Dear friend of Yujin Gakuen,

Konnichiwa! Did you know that our elementary school, Yujin Gakuen (YG), opened in 1988, making it the first and oldest public Japanese Immersion School in the United States? What started as one, small class of 25 students has grown to twelve, well-rounded classes with two classrooms designated for each grade from kindergarten to fifth grade. Yujin Gakuen’s mission is to prepare students, through a bilingual, bicultural, integrated curriculum, to be responsible citizens in an increasingly global and technological society. Studies show immersion programs tend to be more ethnically and socioeconomically balanced while providing kids of all backgrounds opportunities to gain comfort with diversity and different cultures.

At YG, students are taught in Japanese 50% of the day and in English for the other 50%. In order to fully immerse students, our library and classrooms have books in English and Japanese, taiko drumming is taught as part of our musical instruction, native interns travel from Japan to support teachers and staff each year, and the Japanese culture is discussed and celebrated at length. Since there are very few curriculum options translated into Japanese, our classroom teachers typically create their own materials, which is costly and time consuming.

Will you consider supporting Yujin Gakuen’s mission by donating to our auction?

Our auction will be held May 17th, 2023 – and believe it or not, now is the time for you to donate! The evening will be a hybrid of in-person silent and online auctions to raise funds, so we can continue to provide current and future families with the community and culture only found at YG. Funding will be used to add paid interns, support classroom needs, and offset field trip costs to provide equity within families. As we all know, the best auctions start with the best donations!

ありがとう- Arigatou – Thank You,
YG PTO Board & Auction Committee