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First Islamic Kindergarten Opens In Illinois
by Dina Rashed
CHICAGO, June 1 (IslamOnline) - The first full time Islamic kindergarten in the state of Illinois has opened in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, teaching mainly Islamic studies and the Arabic language, in addition to English language to children aged three to six.
"We are trying to serve the Muslim families who strive to keep their Islamic identity by educating their children at an early childhood age," says Obeidalla Biriar, director of the al-Forgan School.
Biriar, a Sudanese national, worked for several years in the Gulf before he decided to move to the U.S.
For two years, he struggled with teaching Arabic and Islamic studies at a weekend school of the al-Fater mosque on the south side of Chicago, mainly for older kids and adolescents. But he came to realize that in order to preserve the Islamic identity of Muslim children in America, the effort had to start at the beginning stages of their education.
"More than half the current enrolled kids in al-Forgan come from families who struggled with raising an older sibling according to our values and beliefs," says Biriar. "Unfortunately, most parents wait until they see something wrong with their kids before they think of the Islamic education."
The school also provides a weekend program similar to Saturday and Sunday schools in most Islamic centers for older kids.
Currently, the kindergarten program has enrolled 12 children of different ethnic backgrounds, and operates from 8 am to 4 pm., charging a monthly fee of $200 per child. But Biriar hopes to increase enrollment over the years to steadily increase investment in order to meet school expenses and continue the program.
Intisar Mansour, lead instructor at the school, teaches Arabic letters and simple language rules based on a combination of some Arab states curriculum, in conjunction with Iqra foundation materials, and the curriculum used in American kindergarten grades for the English language.
"Most of the kids are already speaking English, so my emphasis is on teaching the Arabic language and Qur'an memorization," says Mansour
Because the class has children of mixed ages, she says her method of teaching is flexible enough to adapt to each child's abilities.
"I have to use my personal judgment to evaluate the level of my students given their ages and how long have they been with us in the school," she adds.
Located in the basement of a strip mall, the school's three classrooms and some PC equipment, show the facility could still make use of plenty of funding and donations.
Biriar believes that the role of the institution is complementary to the service provided by other Islamic elementary schools and not competitive.
"Many Muslim families are willing to send their kids to Islamic schools, but are unable for financial reasons," he said, hoping that through al-Forgan these families can find a way to balance their needs with their means.
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