First day of school is Saturday September 13th, 2008 at 9:00am.
New School Address is
Mar Vista Elementary School, located at
3330 Granville Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90066
Next year 2008-9 registration form available now.
Chinese teachers wanted: Please contact Lily Hsu for details.
Service Points Updated by Shirley Pak as of May, 2008
In 1967, six Chinese immigrant families on west side of Los Angeles decided to get together to teach their children Mandarin Chinese on a regular basis. Word of their group began to spread among the Los Angeles Chinese American community, and in two years the number of students increased to 20. Not long after that, the student body got so big that classes were moved to a local park, and the teachers decided to give their enterprise an official name: the Chinese Language School of Southern California(CLSSC).
Today CLSSC or Westside Chinese, as it's become known, has a permanent home at the Palms Middle School and boasts several hundred Chinese language students in every grade level from kindergarten through high school - all of them taught by native Chinese language speakers. A recently instituted program of Chinese conversation classes is offered for adults. The number of fluent Westside Chinese alumni grows larger every year.
Yet, through all this remarkable growth, one thing hasn't changed: Westside Chinese is still entirely run and managed by parent volunteers.
Pay a visit any Saturday morning and you'll see what a difference this approach makes. Because the school is family-run, it's decidedly family-friendly. From the student talent shows and the fresh-cooked Chinese meal served every weekend at recess, to the Chinese culture festivals and annual summer camping trip, Westside Chinese is a place where everyone in your family - not just the ones studying Chinese language ?can learn and grow.
Based on age and academic level, students are placed in one of 16 different classes, including Bo Po Mo and Pin Yin (two basic Chinese phonic systems). The school is organized on a two-track system: an "A" track for children who speak Mandarin Chinese at home, and a "B" track for those whose home language is English.
In the "A" track, the emphasis is on Chinese character recognition, reading and writing as well as speaking Mandarin. Instruction is conducted using Mandarin Chinese. The "B" track focus is on spoken Chinese language, though reading and writing Chinese characters is also taught.
Students can study the Chinese language up to the 12th grade level. Classes are accepted for course credit at most LAUSD high schools.
2007-8 marks the third year of our Adult Chinese Language Conversation class.
Throughout the school year, students are encouraged to participate in a number of academic and Chinese cultural competitions, including contests in Chinese character calligraphy, poster design and story telling.
Each school year begins in early September and runs through June. Classes meet every Saturday morning from 9:00 to 12:00 with two recess breaks, the second of which features a delicious Chinese meal. Extra-curricular Chinese cultural activities including: Chinese traditional dance, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese martial arts, and more meet from 12:00 to 1:00.
Westside Chinese is an active member of the Southern California Council
of Chinese Schools. To learn more, contact school principal,
Ashley Wang at
Email: for information
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School Location Palms Middle School 10860 Woodbine Street Los Angeles, CA 90034 (310)497-3472 |
Mailing Address CLSSC - Westside Chinese School P. O. Box 1280 Culver City, CA 90232 |
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Map and Directions View of the School |
Email: for information |