Bearden High School will become the first Knox County School to offer Arabic as a foreign language option.
The school is receiving a one-year grant from the U.S. Department of State to fund a teacher of Modern Standard Arabic for the 2017-2018 school year. The grant is part of the Teachers of Critical Languages Program run through the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
A teacher from that program will teach the class at Bearden.
The Knox County Board of Education approved the plan at its meeting on April 5. The Knox County Commission approved it as its meeting Monday night.
It’s unclear whether the school will continue offering Arabic as a foreign language option after the 2017-2018 school year.
