The Committee on College and Pre-College Russian was created in 1984 as the result of the Report of the National Committee for Russian Language Study (1983), which itself followed report of the Carter administration's Presidential Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies (1979). Noting (in 1983) that "enrollments in the Russian language have dropped more precipitously than those in any other major modern language," the Committee for Russian Language Study, composed of representatives of AAASS, AATSEEL, and ACTR, made 12 recommendations in the Report, among which was an initiative to strengthen pre-college Russian programs and establish a survey of pre-college Russian teaching.
        Beginning in 1984, John Schillinger, then at Oklahoma State University, and Johannes Van Straalen, at Choate Rosemary Hall School in Wallingford, Connecticut, initiated the first pre-college survey, established a committee of members representing pre-college and college teachers of Russian, and initiated the development of a data base of useful information for pre-college (and college level) teachers of Russian. John Schillinger, now at American University in Washington, D.C., chaired this inter-organizational committee, which represents and is supported by AATSEEL, AAASS, and ACTR. The committee meets annually at the national AATSEEL conference.

Since 1984, first from Choate Rosemary Hall, and now from American University, CCPCR has provided the only annual nationwide census of pre-college Russian, which gathers names, addresses (now including phone, fax, e-mail) of schools and teachers, enrollments of students at each level, and text materials in use. In March, 1997, through the support of Prof. George Gutsche, past national secretary-treasurer of AATSEEL and Head of the University of Arizona's Department of Russian and Slavic Languages, the census was first placed on a web site. Subsequently, the site was transferred to the American University mainframe.
      
        CCPCR welcomes the addition of new members to the committee and suggestions for its activities. If you are interested in supporting Russian language study at the pre-college level and wish to join CCPCR, contact CCPCR at ccpcr@american.edu, phone (202) 885-2395 or fax (202)885-1076.

John Schillinger, Chair CCPCR
Dept. of Language and Foreign Studies
American Univ. Washington, D.C.
4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW 20016-8045
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