School drops ‘Russian’ from name amid war in Ukraine
CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) — A decades-old language school has dropped “Russian” from its name in show of solidarity for Ukraine.
“When the war started, it changed everything,” said Natalia Rekhter, the executive director of the Heritage School/Multicultural Education Center of Indiana.
The destruction of the Russian war in Ukraine has touched the lives of communities across Indiana. For the Russian School of Indiana in Carmel, the war pushed school administrators to change its name to the Heritage School/Multicultural Education Center of Indiana.
“Many of our students and teachers are from Ukraine and we supported Ukraine. We wholeheartedly support Ukraine. We felt it’s not fair toward them to keep the name,” Rekhter said.
They also felt that the name no longer best represents who they are.
“We often had to tell our students who are not Russian that, ‘Don’t worry. We offer classes in English. You don’t have to be Russian to attend our school,” said Irina Yoshida, an administrator at the Heritage School/Multicultural Education Center of Indiana.
The school was founded nearly 30 years ago and has since grown.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the school is entirely online with classes in math, Russian language, chemistry and more. It has about 11 teachers and more than 100 students from different countries including the United States, Moldova, Canada and China.
“Now when we say multicultural, we want to portray that we remain encompassing. We want everybody to feel comfortable,” Rekhter said.
The school is also receiving donations online to buy clothes, medical supplies, and more for refugees. Donations are tax-deductible.
“My hope is just like, I wake up one morning and it was a nightmare that it didn’t happen or they find peaceful solution, but honestly. I don’t think it’s happening,” Yoshida said.
The school is expanding. They’re now offering an English language for Ukrainian refugees class.