Registration Form for Tibetan Cultural School (Click here to download)
Tibetan Culture School, an educational program of Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota was founded in 1997 by its members. The mission of this Culture School is to assist MN Tibetan children to learn their Language, History, Religion and Cultural Heritage and instill in them basic values of compassion, humility, respect and nationalism. One of the TAFM board members, the Chair of Education Committee, is entrusted with the responsibility to ensure smooth functioning of the school and other educational programs. The program coordinator, a staff of TAFM runs the Tibetan Culture School with the help of dedicated and committed staff members.
TCS New Student Admission Announcement 2024 – 2025
This is to inform to all concerned parents that the admission for new students for this academic session is open from now onwards and the last date will be August 15 2024. Registration form (linked above) needs to be submitted to TAFM office.
Objectives:
- Read, write and comprehend the Tibetan text at the grade level
- Speak Tibetan with fluency
- Understand and become knowledgeable about basic Tibetan history, religion, and cultural practices as contained in the textbooks
- Become competent in Tibetan performing arts
- Develop and demonstrate unique Tibetan cultural values like compassion, humility, and respect.
School Year and Days:
- The school year consists of 10 months: September (first Saturday) to June (last Saturday) of the following year. Month of July and August is left for summer break.
- School operates for 4 hours every Saturday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
- School year is divided into two semesters. First Semester starts on the first Saturday in September and ends on the last Saturday in February. Second Semester runs from first Saturday March until last Saturday in June.
Enrollment conditions:
Families who want to enroll their child/children should meet the following conditions:
- Child must be 5 years old as of August 31st of the calendar year or older.
- Child’s parent(s) must be TAFM member/s in good standing
- Child’s parent(s) must be DhanglangChatrelDebchung (Tibetan Green Book) holder/s.
- All parents of TCS Students are automatically part of the Parents Committee and one of the parents must participate in at least one fundraising event during a Saturday from 9 am – 12 pm. If neither parent is able to attend, they must find a substitute or pay a $50 fine. Parents that are current TAFM board members, current teachers for either TCS, preschool, or kids club are exempt from Saturday fundraising events.
Tuition:
- Tuition is $350 for children of TAFM members who are up to date on their membership dues, else the tuition is $650. Third enrolled child is free.
- REFUND POLICY: Full tuition refund will be issued if cancellation request is submitted during the first month (Registration and late fee will NOT be refunded). After the first month, refunds will be based on how many months students will not attend ($30/month for children who paid $350, and $60/month for all others).
Enrollment Date:
- Applications for the following school year are accepted from January 1st to August 15 with an enrollment fee of $10.00 per child (NEW students).
- Late application will also be accepted only if there will be any available seats with late fee of $25 per child from August 16 to August 31.
- No applications will be accepted for the coming school year after August 31st deadline.
- Families that have moved/immigrated to Minnesota recently can enroll their child/children anytime during the school year.
Curriculum:
Syllabus for each grade level consists of the textbooks (adapted version) prescribed by Department of Education, Central Tibetan Administration in Exile, Dharamsala. Supplementary reading materials collected from other sources including Tibetan Children’s Village, Dharamsala are also used.
Classes and staffing for 2022-23
TCS has grade KG to 8 and this year, there are 12 classes. A team of 12 Tibetan language teachers teach these classes. Class assignment and teacher contact information is as follows:
Parent’s involvement and community support are the backbone of this program. To further increase parent involvement and support, a Parent sub-Committee has been instituted. The Parents subcommittee members are elected by the parents for a two-year term.
The responsibilities of Parents committee include but not limited to:
- Organize fundraising events
- Collect fees and give receipts to the parents
- Help during mid-year and year-end events
- Help parents sign up for volunteer work
- Organize year-end TCS Families Picnic
- Help program coordinator with any other school related work
NEW for 2024-2025: All parents of TCS Students are automatically part of the Parents Committee and one of the parents must participate in at least one fundraising event during a Saturday from 9 am – 12 pm. If neither parent is able to attend, they must find a substitute or pay a $50 fine. Parents that are current TAFM board members, current teachers for either TCS, preschool, or kids club are exempt from Saturday fundraising events.
Questions may be directed to:
TAFM Office @651-917-9556
Tenzin Lhamo, Education Chair – education@tafm.org