A new Madison Street business aims to offer children, teens and adults cultural education close to home.
Academia Institute of Language and Culture, at 308 Madison St. in Oak Park, opens its doors June 5. An open house is scheduled for June 11.
The institute, which kicks off programming with summer camps for children, plans to offer language classes for children in nine different languages, according to the Academia website.
Adult courses will cover topics like neuroscience of social justice, classical music, art history, spoken word and conversational Spanish through film. Adult classes launch in six-week camps this summer, said Corinne Moran, director of adult curriculum and seminars.
Kaycee Militante, director of children’s curriculum development and educational standards, said courses are crafted individually and purposefully, not based on prepackaged curricula, and those being hired as teachers have the same mindset.
“I meet people who are really excited about teaching,” Militante said.
Militante said Academia hopes to meet the need for language courses closer to home, since many local families travel to Chicago to find what they’re looking for. The institute also will offer early childhood education for children, with language immersion programs and international preschool.
“I know there’s a need in Oak Park for further education in foreign language,” Militante said.
She looks forward to promoting hands-on learning within small classes.
“The best learning takes place when the students are the ones that take the lead,” Militante said. “I think bringing in brilliant people who are passionate about their content will make it very exciting for the kids.”
The space on Madison Street features several classrooms of varying size, Militante said, with a front lobby area that allows for lounging. Militante and Moran said they hope to see the business add to the new energy within that corridor of Madison Street.
Moran said there’s not many local opportunities for intellectual stimulation for adults. She’s excited to see staff come up with intriguing programming and develop courses that are of current interest, which will be structured differently from college courses.
“The idea of having adult courses, I think, was quite new,” Moran said. “I think Academia is trying to bring learning opportunities from the city to us out west in Oak Park. … I think it’s quite an innovative institute.”
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Militante also said the institute aims to be family-friendly, with childcare available during adult courses.
Oak Park resident Anne Pezalla, whose two children are enrolled in summer programming, appreciates the flexibility and high quality instructors the institute will offer, and said her daughter already expressed interest in Mandarin classes in the fall.
“I’m very excited to have found Academia,” Pezalla said in an email.
For more information, visit www.chicagoacademia.com or call 708-401-0888.
Caitlin Mullen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.