Huaxia Chinese School Opens In Danbury Under Direction Of Newtown Women

By Nancy K. Crevier

It is not that Newtown residents Jun Xu and Xiaomei Gong do not have enough to do in their lives.

Jun Xu, married to Ming Xue and the mother of two children, Raymond, 8, and Allen, 5, works as a researcher at Boehringer-Ingelheim. Xiaomei Gong is married to Zuohong Pan and is the mother of a 12-year-old girl, Felicia. She is also a business librarian at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.

Now they have donned new hats, as well. Jun Xu is the principal for a branch of the Huaxia Chinese School located at WestConn in Danbury that opens September 10, and Xiaomei Gong is the academic dean.

The Huaxia Chinese School is a nonprofit organization started ten years ago in New Jersey that provides programs to promote the knowledge of Chinese culture and the Chinese language. There are now several branches of the school in New England and the Mid-Atlantic area.

“We just wanted to do something for the kids and for the community,” says Ms Xu, of the friends’ decision to organize a Chinese language school. They saw a need in this area for children of Chinese descent to learn and maintain the language and customs of that country, while immersed in the American society.

It was important to both women, though, that the experience be fun and interesting, but offer a serious educational component, as well. The Huaxia Chinese School curriculum appeared to offer what they envisioned. The objectives of the school are aligned with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for World Languages, and according to Ms Gong, students in New Jersey can presently receive high school credit for classes taken at the Huaxia Chinese School. “Last year the school started a standard test for graduating students,” she says. The SAT II has a Chinese option, now, she continues, and it is hoped that by 2007, students will be able to take Advanced Placement classes in the language.

Ms Xu and Ms Gong trained at the Huaxia Chinese School in New Jersey, and then began recruiting teachers for the Danbury branch. “We considered education backgrounds and other experiences,” Ms Gong says. “The teachers have a range of teaching experiences. Just because you speak Chinese doesn’t mean you can teach.”

“We are paying attention to the quality of the teachers,” adds Ms Xu.

The eight language teachers selected by the women mostly hold educational degrees, a master’s degree, or a PhD. They will teach the three-hour sessions to students ages 6 to 16 each Saturday for the entire school year, and were required to attend a seminar led by Ms Xu and Ms Gong this summer.

“From that session, we are following up the teachers,” says Ms Xu. While both of these women have taught Chinese at the Westchester branch in New York, their duties will be primarily administrative when the Danbury Huaxia School opens. “We want to sit in on the classes and see what the needs are,” says Ms Gong. They will also be available for substitution when needed.

A board of nine members will assist the women as they tackle the challenges of their new enterprise, and both agree that the support of their families is essential to the success of their endeavor.

Zuohong Pan is one of the board members, but Ms Gong is relying on him to maintain balance at home, too. “Our husbands have to be involved one way or the other,” she laughs. “There are many meetings. Someone has to handle the home.”

Encouraging students to add another day of school to their schedules might be a challenge, the founders acknowledge, but they hope that the program flexibility and instruction will motivate children.

Ms Xu says, “You [the children] will be with friends. One hour of the three will be cultural: music, art, dancing, the ‘Go’ game, and such.”

The curriculum is a sequential program that spans ten years (K–ninth grades), but classes will be put together based on proficiency, not age or regular school grade levels. For example, older children who are beginners will be grouped together, not put in with kindergarten-age students who are just beginning.

The 60 students who are presently enrolled for the fall session are mostly of Chinese or half-Chinese ancestry, but Ms Xu and Ms Gong emphasize that the school is open to any young person desiring to learn Mandarin, the standard language of China. The school will not be offering adult classes this year, but by next year, they hope that they can offer that option.

The fee of $380 per school year pays for the ten rooms at WestConn and a stipend for the instructors. “It’s all your heart if you are willing to contribute,” says Ms Gong. “The pay is very small.”

Registration is still being accepted for this fall. Contact Jun Xu at 270-0696 or Xiaomei Gong at 426-8278 for further information. “Call anytime,” says Ms Xu. “Everybody is welcome.”