Utah Japanese Language School

Due to various reasons, families and their children move around the world. Some families have roots in Japan, while some lived in Japan and are currently living in Utah. It's very difficult for kids to keep and develop their native-level Japanese when the majority of their social interaction is in English.  The Utah Japanese Language School (Utah Nihongo Hoshuukou) provides a holistic school environment for kids with a Japanese public school-based curriculum that includes cultural events and activities.  Our goal is to help these children preserve their heritage and their native-level Japanese language skills.

The school currently only operates for three hours on Saturday mornings and has about 1/10 the students of a normal private school. However, basic operational costs remain the same as other, bigger private schools. As a nonprofit, the Utah Japanese Language School runs primarily on volunteer help and barely covers costs. With donations from the community, the school would be better able to help its students, support its staff, and hopefully obtain its own facility where cultural activities for the community can be held.