For Immediate Release
Contact: Enid Goldberg, Director of Communications (212-875-4606), or Julie Ronneburger, Media Coordinator (212-875-4666)
Email: egoldberg@bankstreet.edu or jronneburger@bankstreet.edu

NINE YUP'IK (ESKIMO) STUDENTS FROM ALASKA
TO VISIT BANK STREET SCHOOL "WEB" PALS

New York, NY, April 25, 2005--Bank Street School for Children students will welcome nine Yup'ik (Eskimo) students from Kwethluk, Alaska, to their homes during the first week in June. The Bank Street students have established relationships with their Alaskan counterparts during a year-long, web-based cultural and curriculum exchange funded by the National Geographic Society Education Foundation.

The nine- and ten-year-old students at Bank Street and sixth-grade students of at the Kwethluk Community School have been investigating the geography and culture of their communities by exchanging and processing information through a web-based hub (www.bankstreet.edu/kwethlukbankstreet). In addition to learning geography, they have participated in online discussions about a range of topics, such as books, movies, and ice fishing.

Kwethluk is the second largest Yup'ik (Eskimo) village along the Lower Kuskokwim River in Alaska. Ninety-five percent of the population is Yup' ik Eskimo, or Native or part-Native Alaskan. As the joint study progressed, the Kwethluk students decided to raise funds for a trip to New York by holding fiddle dances, basketball tournaments, and a raffle. During the visit (June 1-7), students from both schools will continue to guide each other in cultural learning experiences, including visits to the theater, museums, and the New York students' homes. In addition, the Museum of Natural History will facilitate the Kwethluk students' use of Yup'ik artifacts to teach Bank Street students more about the Yup'ik culture.

The student visitors from Kwethluk are very excited about the trip. Only one of the nine has been outside of Alaska, and three have never been outside of the Kwethluk area. In addition to meeting their "web" pals and seeing famous New York City sites, the students are excited about having recess on the play deck atop of the Bank Street school building, trying new foods?especially habanera sauce?and seeing big airports, malls and "concrete" roads.

One of the students said, "We feel lucky to go to New York. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event for us. We're thankful for the families that will be housing us in their homes."

Joe Bacal, the teacher who spearheaded the project at Bank Street, explained, "This project gives students the chance to get to know people from a place different from their own, and a structure to teach one another about their cultures. The two-way exchange allows students to teach, to learn, and to expand their understanding and appreciation of others."

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