Languages
Elite program part of community center’s efforts to support those of all ages
» Chinatown’s Early Learning Center immersion program has children fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, English or Spanish by age 5.
Children at the Chinese Community Center’s preschool have recently taken interest in how eggs develop into chickens.
So, last month, a teacher showed students an incubator and eggs. Another brought in baby chicks.
That’s par for the course at the Early Learning Center, director Stephanie Yau explained. “Our teachers observe the students’ interests and develop their lesson plans based on that,” she said.
The school, located near Sharpstown, follows the Reggio Emilia approach, a self-directed, student-centered philosophy founded in Italy. The idea is that children can guide curriculum, explore their creativity and develop their personalities in the process.
“The only thing is we’re not Italian,” Yau said with a laugh. “We’re Chinese.”
Learning languages early on, including Mandarin, Cantonese, English and Spanish, is at the core of the school’s mission.
“Children are exposed to language on a daily basis,” Yau said. “They learn a lot from the teachers, who have constant conversations with the kids. The children are very bilingual when they graduate, fluent in English and fluent in Mandarin.”
Students are 18 months to 5 years old. Student-to-teacher ratios are kept low, with each classroom having two teachers at all times. Tuition tops out at $850 a month, and, there is often a waiting list to enroll.
Like other pre-K programs, snacks are served and nap times, exercise, circle times, arts and crafts and singing are routine. The main difference is that teachers are bilingual and the language for activities changes.
“It’s much easier for a child to learn a language at a very young age,” Yau said. “At an early language they learn a language conversationally. They are more capable.”
By strengthening language skills at a young age, Yau said critical thinking is also sparked.
“We want to provide an optimal learning environment for
children to grow,” she said. “We want them to develop creativity. We want them to be independent thinkers.”
In addition, students learn about Chinese heritage, the community center’s CEO Chimei Lin explained.
Recently, the community center finished construction on a new area for seniors. In addition to that upgrade, a playground was built for children on the campus.
The renovation shows the community center’s commitment to all ages.
Lin said there will be more opportunities for intergenerational activities in the future. Already, students adopt a senior for the holidays.
“Our first parents understood that communication and heritage is really important,” Lin said. “Quite a few come because they know this is a place for their children to learn their heritage.”
Children know from a young age that they are part of the Chinese community. There are also children who are not Asian who come to the school to learn Chinese. She explained that often international families, bicultural parents or individuals who have adopted Chinese children enroll.
“They’re here, because they want to learn the language,” Lin said.
The Chinese Community Center has long been a central gathering place, she explained. It was established in 1979 as a Chinese language school and since then expanded its social and educational services to benefit immigrant families and the Asian community.
In 2010, the community center became the second Financial Opportunity Center in Houston, where families could access employment counseling, job training and assistance.
The center is also a HUDcertified counseling agency — the only one in the state that can provide services in Chinese and Vietnamese. In addition, the Chinese Community Center is a benefits enrollment center, helping seniors sign up for needed public services.
As a place where all ages go for assistance, Lin explained, the center realized a need to provide child care in the 1990s.
“A lot of new immigrant families couldn’t find a licensed child care facility where teachers could communicate with students and parents,” Lin said. “The need was very high. And since we’ve always been in the heart of Chinatown, the location is very convenient for new immigrant families.”
Since a lot of the families worked two jobs, Lin added, the Early Learning Center operates from 7 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. In addition, the school accepts subsidies for lower-income families to ensure equal opportunity for child care.
Once the school was established at the community center, leadership decided to seek accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. In 2011, the center became part of an elite group of only 10 percent nationwide to earn the distinction.
When looking to obtain the certification, Lin explained that the status set the school apart but would also require doubling the budget to provide two teachers in each classroom that previously had only one.
“Should we go for it? Our board decided we should,” Lin said.
The child care center is also part of the United Way Bright Beginnings program, which offers staff training.
Now all of the teachers have degrees and have earned their child development associate credentials as well.
In recent years, Lin said the school joined with Early Matters Houston, a campaign to increase pre-K enrollment.
Starting young is important, she insisted.
“If children don’t have quality education by the third grade, there is a higher risk of being a drop out,” Lin said. “Early childhood education is really the key to success.”
She added that research indicates that early education leads to better cognitive, language and social skills for students. For example, the Rauch Foundation shows that 85 to 90 percent of brain development occurs before age 5.
“That means that early child development is critical — the teachers, the learning environment, the message from teacher to child,” Lin said. “We encourage children here, and we offer a very stimulating environment.”
Students from diverse backgrounds attend. “Our early child care center is for all,” Lin said. “It’s a fabulous space to let children know about culture. This is a place to really build a good foundation.”
West University resident Minjie Jiang said she would recommend the program to all families.
“It’s for anyone — Chinese or not — who want to expose their kids to another culture,” she said. “They really live it day to day. I think it’s fabulous. I only have positive things to say.”
She found the school when her oldest son, Kai, was 18 months old. “I’m Chinese, and my husband is not,” she said. “I wanted my kids to be bilingual. I was speaking Chinese at home, but I wanted to keep it up while they were in school.”
Jiang was surprised when she learned about the school at the Chinese Community Center.
“I didn’t even know there was a school there,” she said. “I got the tour, and I was amazed.”
Now Kai is 8 and attends the Mandarin Immersion School. “It was a seamless transition,” Jiang said. “He never had a break in bilingual education, and I think that is crucial.”
Now her 3-year-old, Ari, attends the school. He has also been going since he was 18 months old. She enjoys watching her youngest go through the same program that served her eldest so well. They even have some of the same teachers.
“It’s like a family,” Jiang said. “I know the teachers very well. The students get a lot of individual attention.”