CARMEL, Ind. — The Russian School of Indiana, which operated for decades as a language school, has dropped all ties to the country from its official name in a show of solidarity with Ukraine, as war continues into the summer.
The school will now be called The Heritage School/ Multicultural Education Center of Indiana. School officials said the name change is part of a larger effort to show solidarity with Ukraine, and will better reflect the lives of multicultural families who come to the school.
"It's not fair to our students and teachers who come from different cultural backgrounds. Some of them are Ukrainians, and it could be very sensitive for them to be associated with a Russian school," said Irina Yoshida, a school administrator who teaches science and theatre labs.
The decision to rename the school was one that school officials said they had already been considering, and did not take lightly, even prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"We felt like the name doesn't represent who we are anymore. And it's been kind of going on for some time. We felt, it's a brand name but doesn't represent our mission," said Natalia Rekhter, who is the chief executive officer of the newly renamed Heritage School/ Multicultural Education Center of Indiana.
The school has largely tried to stay away from commenting on larger geopolitical conflicts or wars, Rekhter said, and focused on education programs bent towards serving immigrant communities settling in Indiana from mostly former Soviet republics like Belarus, Moldova and Russia.
But when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, administrators felt morally compelled to expedite that renaming process.
"The situation, the war, changed everything. Because, all of a sudden, the name may not only misrepresent who we are, but also misrepresent our relationship with members in the community," Rekhter said.
Rekhter published an editorial about the name change in the Current in Carmel newspaper and said the organization received a slew of support from the community in response.
"We feel a moral obligation to voice our vehement objection to the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. We stand with the Ukrainian people against Russian President Vladimir Putin, his regime, and the Russian military's invasion of Ukraine," Rekhter wrote in the article.
The Heritage School of Indiana was founded in 1993 by a group of Russian-speaking immigrants. The Weisburd, Pekar and Kleyman families were Jewish refugees who fled persecution in the former Soviet Union, and worried their children would feel a disconnect from Russian culture living in the United States.
In collaboration with the Jewish Community Center, those families began hosting language classes every Sunday to connect them to culture. The organization grew throughout the years, and relocated to University High School in Carmel.
Throughout that time, community from across the world was fostered within the walls of the school and it continues to offer classes every Sunday. About half the classes serve children coming from homes where Russian is primarily spoken, but students come from countries like Canada, China or India.
The rename comes as multiple organizations across the country work to reconcile their Russian roots or influences amid the country's continued war in Ukraine. The Russian Tea Time restaurant in Chicago reportedly considered dropping Russia from the name. A New York restaurant owner, who originally branded her restaurant as Russian because she felt it would be more recognizable to Americans, changed the name to Ukrainian to accurately reflect her roots.
"We were not among the first because we wanted community feedback. We wanted to hear from the community whether or not what we were doing is the right thing to do, even though we felt it is the right thing to do," Rekhter said.
While Heritage School officials changed the name to better reflect communities, they are not, Rekhter said, denouncing their Russian heritage.
"The actions don't represent who all the citizens of Russians are. I'd like people to keep it in mind when they think about Russia and what's going on. At the same time, unfortunately, the war is not coming to end yet. Hopefully, it will happen soon, but Ukraine will need a lot of help to rebuild the country," Rekhter said.
A name change is not the only way the non-profit said they are providing support to Ukraine. The Heritage School is also offering English classes, free of charge, for Ukrainian refugees in Indiana. The non-profit worked closely with Indiana Supports Ukraine in order to get necessities to people on the ground in Poland who fled the country.
Watching the war unfold from Indiana has brought pain to both Russian and Ukrainian families affiliated with the school, Richter said, whose cultures were closely tied for decades.
"It's so painful. It's so close to home. So, of course, we'll support Ukraine. We'll try to do whatever we can," Rekhter said.