- About EBCS
- School calendar and classroom hours
- Linguistic methodology
- Academic curriculum
- Cultural programs
- School administrations
- Parents’ rights and duties
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About EBCS
Founded in the summer of 1981, East Bay Chinese School (EBCS) is a community-based parent-volunteer 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization serving the East Bay community. The School has grown from a student body of 26 in 1981 to over 450 students, 28 language classes and 15 culture classes this year. Mission of the school is to educate our students to appreciate their Chinese heritage, promote cross-cultural understanding, and prepare them to be community leaders. Our diverse student body reflects the community we serve including many non-Chinese-heritage families. We offer Pre-school thru 12th grade. We also offer beginning class for adult learners. The School is an active voting board member of the Association of Northern California Chinese School, ANCCS. In recent years the School is actively working with the Oakland public schools on promoting Chinese language programs within the district. School calendar and classroom hours Similar to most public schools, our school year starts from beginning of September and ends in beginning of June the following year. A typical school year consists of 30 - 32 weeks of Saturday classes. Classroom time begins at 9:00 a. m. and ends at 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays. The academic language lessons is from 9 a.m. to 11:50 am while cultural class is from 12:00 p.m. to 12:50 p.m. There are many selections for students to choose. Linguistic methodology Language taught: Mandarin Chinese (listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing) Characters taught: lessons are taught primarily in traditional Chinese characters and taught simplified characters as secondary supplement Phonetic system: EBCS offers lessons in two separate phonetic systems (Mainland China’s Hanyu pinyin and Taiwan’s Zhuyin fuhao) for parents and students to choose based on their preference. Please note that students on the Zhuyin fuhao system will also need to learn Hanyu pinyin when they reach 6th grade in order for them to merge with the phonetic system taught by most American public schools. Academic curriculum EBCS offers two academic tracks for students of different backgrounds and needs: regular track and accelerated track. The regular track is similar to the regular school system offering pre-school, kindergarten, 1st grade thru 12th grade. The accelerated track offers teenage students that have little or no exposure to Chinese language the opportunity to catch up on learning Chinese and be able to reach the level of 7th grade Chinese in 4 years. EBCS also offers elective SAT Chinese Exam Prep class in 3rd period for high school students that are interested in taking the test. Since May 2007 the College Board has recognized Advanced Placement (AP) Chinese exam. Cultural programs EBCS offers a variety of 4TH period elective cultural classes for students to choose. All these cultural classes are designed specifically with our kids in mind for the purpose of enriching our children to appreciate and value the various art forms of Chinese culture. Classes include Gu-Zhen (traditional Chinese string instrument), drawing, Chinese brush painting, calligraphy, traditional dance, Chinese chess, arts and crafts, Kung Fu exercise, basketball, etc. School administrations and operations There are 7 - 13 parent-elected Directors on the School Board. The Board is responsible for setting strategies, policies, procedures, and guidelines relating to the operations of the School. The Board is also responsible for appointing Principal, PTA President, Academic Director, and other key officers. All Board members and administrative staff are volunteering parents with caring hearts serving the East Bay community. Parents’ rights and responsibilities All parents of currently registered EBCS students are General Members of the School and have all the equal rights as stated in the School By-law. All parents are eligible to vote or run for any administrative position including the School Board. Each family is responsible for volunteering services to the School 5 Saturdays each school year. There will be a penalty of $40 for each missed volunteer day. For more detail information please refer to the Parent Volunteer Regulations. East Bay Chinese School By-Law English version East Bay Chinese School By-Law Chinese version |
