大克里夫兰当代中文学校发展简史

(张奇志 3-5-97)

筹备阶段:

 一九九五年三月下旬的一个星期六下午,筹备组在克里夫兰州立大学(C.S.U.)学生休息室内

召开了筹备组会议。筹备组成员有:王黎明、江竟林、孙青、张奇志、赵勇、梁力群。会议

讨论了中文学校的性质、发展方向、招生办法、教师来源、学费标准、教材、校址及开学时

间等问题,并拟定了学校的章程,最后做了筹备工作的分工。


同年四月一日星期六下午两点至四点在 Cleveland Clinic Foundation 教育学院召开筹备

组扩大会议, 讨论有关办学问题。约有30位左右的家长参加了会议。会上大家各抒己见,

最后选出十一位家长组成中文学校第一届理事会。理事会成员分工如下:赵勇(理事长)、

王黎明(校长)、陈曙光(副校长)、 江竟林(会计)、张奇志(教务)、聂惠琴(教务)、冯映红(通讯)、

傅英(家长联络)、王茜(家长联络)、 汤年发(对外事务)、金刚(法律事务),李祖进和梁力群

为候补理事。



试验阶段:

 1995年5月6日—5月27日是中文学校试办阶段,前后共三周,一共有三个不同水平

的中文班级,分别由梅小裕、王丽丽、张奇志三位老师授课。


正式开学:

1995年6月10日中文学校正式开学。


九五年夏季学期(6月10日-8月25日)


 中文学校共上了十周课。地点在 Cleveland Clinic Foundation 教育学院,报名学生

约有55人,学校按学生年龄和中文水平分为四个中文班:大班甲(梅小裕老师),大班

乙(王梅老师),中班(王丽丽老师),小班(张奇志老师),并设有一个画画班

(刘敏勃老师)。


 八月二十六日期末考试,同时召开了中文学校全体家长大会,讨论通过了《大克里夫兰当代

中文学校章程》。期末考试后举行了学期结业联欢,各班小朋友纷纷上台表演了节目,并由

校长和老师给学生颁发奖状和奖品。


同年,中文学校在South Chagrin Reservatioin Park 组织了第一次校外野餐会,除烤

肉外, 各家还带了特色食品。餐后家长们进行了球类活动,学生们也参加了各类娱乐活动。



九五年秋季学期(9月9日—12月16日)


学生人数不断增加,小班增加了一个班(奚霞老师)。同时,还增设了跳舞班(张丽老师)。

12月中旬,各班进行了期末考试。同时,举行了画展、书法展览、作文展览。之后,放映

了电影,聚餐。


年底,中文学校组织筹办了南京小红花艺术团到克里夫兰的演出活动。南京小红花艺术团

于一月一日在 Lakewood Highschool 的礼堂里演出成功。中文学校也因此而扩大

了在克里夫兰地区的影响。



九六年春季学期(2月3日—5月18日)



本学期共上了十四周的课。这学期跳舞班分为两个班,由王茜老师教小班跳舞。绘画班也

分为大龄班和小龄班。


同年三月,当代中文学校校刊第一期出版了。



九六年夏季学期:(6月8日—8月24日)


本学期共上了十周课,由于一些学生家庭外出度假,学生人数有所减少。此间中文学校

在 Solon Hight School 主持举办了国内文艺团体演出。学期末,由家长和理事

会开会重新调整改选了理事会成员。



九六年秋季学期:(9月14日—12月14日)


开学初,校刊第二期发出。


本学期为中文学校建校以来最困难的时期。由于种种原因, Cleveland Clinic 不再提供

我校免费教室。学校临时决定迁往远在东南角的 Solon High School 。经过了多方努力,

校址最终选在了城市中心的州立大学校园。


本学期学生人数有所增加,达到一百人以上。又增加了一个中文班(李晓彦老师)、一

个以中文作为第二外语的特殊班(夏金云老师)、一个武术班(马学众老师)和一个画画

班。全校年级重新调整,分一年级(一个)、二年级(二个)、三年级(一个)、四年级

(二个)和特殊班(一个),共用七个中文班,六个艺术班。97年春节,学校组织了大

型的庆祝春节联欢晚会,中文学校的学生表演了自己的节目。



九七年春季学期(2月1日—5月17日)


在原有的基础上又增加了一个绘画班。
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Published on Solon Times Oct 25, 2001, by Sue Hoffman

During the week, Solon resident Liming Wang does cancer research at MetroHealth Hospital, in Cleveland. However, on Saturdays, Dr. Wang, a former hematologist in Bejing, China who received his Ph.D. in biochemistry at Kent State University, puts on a different "hat." He serves as principal of the Cleveland Contemporary Chinese School, a weekly three-hour multi-curricular program housed at Solon High School.
Dr. Wang helped start the Chinese school in 1995 at the Cleveland Clinic, where he then worked. Since its inception, the program has grown dramatically, now drawing 250 participants from Northeast Ohio and as far away as Youngstown.
"When we started, we had three classes with a total of 30 kids," said Dr. Wang, who founded the school with colleagues from the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland State University. "The second year, the word spread, and we had five classes. The third year, there were six classes." Now the school, with 18 volunteer teachers on staff, offers 14 classes, including several levels of Chinese language, painting, dancing, gymnastics, martial arts, music and basketball.
Since 1995, CCCS moved to where it could find space, recalled Dr. Wang. It first headed to Cleveland State University. Parents had some safety concerns about the facility, which was built for adults, he said. "We searched around." With most of the original members from Solon, CCCS moved to the high school in 1997. Run by the nonprofit Cleveland Contemporary Chinese Culture Association, CCCS extends its programs through a large part of the facility, using the lecture hall, classrooms, study hall, both gyms and swimming pool. CCCS pays regular rental rates for the space, in addition to any overtime by the staff.
With many CCCS participants in and around the building, the high school bustles with activity on Saturday. Some parents serve as volunteer teachers and others gather for Chinese checkers, basketball, volleyball and swimming, as their children, ages 5 to 16, soak in Chinese culture in the classrooms and lecture hall. As in regular school, the bell rings periodically to signal a change in classes. Children move from pencil and paper to various locations for gymnastics, drawing, and other lessons.
"I'm so grateful for the school board's support," Dr. Wang said about the ample facility. His own reasons for starting CCCS help explain the program's wide appeal. "My children don't know Chinese and we want to keep our Chinese culture," said Dr. Wang, who has two children -- Andrew, 11, and Raymond, 6, at the school. "To know the culture, you have to be able to read the language. We have 5,000 years of history. Most of our children are born here, and they should have the knowledge of our culture and values."
Another CCCS founding member from Solon, James Jiang, who immigrated to the United States in 1984 from a town near Shanghai, agrees. "Because I was from China, I wanted my children to learn Chinese," said Mr. Jiang, a product manager at Progressive Insurance Co. It's impossible for them to have the same culture, but I would like them to have exposure to the Chinese culture and language."
That exposure begins at home, said his son Michael, a sixth-grader at Orchard Middle School. "I often speak Chinese at home." He explained that his grandparents, who reside with the family, do not understand English. Daily use of the language and culture paid off last summer, when Michael went by himself to visit family in China. "Speaking wasn't difficult," he said.
CCCS offers language classes not only to Chinese-Americans, but to anyone interested, Dr. Wang pointed out. Lindsey Houlihan, of Cleveland Heights, studies Chinese each Saturday to benefit her daughter, Chunying (Kate), 6, adopted from China at the age of 8 months. "We consider ourselves Chinese Americans," said Mrs. Houlihan. "Neither my husband nor I are or speak Chinese, so we're looking for help from community resources." In addition, she said Kate "wanted to be around Chinese people. She wants to write and speak the language. They have been very welcoming."
The school's 18 teachers include many parents, Dr. Wang said. Among them is Hong Zenisek, a Chagrin Falls resident who moved to the United States in 1989. Mrs. Zenisek's two children -- Gordon, a second grader at Gurney Elementary School, and Gloria, a fifth-grade student at Chagrin Falls Intermediate School, both study while she teaches at CCCS. Now pursuing an English degree at John Carroll University, in University Heights, Mrs. Zenisek said she learned about the school while writing a paper on teaching adopted children Chinese culture. She interviewed Dr. Wang, and he invited her to teach there, she said.
Teachers for other subjects include professional gymnasts Ling Yun Zhang and Ling Rong Zhang, two of three sisters who performed in a recent show sponsored by CCCCA. The shows, which bring professional dancers, singers and other performers from China to the United States, are generally held annually, Dr. Wang said.