Thanks to Drita Gjongecaj, assistant principal, member of the Diaspora Coordinating Council, and founder of the organization “Children of the Eagle,” for the first time in the history of the public education system in the United States, the Albanian language will be taught inside a public school in New York.

This bilingual program, the first of its kind, will be implemented by the New York City Department of Education and is scheduled to begin in the 2025/2026 academic year.

The program will run five days a week, in both Albanian and English, with certified teachers from the New York City Department of Education. It will initially launch in the Bronx, New York.

This initiative represents a major achievement for the Albanian-American community and stands as a clear example of how the Diaspora can build lasting cultural and educational bridges across generations. Supporting the Albanian language and ensuring its transmission to future generations of Albanians living abroad is one of the government’s top priorities. Through the “Teachers for the Diaspora” program, which started in Greece, Albanian-language educators are paid by Tirana to teach the mother tongue to children of Albanian families born outside the country.

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