TCA Sponsor a Teacher Program

TCA Sponsor a Teacher Program

The Tekeyan Cultural Association of the United States and Canada began financially supporting schools in Armenia in 1986, at the end of the Soviet period, and continued this support in various ways. In view of the massive emigration from the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh to Russia, the Middle East and USA, which included many teachers, the Board of Directors of the Tekeyan Cultural Association of the United States and Canada (TCA), under the chairmanship of the late Vartkess Balian, approved of the Sponsor A Teacher program in 2000. It was launched in 2001, covering 4 schools in Armenia. In 2008, it added a fifth school, which was in Berdzor, Artsakh (Karabakh). This school was lost along with much of Artsakh as a result of the 2020 war and its teachers and staff dispersed in Armenia.

TCA raised funds in the USA and Canada and distributed these funds annually to 400 teachers and workers working in the TCA-adopted schools in Yerevan, Karbi, Gyumri, Stepanavan and, until 2020, Berdzor. The program has been coordinated since its inception by Maro Bedrosian, TCA Central Board treasurer. In Armenia and Artsakh, operations are handled by TCA’s representative Gayane Muradyan.

Thanks to this project, many stayed in our homeland and continued educating Armenian children, some of whom are destined to become the leaders of Armenia and Artsakh. Sponsor a Teacher in Armenia and Artsakh has raised over $709,507 and reached out to over 6,427 teachers and staff since its inception.

Please, join us and make a difference in the lives of those devoted teachers.

Make your checks out to Tekeyan Cultural Association, Memo: Sponsor A Teacher, and mail them to Sponsor A Teacher, 5326 Valverde, Houston, TX 77056. Your donation is tax-deductible.

Please note that TCA also has continued to provide other types of aid, including renovations, to the 5 Tekeyan schools, but this aid is through separate projects which are not included as part of the Sponsor a Teacher program.

Yerevan’s Vahan Tekeyan School No. 92

Vahan Tekeyan School No. 92 was founded in 1954 in the Malatya-Sebastia district and on January 27, 1987 was renamed after the poet Vahan Tekeyan. It had 490 students in 9 grades and 34 teachers during the 2017-18 school year. The principal is Tsovinar Mardanyan. This school became the “first born” of the Sponsor a Teacher Program and is proud of that fact.

In 2014, Armenian language and literature teacher Gayane Gharibyan said that the school feels more secure because TCA exists. She said, “We wait for you every year, and, thank God, we all are aware that this is not only for the money, but to meet with you and to have you by our side. There are two major goals: one, that we feel more secure through you, and second, irrespective of age, it is extremely pleasant when a person’s work is appreciated. We await you gladly. May God grant that we too will be able to aid you in something.”

For more information, see the school’s website http://yerevan92.schoolsite.am and Facebook site https://www.facebook.com/vtekeyan92school/

Vahan Tekeyan School No. 6 in Stepanavan

Vahan Tekeyan School No. 6 in Stepanavan is in Armenia’s northern Lori Province, which was grievously affected by the 1988 earthquake in Armenia. The school was founded in 1992 and in 1994 named after the poet Vahan Tekeyan. Until 2004, it operated in huts or small buildings which were in very poor shape, but then it moved to its present location. Hmayak Martirosyan has been principal since 2015. There were 471 students in 12 grades in the 2017-18 school year.

When Assistant Principal for Instruction Hasmik Ghazaryan related the story of the creation of the school during a visit of Tekeyan members from abroad in 2014, she could not suppress her tears. She said, “I remember when after the earthquake classes were held in huts, where nothing existed. We worked without salaries. However, now I am happy when I see this school in good order.”

For more information, see the website https://stepanavan6.schoolsite.am/ and the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Ստեփանավանի-ՎԹեքեյանի-անվան-թիվ-6-միջնակարգ-դպրոց-291041117712254/

Karbi’s Vahan Tekeyan School

The Vahan Tekeyan School of Karbi, north of Yerevan in Aragatsotn Province, adopted the Tekeyan name in 1989. It has a statue of Vahan Tekeyan next to it which was sculpted by Arto Tchakmakdjian.

In 2014, the principal of the school, Arsen Ohanyan, said, “This philanthropic action is a bit of aid for the teacher in these difficult conditions. What is important is to be appreciated. This did not just get us used to receiving aid, but also obliged us to participate ourselves in the philanthropic work.”

For more information, see https://karby.schoolsite.am/ and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/VahanTekeyanSchoolKarby/

Vahan Tekeyan School No. 2 of Gyumri

Vahan Tekeyan School No. 2 of Gyumri was founded in 1927. It has 472 students. The principal is Hovhannes Petrosyan. Ninety percent of graduates continue their education in Armenia or abroad.

For more information, see its website http://gyumri2.schools.am/

Vahan Tekeyan School No. 1 of Berdzor

The Vahan Tekeyan School No. 1 of Berdzor, in the Artsakh Republic, was founded in 1994 in the liberated district of Kashatagh (Lachin). It began to participate in the Sponsor a Teacher program in 2008 and in 2009 adopted the Vahan Tekeyan name. In 2018, it had 240 students, 32 teachers and 17 staff members. The school is housed in a three-story building, which is not in good structural condition. Principal Anahit Kosakyan proudly mentioned in 2018 that a few of her former students have come back, after receiving their university degrees, to teach at their alma mater.

For more information, see its website http://berdzorschool1.com/ and its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/teqeyanschool/