university application process and deadlines, financial aid, SAT & ACT university admission exams as well as how to write personal statements. 

Questions regarding the upcoming event can be directed to ANC – Glendale Chapter at 818.243.3444 or info@ancglendale.org. RSVP's for the event are encouraged. 

“We thank the organizing committee for putting together this event, Glendale Unified School District for Cosponsoring, and the parents who attended,” stated ANC Board Member, Zareh Sinanyan.  “Our hope is that this event will set a precedent for future cooperation between all those concerned with the future of our youth,” added Sinanyan.

The Armenian National Committee - Glendale Chapter advocates for the social, economic, cultural, and political rights of the city's Armenian American community and promotes increased Armenian American civic participation at the grassroots and public policy levels. It is the voice of this vibrant community, which seeks to advance and enrich Glendale.

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