Back to School in Debed: Year Two Begins

The hallways are full again in Debed!

This September, students returned to the Harry & Suzanne Mangoian Secondary School of Debed for its second academic year, bringing classrooms, laboratories, playgrounds, and gathering spaces back to life.

Opened by COAF in September 2025, the school is named in honor of Harry & Suzanne Mangoian, whose extraordinary generosity made its construction possible. The new school replaced a building that had been deemed structurally unsound, creating a safe, modern, and inspiring home for Debed’s students.

Throughout the school, other spaces also carry the names and stories of those who helped make this new chapter possible. The Bedian Laboratories, supported by Vahe & Anni Bedian, and spaces honoring Armen & Gloria Hampar, Edward Yacoub Karian, and Lucy Haleblian reflect the many families whose generosity has invested in the next generation.

After a full academic year, these spaces are no longer simply new. They are filled with memories: lessons learned, friendships formed, experiments attempted, games played, and countless everyday moments shared by students and teachers.

That makes year two especially joyful. The school is becoming an enduring part of life in Debed — a place where generations of children can learn, explore, and imagine what comes next.

To Debed’s students, teachers, families, and supporters: welcome back! Here’s to a wonderful second year.

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