Denver Public Schools Arabic class continues to grow in popularity

For two years, Denver Public School's North High School has offered Arabic as an elective. At first, there was only one session offered. Now there are three, and it continues to grow yearly.

Learning a new language is never easy. Dr. Mohamed Moghazy not only teaches his class the language, grammar and writing, but he immerses his students in the culture.

Moghazy grew up in Dubai. Both of his parents were teachers. After earning his master's degree in teaching from Michigan State, and eventually earning a doctorate, he wanted to give back and help U.S. students learn Arabic. In 2021, he started searching for jobs as an Arabic instructor.

"And then I start to search. And then I see Denver North High School wanted an Arabic teacher,"  said Moghazy. "At the beginning, we thought it was a scam because how come in Denver you need an Arabic teacher."

It turned out to be real. And after a two-year search, the school and the district selected Moghazy to start the program.

"Our classroom is 100% Arabic. There is no English. We are not here to learn English, they are here to learn the Arabic language," Moghazy said.

The first year had about 18 kids enrolled for one section of Arabic. Since then it has grown to 25 kids in Arabic 1, 22 kids enrolled in Arabic 2, and 15 kids enrolled in Arabic 3. What makes this class unique is that the kids are not only learning the language and writing but they are immersed in the culture, Moghazy said.

"Our curriculum is not just reading, or writing or speaking or listening. Culture. Every day we have at least 15 minutes of culture," he said.           

Part of that culture teaches kids how to sit properly in the Middle East. It includes proper techniques in making Arabic coffee and tea and proper gestures when speaking the language.

"If you say 'marhaba', which is 'hi', but you don't raise your hand, you'd be offensive. So, if I teach my kids how to say it, but not how to imply it in real life they will not be successful in the Middle East," said Moghazy.

According to Moghazy, Arabic is one of the fastest-growing languages in the world. He tells his students that being proficient in the language is needed in the job market. He also hopes this will benefit the world.

"To be able to build the bridge between the U.S. and the Middle East. And there is no other way except the language, except their culture," said Moghazy.

The Arabic language program is the only one available within Denver Public Schools. Moghazy also wants to emphasize that the class only teaches about language and culture, not about religion or Islam, he said.