Khalil Gibran International Academy  Khalil Gibran International Academy is a public school in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, New York City, New York that opened in September 2007 with about 60 sixth grade students. As the first English-Arabic public school in the country to offer a curriculum emphasizing the study of Arabic language and culture, it was placed at the center of controversy by opponents. Khalil Gibran, the school's namesake, was a Lebanese-American Christian Maronite poet. The committee that designed the school included the original principal Debbie Almontaser (a former teacher and community activist) and several nonprofit groups, including Lutheran Medical Center, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Salaam Club of New York, and the lead partner, the Arab American Family Support Center, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit. Khalil Gibran International Academy transitioned to a public high school in 2012 and became an IB World School in 2015, making it one of the first public schools in NYC to offer the rigorous IB Diploma Programme. The school's stated mission includes providing a "multicultural curriculum and intensive Arabic language instruction". Further, the federal government has stated that the country is in critical need of Arabic and Chinese speakers, and grants have been given out for schools teaching those subjects. Modern Arabic language is a dialect continuum with two dozen varieties that might be considered languages in their own right. They are the majority language in 20 countries of the Arab world, which has a population of some 325 million people. The BBC reports that some attendees have joined to reconnect with their families' culture and homeland; others, with no Arab or Muslim background, because they believe learning the language will give them a valuable skill. A Brooklyn College professor, Moustafa Bayoumi, says that "It's not uncommon for Arab students to feel isolated — I think [the school is] seen as a foothold" and that he believes that the school is making them feel more at home in the city. One of the founders of the school was Lena Alhusseini. Although the Khalil Gibran International Academy is one of 67 dual language schools in the city of New York, its unique position as the first public school focused on Arabic language and culture in the USA has made it the target of much criticism. Indeed, before the school opened, an organization called "Stop the Madrassa" held a protest outside New York's city hall calling for the school to be shut down. "The New York Times" reported that KGIA had become the center of controversy as a result of an "organized movement to stop Muslim citizens who are seeking an expanded role in American public life."