The Community Language Schools Program provides funding to community organisations to help establish and run language schools in the local area.
Classes run for school age children with non-English speaking backgrounds to maintain their heritage languages.
Co.As.It Italian Association of Assistance will receive a total of $44,000 for the Out of School Hour program, which runs across 14 centres in Sydney.
The Five Dock Public School centre will receive $5,000 to support its lessons.
Greek Orthodox Parish and Community of Burwood and District Saint Nectarios run classes at Concord Public school and will receive $13,000.
The Greek Orthodox Church and Community of Leichhardt and District of Saint Gerasimos run classes at Drummoyne Public School and will receive $8,000.
Sydney Suomi-Koulu Sydney Finnish School runs classes at Concord West Public School and will receive $4,900.
Education Minister Rob Stokes said the NSW Government was dedicated to supporting education in all its forms.
“We treasure and celebrate the diversity of our multicultural NSW community. This is one way the NSW Government can support that diversity,” Mr Stokes said.
In 2013, the NSW Government established the Aboriginal Language Programs in Public Schools NSW, as part of OCHRE (Opportunity, Choice, Healing, Responsibility, Empowerment), the NSW governmental plan for Aboriginal affairs.
The program established five networks of communities known as “nests”, bound together by their connection through an Aboriginal Language which is taught within the NSW school system.
Current “nests” in operation include North West Wiradjuri, North Gumbaynggirr, Bundjalung, Paakantji and Gamilaraay/Yuwaalaraay/Yuwaalayaay.
Notably, no nests have been established in Sydney, despite the numerous Aboriginal languages present in the area.
Community language schools are essential for young people to maintain links to their heritage and cultural identity.
Research has shown that migrant children and Aboriginal children perform better in school where cultural perspectives are incorporated into the school curriculum.
The Drummoyne funding announcement comes following the commitment late last year by the NSW Premier Berejiklian to invest $7.6m in creating the Sydney Institute for Community Languages Education, with the objective of providing training and support in developing programs for Community Languages Schools.
