Purpose of the fund

Japanese Language School of Greater Boston (JLS) was established under a non-profit organization, Japanese Association of Greater Boston, in 1975. It initially provided Japanese language education for a mere 25 students. Starting from scratch, members worked tirelessly to establish the school, with the first Principal Dr. Koichi Masubuchi, then a professor at MIT, at the center of these efforts. There were numerous hardships in the beginning, from locating classrooms to recruiting qualified teachers, and these tasks were carried out diligently by a group of volunteers together with Professor Masubuchi. In the beginning, JLS was a small organization which functioned primarily by the active involvement of the parents and guardians from the school, but the school has evolved into an organization of more than 700 students who study in one of its five divisions (Kindergarten, Elementary School, Middle School, High School and Japanese as a Second Language).

JLS is designated as a supplementary educational institution, whose operations consist of three hours of Japanese curriculum every Saturday. In the Elementary School, Middle School and High School, classes are taught in such a way that all students will be able to acquire basic skills in the subjects under study, primarily in Japanese language and using the same textbooks used in schools in Japan. Moreover, beyond Japanese language education, other subjects such as arithmetic/mathematics, Japanese history etc., and events related to Japanese culture, infant early education, activities such as Sport’s Day are also incorporated into the school curriculum to provide a diverse educational experience in Japanese.

All children at JLS also attend regular local schools on the weekdays, and on Saturday they come to JLS for Japanese-language education. Although it is generally believed that children are very adept at learning languages, in reality it is a difficult task to acquire two languages simultaneously. Navigating between two cultures may sometimes be confusing to the children. It may even expose them to conflicting customs or cultural experiences. Despite all these challenges, students at JLS study hard to master Japanese language in order to understand the importance of culture and society, and the importance of cooperation in daily life.

The Japanese Language School of Greater Boston Gift Fund was established to support our children who can make positive contribution to our international society in future. Although the Japanese Government generously supports about 10 percent of the annual operating budget of JLS, the main source of funding comes from student tuition and fees. From the start of the school, the policy of the school has been to try to be as self-reliant as possible, and JLS has managed to contain its operation cost with the full cooperation from parents and guardians. However, as it is recognized by many schools, JLS is also facing a growing budget constrain in the current economic environment.

The purpose of the Japanese Language School of Greater Boston Gift Fund is to provide a safe and better Japanese educational environment for our children in America. This fund will be used to supplement the expenses of renting classroom space, security costs, and other expenses related to improving student education. We would like to ask for your gracious and warm support for this fund. Your help will enable JLS to prepare more children who can make positive contributions to the world. Your generosity would be greatly appreciated.