Nishiyamato Academy of California
西大和学園カリフォルニア校
Address
2458 Lomita Blvd.

Lomita
,
California

United States
Coordinates33°48′18″N 118°19′38″W / 33.8049679°N 118.32712549999997°W / 33.8049679; -118.32712549999997
Information
TypePrivate, international, day
Motto探究・誠実・気迫[1]
(Research, Sincerity, Willpower)
EstablishedJuly 22, 1992 (1992-07-22)
FounderRyotaro Tanose
Sister schoolNishiyamato Gakuen Junior High School and High School
Head of schoolKatsuyuki Nishikawa[2]
GradesPre-K to 9
GenderCoeducational
EnrollmentApproximately 150 total
LanguageEnglish and Japanese
Campus typeUrban
Color(s)   
Tuition$6,020-$9,080 Kindergarten
$9,930-$11,890 Elementary
$11,610-$11,890 Middle[3]
Websitewww.nacus.org/english/

Nishiyamato Academy of California (西大和学園カリフォルニア校, Nishiyamato gakuen kariforunia kō, NAC) is a private Japanese international day school for students from pre-kindergarten through 9th grade, offering a Japanese guideline-based curriculum.[4] The co-educational academy consists of a kindergarten, an elementary school division, and a middle school division with approximately 150 students, all located in Lomita, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.[2][5] Since March 1996, the academy has been authorized by Japanese Ministry of Education and its successor Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as a Private Overseas Educational Facility (私立在外教育施設, Shiritsu zaigai kyōiku shisetsu).[6]

Nishiyamato Academy offers its own Saturday school program, the Nishiyamato Academy Saturday School (西大和学園補習校 Nishiyamato gakuen hoshūkō) for the children of Japanese expatriates, who are enrolled in local primary or secondary day schools in Los Angeles metropolitan area.[7]

History

Nishiyamato Academy of California was established on July 22, 1992, by Ryotaro Tanose, former chairperson of the board of trustees for Nishiyamato gakuen, a Japanese school corporation, and former member of Japanese Diet from Nara Prefecture.[8] With 38 students in grades six through eight for the first fiscal year, the school opened at the former Dapplegray Elementary School in Rolling Hills Estates on April 10, 1993.[2][8]

In 1994, Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District (PVPUSD) leased a set of classrooms at Dapplegray to Nishiyamato, on the condition that the school does not enroll over 30 students from that district's boundaries. PVPUSD wanted to ensure Nishiyamato did not remove too many students from its own student body and therefore the income the district obtained from the enrollment of said students. The classrooms obtained that time for Nishiyamato's use, numbering 10, was virtually the remaining lease-able area in Dapplegray.[9]

In September 2000, the school relocated to the current campus in Lomita.[2]

In 2017 the school established a 2,500-square-foot (230 m2) cultural center with computer labs, a stage that can move, and a library with a capacity of 5,000 books. The total cost was $500,000.[10]

Academics

Curriculum

NAC offers MEXT Curriculum Guideline-based curriculum mainly for the children of Japanese expatriates living in Los Angeles metropolitan area. Classes are held from Monday to Friday, with the first period of the day beginning at 8:30 AM and the last period ending at 3 PM for the kindergarten, 3:15 PM / 4:15 PM / 5 PM for the elementary school, and 4:20 PM / 6:10 PM for the middle school.[11] Although subjects are instructed mainly in Japanese, Art / Visual Art, Home Economics, Technology, and ELA / ELD have been instructed in English as language immersion since the curriculum reform of recent years.[12]

Extracurricular activities

Nishiyamato Academy of California offers limited extracurricular activities due to normalized supplementary classes after the last period, and only club activities called Special Activities (特別活動, tokubetsu katsudō) are exercised once a week or two weeks.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "教育方針｜西大和学園平日校" [Educational Policies - Nishiyamato Academy Day School]. Nishiyamato Academy Day School (in Japanese). Nishiyamato Academy of California. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "概要｜西大和学園平日校" [Overview - Nishiyamato Academy Day School]. Nishiyamato Academy Day School (in Japanese). Nishiyamato Academy of California. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "授業料等　費用一覧｜西大和学園平日校" [Costs including tuition - Nishiyamato Academy Day School]. Nishiyamato Academy Day School (in Japanese). Nishiyamato Academy of California. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "西大和学園平日校" [Nishiyamato Academy Day School]. Nishiyamato Academy Day School. Nishiyamato Academy of California. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles". Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles (in Japanese). Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  6. ↑ ""私立在外教育施設一覧" [Private Overseas Educational Facility]. webcitation.org/6Wi1RXfSd?url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215023941/http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/clarinet/002/006/001/003.htm Archive. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Archived from the original on February 15, 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Saturday School" Nishiyamato Academy of California. Retrieved on April 1, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Hilliger, Charles (September 29, 1994). "Students Get a Japanese Education at 2 Palos Verdes Schools". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "Vacant school space leased". News-Pilot. San Pedro, Los Angeles. 1994-03-11. p. A3. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Green, Nick (2017-04-05). "Private Japanese school in Lomita breaks ground on center to deepen cross-cultural appreciation". Daily Breeze. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  11. 1 2 "学園生活｜西大和学園平日校" [Academy Life - Nishiyamato Academy Day School]. Nishiyamato Academy Day School (in Japanese). Nishiyamato Academy of California. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  12. ↑ "カリキュラム改革とその成果｜西大和学園平日校" [Curriculum Reform and Its Results - Nishiyamato Academy Day School]. Nishiyamato Academy Day School (in Japanese). Nishiyamato Academy of California. Retrieved 20 November 2014.


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