Armenian Evangelical Central High School

[EduCativ]

CHS, located in the heart of Beirut, has a long history of academic excellence. Throughout its 90 years of service to the Armenian/Lebanese community, CHS has consistently met the educational needs of its students in the deepest way possible. The commitment and dedication of our educators, board members, sponsoring church, and parents have made this rich heritage possible.

With God’s help and building on the heritage of the past, we will make sure that the school continues to use its resources and potential to enrich the lives of our students, hoping that they will all achieve their best through fostering self-discipline, helping them develop Christian values, and encouraging a love for learning.

Education serves no purpose when it does not make the heart kinder, and knowledge has no credibility when it does not make one wiser. Lebanon, with its long history of political turmoil, needs an Armenian generation that perceives itself as an instrument of peace.

Based on the mission and history of the Armenian Evangelical Church, the goal of the Armenian Evangelical Central High School is to equip students with a quality Christian Armenian Education, adhering to the governmental curriculum, in addition to maintaining the orientation set by the Armenian Evangelical Educational Council. The aforementioned goal has three characteristics:

• Quality Education - Aims to educate the whole person, preparing the student to attain the highest possible educational level or the alternative of a technical career.
• Armenian Identity - Provides a national ethnic education at all teaching levels, through the teaching of the Armenian language, literature, history, and cultural programs.
• Armenian Evangelical Heritage - Above all, invites the student to know God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

CHS kindergarten has a specific agenda and a well-planned vision, based on modern educational strategies, which specially focuses on the “Child-Centered Approach,” in which children are autonomous and practice self-directed learning, active exploration, and manipulation. Concerning discipline, we believe it should be firm but fair. Children will learn that they have a choice that positive behavior is always encouraged and that boundaries are set on their misbehavior. As for worship time, we would like to raise children who learn to love Jesus and start to acknowledge the real meaning of faith. Our focus will be for all children to meet the educational standards set by the school. We want to arrange child-centered classrooms that provide cognitive challenges and facilitate the development of autonomy and social skills. Our chief objective is, “learning through critical thinking and engaging play” away from the authoritarian style of teaching and in the absence of boring worksheets, and dull seatwork. The mission of the elementary section of AECHS School is to

• Promote Armenian, Christian, social and moral values these will help students grow physically, intellectually, and morally. We strive to prepare our students to become responsible and productive citizens and active members of society. We mold the students’ character and self-reliance, heritage, culture, and values.
• Provide a warm and nurturing environment for the students so that each child develops to his/her highest individual potential.
• Encourage students to become life-long learners with strong critical thinking. Provide them with a strong academic foundation that will lead them to a successful transition into intermediate classes.
• Help students to flourish in non-academic aspects, as well, like outings, school events, sports, and artistic activities. Students’ learning is also enhanced through field trips, educational assemblies, and listening to presentations by guest speakers.

The Armenian Evangelical Central High School was founded as a primary school, for the children of the Armenian refugees, in the slums of Camp Adana, on the seashore of central Beirut, which is now the area between St. Michel and Camp Hadjin. The school was founded in 1922, in a most unhygienic environment, under the direction of two dedicated ladies, Miss Jemileh Kardashian and Miss Rahel Yacoubian.

In 1950, on Commencement Day, a letter was read which was sent by the American University of Beirut. The letter appreciated the efforts of the faculty and administration and informed the school that from then on the graduates would be admitted in the Freshman Class of the university without entrance examination but under the recommendation of the principal. This showed that the Central High School was among the top 3 of the 32 high schools in Lebanon.

Now the school has an enthusiastic and fervent Alumni Association in U.S.A. and Lebanon which feels proud in supporting the school morally and financially. The school is proud of its graduates in Armenia and Diaspora who are in responsible and leadership positions serving their respective communities as religious leaders, educators, doctors, lawyers, businessmen, writers, political leaders, and others. Together with quality education, the major purpose of the school is the formation of Christian and moral character in the student with Christian principles.

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