Nishiyamato Academy of California

Nishiyamato Academy of California 西大和学園カリフォルニア校
探究・誠実・気迫[1] Research, Sincerity, Willpower
Address
2458 Lomita Blvd. Lomita, California United States
Information
Type	Private, international, day
Established	July 22, 1992 (1992-07-22)
Opened	April 10, 1993 (1993-04-10)
Founder	Ryotaro Tanose
Sister school	Nishiyamato Gakuen Junior High School and High School
Head of school	Katsuyuki Nishikawa[2]
Grades	Pre-K to 9
Gender	Coeducational
Enrollment	Approximately 150 total
Language	English and Japanese
Campus type	Urban
Color(s)
Tuition	$6,020-$9,080 Kindergarten $9,930-$11,890 Elementary $11,610-$11,890 Middle[3]
Website	www.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 on 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 in 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 September 2000, the school relocated to the current campus in Lomita.^[2]

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.^[9] 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.^[10]

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.^[9]

See also

• 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
• American School in Japan, American international school in Tokyo

References

External links

• Nishiyamato Academy of California
• Nishiyamato Academy of California (Archive)

Japanese international day and boarding schools in the United States
Weekend supplementary schools (hoshū jugyō kō) are located in a separate template
High schools	Keio Academy of New York Closed Tennessee Meiji Gakuin High School
Elementary and junior high schools	Chicago Futabakai Japanese School The Greenwich Japanese School Japanese School of Guam The New Jersey Japanese School Nishiyamato Academy of California Sundai Michigan International Academy Permanently closed International Bilingual School
Elementary schools	Seigakuin Atlanta International School (formerly had junior high school)
K-8? schools	Lyceum Kennedy Japanese School (New York City)
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of the Government of Japan classifies Keio Academy of New York, Nishiyamato Academy, and Seigakuin Atlanta, in addition to the former Tennessee Meiji Gakuin, as shiritsu zaigai kyōiku shisetsu (overseas branches of Japanese private schools). The Greenwich, New Jersey, Chicago, and Guam schools are classified by MEXT as nihonjin gakkō (Japanese international schools) as they are operated by Japanese associations. Italicized schools, including the Lyceum Kennedy, Sundai Michigan, and International Bilingual School (as of 2000), are/were not recognized as Japanese schools by MEXT.

Overseas branches of Japanese private schools (Shiritsu zaigai kyōiku shisetsu)
Open	Waseda Shibuya Senior High School in Singapore Kumon Leysin Academy of Switzerland Josuikan Bangkok International School Rikkyo School in England Teikyo School United Kingdom Keio Academy of New York Nishiyamato Academy of California Seigakuin Atlanta International School
Closed	South Queensland Academy Tokai University Boarding School in Denmark Lycée Konan Lycée Seijo Toin Gakuen Schule Deutschland Sundai Ireland International School Gyosei International School UK Shi-Tennoji School in UK (英国四天王寺学園) Tennessee Meiji Gakuin High School
The schools serve different grade/year levels. The Nishiyamato and Seigakuin schools do not have senior high school/sixth form students, while other overseas private school branches do.

International schools in California
This template only includes day schools; Japanese supplementary schools and other weekend/supplementary schools are not included.
Los Angeles area	International School of Los Angeles Lycée Français de Los Angeles Nishiyamato Academy of California
San Francisco Bay Area	Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley French American International School Lycée Français de San Francisco International School of the Peninsula Santa Rosa French-American Charter School GAIS - German American International School (**) German International School of Silicon Valley Chinese American International School Yew Chung International School – Silicon Valley International School of the Peninsula San Francisco Pacific Academy (former Russian American International School)
San Diego	San Diego French American School
Former	International Bilingual School (Los Angeles area)(*)
(*) - This school was not recognized as a Japanese international school (nihonjin gakkō nor shiritsu zaigai kyōiku shisetsu) by the Japanese Ministry of Education Schools marked with two asterisks (**) are unrecognised by the Central Agency for German Schools Abroad (ZfA), not appearing in its list of German schools in the United States.

Japanese weekend schools in the United States and Canada
With Japanese gov't teachers	United States Chicago Futabakai Japanese Saturday School Japanese School of Dallas Japanese School of Detroit Japanese School of Guam Japanese Language Supplementary School of Houston Asahi Gakuen (Los Angeles area) Japanese Weekend School of New York (New York City area) Portland Japanese School Princeton Community Japanese Language School San Francisco Japanese School Seattle Japanese School Indiana Japanese Language School (インディアナ日本語学校) (Indianapolis) Minato Gakuen (みなと学園) (San Diego) Canada Toronto Japanese School
W/o Japanese gov't teachers	United States Minneapolis Japanese School Minnesota Japanese School Nishiyamato Academy Saturday School (Lomita, CA) Orlando Hoshuko St. Louis Japanese School Sundai Michigan International Academy (Detroit area) Canada Montreal Hoshuko School
The Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT) designates most of these schools as hoshū jugyō kō. Schools in italics are not designated as such by MEXT.