Chinese Schools in the US
A great way for your child to learn Chinese
and use it is to go to a Chinese School. There are over 500 programs for K-12 that teach Chinese in public schools, and over 1600 Chinese Schools that focus on ethnic Chinese in the US. Non-Chinese kids are welcome at the schools, especially since they are usually privately run and appreciate more students. Here is a brief summary of some helpful information on Chinese Schools:
How to Find a Chinese School:
- Look at our Chinese
School links page
- Chinese Phone Book
- References from other parents
- Call up a local Chinese Church and ask
- Ask at a local Chinese Restaurant
Importance of Education for Chinese:
- Education is seen as a way to improve
your family status in society.
- Brings a lot of prestige to the family,
when they can say, my son/daughter has a PhD from Stanford.
Types Of Schools:
- Cantonese
- Mandarin that teach Traditional Characters.
- Mandarin that teach Simplified Characters.
Categories of Schools:
- Church Run Schools
- For Profit Schools - Can vary from a babysitter
taking care of some kids to after school care using the facilities
of a local public school. This is the largest type of schools.
- Non-Profit Schools, often run by a group of parents as a Coop.
- Public Schools
There are currently over 1600 Chinese Schools
in the US and you want to send your child to the best one. Questions
to ask are: Do they have a humanistic approach or are they rote
based? Most of this information you can't find without going
to the school and observing a class. One method is go to the
school and find out if you like it. Talk to the teacher and the
staff. Referrals are a great source of information! Here is a link to some historical information on a summary of report on Chinese Schools which used to be part of ERIC.
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