Nishiyamato Academy of California
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Primary sources|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox school
| name = Nishiyamato Academy of California
| native_name= 西大和学園カリフォルニア校
| image = Nishiyamato Academy of California logo.png
| alt =
| caption =
| motto_translation = Research, Sincerity, Willpower
| address = 2458 Lomita Blvd.
| location =
| city = Lomita
| state = California
| country = United States
| coordinates = {{coord|33.8049679|-118.32712549999997|type:edu_globe:earth_region:US-CA|display=title}}
| established = {{Start date|1992|7|22}}
| founder = Ryotaro Tanose
| sister_school = Nishiyamato Gakuen Junior High School and High School
| type = Private, international, day
| district =
| gender = Coeducational
| superintendent =
| head_of_school = Katsuyuki Nishikawa{{cite web |url=http://www.nacus.org/school02/ |title=概要｜西大和学園平日校 |website=Nishiyamato Academy Day School |publisher=Nishiyamato Academy of California |access-date=20 November 2014 |language=ja |trans-title=Overview - Nishiyamato Academy Day School}}
| enrollment = Approximately 150 total
| language = English and Japanese
| avg_class_size =
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| employees =
| campus_type = Urban
| campus_size =
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| accreditation =
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| colors = {{color box|#034a60}} {{color box|#831818}}
| feeders =
| tuition = $6,020-$9,080 Kindergarten
$9,930-$11,890 Elementary
$11,610-$11,890 Middle{{cite web | url=http://www.nacus.org/fees/ |title=授業料等 費用一覧｜西大和学園平日校 |website=Nishiyamato Academy Day School |publisher=Nishiyamato Academy of California |access-date=25 November 2014 |language=ja |trans-title=Costs including tuition - Nishiyamato Academy Day School}}
| website = {{URL|http://www.nacus.org/english/}}
| footnotes =
}}
{{nihongo|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.{{cite web |url=http://www.nacus.org/english/ |title=西大和学園平日校 |website=Nishiyamato Academy Day School |publisher=Nishiyamato Academy of California |access-date=20 November 2014 |trans-title=Nishiyamato Academy Day School}} 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.nacus.org/school02/ |title=概要｜西大和学園平日校 |website=Nishiyamato Academy Day School |publisher=Nishiyamato Academy of California |access-date=20 November 2014 |language=ja |trans-title=Overview - Nishiyamato Academy Day School}}{{cite web |url=http://www.la.us.emb-japan.go.jp/web/m04_01_01.htm| title=Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles| website=Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles| publisher=Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles| access-date=25 November 2014| language=ja}} 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 {{nihongo|Private Overseas Educational Facility|私立在外教育施設|Shiritsu zaigai kyōiku shisetsu}}."{{cite web|url=http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/clarinet/002/006/001/003.htm |title=私立在外教育施設一覧 |website=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 |publisher=Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology |access-date=1 March 2015 |trans-title=Private Overseas Educational Facility |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215023941/http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/clarinet/002/006/001/003.htm |archive-date=February 15, 2013 }}
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."[https://www.nacus.org/hoshu/english/ Saturday School]" Nishiyamato Academy of California. Retrieved on April 1, 2015.
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History
Nishiyamato Academy of California was established on July 22, 1992, by Ryotaro Tanose, former chairperson of the board of trustees for {{ill|Nishiyamato Gakuen School Corporation|lt=Nishiyamato Gakuen|ja|学校法人西大和学園}}, a Japanese school corporation, and former member of Japanese Diet from Nara Prefecture.{{cite news | last = Hilliger| first = Charles| date = September 29, 1994| title = Students Get a Japanese Education at 2 Palos Verdes Schools| url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-29-cb-44446-story.html| newspaper = Los Angeles Times| location = Los Angeles| access-date = 25 November 2014}} 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.nacus.org/school02/ |title=概要｜西大和学園平日校 |website=Nishiyamato Academy Day School |publisher=Nishiyamato Academy of California |access-date=20 November 2014 |language=ja |trans-title=Overview - Nishiyamato Academy Day School}}
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.{{cite news|title=Vacant school space leased|newspaper=News-Pilot|place=San Pedro, Los Angeles|date=1994-03-11|page=A3}} - [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/135658085/ Clipping] from Newspapers.com.
In September 2000, the school relocated to the current campus in Lomita.{{cite web |url=http://www.nacus.org/school02/ |title=概要｜西大和学園平日校 |website=Nishiyamato Academy Day School |publisher=Nishiyamato Academy of California |access-date=20 November 2014 |language=ja |trans-title=Overview - Nishiyamato Academy Day School}}
In 2017 the school established a {{convert|2500|sqft|sqm|adj=on}} 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.{{cite web|last=Green|first=Nick|url=https://www.dailybreeze.com/2017/04/05/private-japanese-school-in-lomita-breaks-ground-on-center-to-deepen-cross-cultural-appreciation/|title=Private Japanese school in Lomita breaks ground on center to deepen cross-cultural appreciation |newspaper=Daily Breeze|date=2017-04-05|access-date=2023-11-23}}
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.{{cite web | url=http://www.nacus.org/school05/ | title=学園生活｜西大和学園平日校 | website=Nishiyamato Academy Day School | publisher=Nishiyamato Academy of California | access-date=25 November 2014 | language=ja | trans-title=Academy Life - Nishiyamato Academy Day School}}
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.{{cite web | url=http://www.nacus.org/school11/ | title=カリキュラム改革とその成果｜西大和学園平日校 |website=Nishiyamato Academy Day School |publisher=Nishiyamato Academy of California |access-date=20 November 2014 |language=ja |trans-title=Curriculum Reform and Its Results - Nishiyamato Academy Day School}}
=Extracurricular activities=
See also
{{Portalbar|Japan|Los Angeles|Schools}}
- History of the Japanese in Los Angeles
- Asahi Gakuen - Japanese weekend school system in the Los Angeles area
- International Bilingual School - Defunct Japanese day school in the Los Angeles area
- Japanese language education in the United States
- American School in Japan, American international school in Tokyo
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [http://www.nacus.org/english/ Nishiyamato Academy of California]
- {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.usinter.net/nishiyamato|title=Nishiyamato Academy of California}}
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Category:Japanese international schools in the United States
Category:Shiritsu zaigai kyōiku shisetsu
Category:Japanese-American culture in Los Angeles
Category:Schools in Los Angeles County, California
Category:Educational institutions established in 1992