I was happy to moderate a panel on the promotion of bilingual education in New York City and to support at the same time the Russian dual language program (DLP) initiative.

The panel was organized by the Russian DLP initiative and the Harriman Institute at Columbia University. The event focused on establishing a Russian dual language program at a public elementary school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and invited parents, educators, and community organizations.

Timothy M. Frye, Columbia University, welcomed us and introduced keynote speakers Tatyana Kleyn, The City College of New York, Milady Baez, Deputy Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, and Olga llyashenko and Julia Stoyanovich, the Russian dual language program organizers.

Maria Kot, Parent-at-Large Delegate New York State Association for Bilingual Education (NYSABE); Audrey David, JCC Generation R; Robin Sundick, former P.S. 84 principal & DoE consultant; Victoria Barsky, Russian teacher at I.S. 228, also shared their experiences during the panel.

Congratulations to the wonderful team effort behind the Russian Dual Language Program initiative: Olga Ilyashenko, Julia Stoyanovich, Tatyana Kleyn, Timothy Frye, and Maria Kot.

Their initiative was also featured recently in the news:

• Moms Push to Launch Russian Dual-Language Program on Upper West Side, by Emily Frost, DNAinfo, February 9, 2016.
• A Russian-English Program in an UWS Public School?, Voices of NY, March 2, 2016
• A Third Shot at Moscow on the Hudson, by Jackson Chen, Manhattan Express, February 24, 2016