AGBU Alex and Marie Manoogian School
American K-12 School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AGBU Alex and Marie Manoogian School (Armenian: Ալեք Մանուկյան վարժարան) is a charter K-12 Armenian school in Southfield, Michigan in Metro Detroit. It is affiliated with Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU).
| AGBU Alex and Marie Manoogian School | |
|---|---|
Armenian: Ալեք Մանուկյան վարժարան | |
 | |
| Information | |
| School type | Charter school |
| Established | 1969 |
| Employees | c.55 |
| Grades | K-12 |
| Enrollment | 400 (2009) |
| Affiliation | |
Central Michigan University is the charter overseer.[1][2]
History
In 1969 it was established in as a private school.[3] Its initial student body was 20, and it had two teachers.[4] It was named for Alex and Marie Manoogian.[5]
It included a high school program,[3] with the first graduating class in 1978,[6] but suspended its high school in 1991 due to an enrollment decline.[3] In 1995 it became a charter school;[4] that year it had 170 students.[7] At the time Nadya Sarafian was the principal.[5]
The Southfield Observer & Eccentric stated that the school re-established its high school after receiving "overwhelming demand" to do so, with the first new high school class graduating in 2000.[6]
In 1995 and 2001,[4] the Governor of Michigan awarded the school the Golden Apple Award for Academic Excellence.[8] As of 2004[update] Manoogian had 370 students.[7]
Louise Manoogian Simone and Richard Manoogian, the children of Alex and Marie Manoogian,[5] donated funds for an expansion and renovation in 2004 and later donated additional funds when the project found additional expenses.[4] A new high school facility opened in 2009. As of 2009[update] it had about 55 employees and more than 400 students.[9]
In 2009 principal Hosep Torossian stated that the school had a budget, almost entirely sourced from funds from the State of Michigan, of fewer than $3,000,000.[1]
