Fondazione Italia has begun a fundraising initiative that they hope will provide 15 Southern California Italian high school instructors scholarships to attend a week-long seminar for Italian Language educators. This is a College Board-endorsed Italian Advanced Placement Summer Seminar organized by the California World Language Project and the California Language Teachers’ Association, and will be held on the UC Santa Barbara campus. It is an exceptional professional growth opportunity for Italian language teachers and an important initiative that Fondazione Italia and the Italian Consulate believe will result in new and stronger Italian programs in Southern California high schools from level 1 to level 4/AP®. Fondazione Italia’s goal is to raise $18,000 by April 10, 2015.At the present time there are very few Italian AP  level classes offered to students in Southern California high schools. Fondazione Italia is filling the gap for students interested in taking the exam by offering online preparatory classes.
“Our goal with this campaign initiative is to give Italian teachers the training and the necessary tools to start a conversation within their World Language Departments and with their principals,” says Hilary Stern, Executive Director of Fondazione Italia. “We hope this will create a push for an increase in the number of sections and levels of Italian offered at their high school, which would in turn give more opportunities to students who want to learn the language and culture of Italy at a higher level.”
Students who take AP  tests while in high school can start to earn college credit immediately depending on how they score on the exam. Students who pass the Italian AP exam also have the opportunity to study at an Italian University. The benefits of having an AP  level exam in a subject matter translate into a considerable savings of money and time for the student.
There is currently an agreement between the College Board and the Italian government that states the number of Italian AP  exams taken by the end of the 2015-16 school year must reach a total of 2,500 in order for the exam to continue and become self-sustainable. Thanks to the efforts of organizations like Fondazione Italia that have been focused on fundraising and marketing campaigns to promote Italian language to students there has been a steady and consistent increase in the number of Italian AP®exams taken since 2013. These efforts are paying off since the College Board is reporting that approximately 3,000 students have registered to take the Italian AP® exam in May 2015. It is imperative to keep this trend in numbers moving upwards by supporting Italian teachers and expanding as well as launching new Italian programs in Southern California high schools.
For more information on this initiative please contact Hilary Stern at 310-739-9350 or go to http://www.italianfoundation.org/ to donate online.
About Fondazione Italia
Fondazione Italia is a California 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1998 for the purpose of promoting the teaching of the Italian language and culture in Southern California. The organization receives grants from the government of Italy in support of its mission, and it works in close collaboration with the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles and the Education Office at the Italian Consulate in San Francisco.
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