School History
In the book of Acts, after Peter heals a man who has been lame from birth, the people in town begin giving Peter the credit for healing the man. In response to their praise and adulation, Peter says "Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man walk." (Acts 3:12). Peter then continues by giving all the credit for the healing to the Lord. Similarly, when people praise the accomplishments and growth of Chinese Christian Schools, located in San Leandro, California, the administrators and faculty of the school can only echo Peter's comments, saying, "Ye observers of our school, why marvel at our growth and accomplishments? Or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power, holiness, and hard work we have made this ministry successful? God alone is to be acknowledged and praised for the success of Chinese Christian Schools!"
Chinese Christian Schools has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1979. The school began in two one-bedroom apartments in central Oakland, California. From the very beginning "necessity was the mother of invention." Bedrooms and living rooms became the classrooms, dining nooks were converted into teachers' offices, kitchen counters made excellent work areas, and the driveway served as a playground for the children. Although the accommodations were "lean", there was no "leanness" of dedication or spirit in that first group of pioneering teachers. The sparsity of accommodations actually "worked together for good", causing the staff to rely less upon modern technology and advancements and more upon the Lord. The small but dedicated teaching staff kept their eyes on the Lord and their senses of humor intact. For example, one sweltering summer day, the Home Ec. class learned to make egg salad. None of the classrooms had air conditioning, so the egg salad quickly went bad in the warm temperatures. For the rest of the day, the pungent smell of rotten eggs wafted throughout all the classrooms, making it difficult for students and teachers alike to focus on their lessons.
Despite a great deal of prayer, preparation, and optimism on the part of the staff, on the first day of school, there were just thirteen students. The idealism of the young staff was immediately tested. Since education and scholarship are highly regarded within the Asian community, it was naturally assumed that a school which placed a high premium on strong academics, combined with teachings on Asian traditions and culture, would be welcomed with open arms. Instead, the school was greeted with much skepticism. Most Asian students were doing well in school -- why would they want to transfer to an unknown, untested, and untried school? Instead of "the cream of the crop", the school attracted only those who "fell through the cracks" in the public schools: students with academic or disciplinary problems looking for a second chance; recent immigrants who spoke little English; and quiet, shy students who were being picked on and extorted by other students. So, the teacher who had planned for academically talented students was now teaching remedial lessons to students who barely spoke English. The school which had once dreamed of being the "Chinese Harvard" became known as the "dumping ground" for those students who could not or would not make it elsewhere. This was not the "target" student population when the school was in its planning stages, but the staff accepted the changes, realizing that God's ways are not our ways and His thoughts not our thoughts.(Isa. 55:8). Perhaps God, in His infinite wisdom, knew that these "needy" students would be more than willing not only to attend an untried school but also to receive the same Savior who, thousands of years earlier, had welcomed the lame, blind, demon-possessed, lepers, tax-collectors, prostitutes, and Samaritans to Himself. Instead of being discouraged by the small numbers, the grateful teaching staff rejoiced over the ones that the Lord had provided and prayed that God, in His perfect time, would provide more students to be raised, nurtured, and educated for His glory.
Finances were another problem that the young school encountered. Substantial discounts on tuition were made so recent immigrants and low-income families could afford to send their children to the school. The members of Chinese Bible Church, the sponsoring church, found themselves giving sacrificially, contributing thousands of dollars a month to the school so it could meet payroll and keep its doors open. There were even times when teachers were not paid for weeks until funds became available. Literally, the school was subsisting on a "hand-to-mouth" basis; still, the teachers were upbeat, content in the knowledge that they were doing God's work. Their faith increased as, time after time, they saw God provide monetarily for the school in various and sundry ways.
Not only was the school struggling to keep afloat financially, but so also were many of its students. Some students, who came from low-income families, didn't even have the proper clothes to wear to school. Again, compassionate teachers and members of Chinese Bible Church donated clothes and money so that the students could be dressed in warm, clean clothes. One female student was so thrilled with a new pair of tights that she had received that she wore them every day to school, even after she had torn a big hole in them after falling down while playing jump rope. Undeterred, the little girl pulled the hole closed with a rubber band and continued wearing the tights. The poignant picture of this little girl running around happily in tights fastened together with a rubber band still remains in the hearts and memories of CCS staff members today.
From the very start, Chinese Christian Schools' primary goals have been to send forth students into the world with strong academics and "Christ-like" characteristics. The school has always maintained the following things:
The first year of school ended with twenty-six students, double that of the first day. More students came the second year and in the years to follow. The word was beginning to spread that not only were students who attended CCS polite, respectful, and compassionate, but that they were also being accepted into the top colleges and universities in the state. The school's belief in student achievement is borne out in the fact that 100% of its high school graduates attend college, 100% of its high school students graduate (0% drop-out rate), and 90% of its graduates complete the "a-g" requirements to attend the University of California and other four-year universities. After years of being known as a "dumping ground" for the weak and rejected, the school is now starting to receive recognition and praise for its academic accomplishments.
By 1985, the school had grown to 285 students and had rented all six apartments in the complex, filled three trailers brought onto the parking lot to provide additional classrooms, and occupied all the rooms in the church next door. Bursting at the seams, the school moved to its current 10.2 acre campus in San Leandro. In 2003, a second, brand new campus opened in Alameda and the school solidified its international reputation by winning the U.S. Department of Education¡¦s Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award, the highest honor in the nation.
Chinese Christian Schools may have come a long way, and countless awards have since been earned, but it has not departed from its core values. The school continues to remind itself, as well as its students, to follow the example of Christ by continuing in the path of humility, saying, "Do not let your achievements and what you have become change who you are. Whether accomplishments come or not, who you are in God's eyes does not change." It is that affirming truth, that you are valuable (whether a cast-off immigrant or a prep-school star, whether a 13-student school in a one-bedroom apartment or an 900+ student school on two campuses), that has made the difference in Chinese Christian Schools and in the lives of many young people.
Chinese Christian Schools has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1979. The school began in two one-bedroom apartments in central Oakland, California. From the very beginning "necessity was the mother of invention." Bedrooms and living rooms became the classrooms, dining nooks were converted into teachers' offices, kitchen counters made excellent work areas, and the driveway served as a playground for the children. Although the accommodations were "lean", there was no "leanness" of dedication or spirit in that first group of pioneering teachers. The sparsity of accommodations actually "worked together for good", causing the staff to rely less upon modern technology and advancements and more upon the Lord. The small but dedicated teaching staff kept their eyes on the Lord and their senses of humor intact. For example, one sweltering summer day, the Home Ec. class learned to make egg salad. None of the classrooms had air conditioning, so the egg salad quickly went bad in the warm temperatures. For the rest of the day, the pungent smell of rotten eggs wafted throughout all the classrooms, making it difficult for students and teachers alike to focus on their lessons.
Despite a great deal of prayer, preparation, and optimism on the part of the staff, on the first day of school, there were just thirteen students. The idealism of the young staff was immediately tested. Since education and scholarship are highly regarded within the Asian community, it was naturally assumed that a school which placed a high premium on strong academics, combined with teachings on Asian traditions and culture, would be welcomed with open arms. Instead, the school was greeted with much skepticism. Most Asian students were doing well in school -- why would they want to transfer to an unknown, untested, and untried school? Instead of "the cream of the crop", the school attracted only those who "fell through the cracks" in the public schools: students with academic or disciplinary problems looking for a second chance; recent immigrants who spoke little English; and quiet, shy students who were being picked on and extorted by other students. So, the teacher who had planned for academically talented students was now teaching remedial lessons to students who barely spoke English. The school which had once dreamed of being the "Chinese Harvard" became known as the "dumping ground" for those students who could not or would not make it elsewhere. This was not the "target" student population when the school was in its planning stages, but the staff accepted the changes, realizing that God's ways are not our ways and His thoughts not our thoughts.(Isa. 55:8). Perhaps God, in His infinite wisdom, knew that these "needy" students would be more than willing not only to attend an untried school but also to receive the same Savior who, thousands of years earlier, had welcomed the lame, blind, demon-possessed, lepers, tax-collectors, prostitutes, and Samaritans to Himself. Instead of being discouraged by the small numbers, the grateful teaching staff rejoiced over the ones that the Lord had provided and prayed that God, in His perfect time, would provide more students to be raised, nurtured, and educated for His glory.
Finances were another problem that the young school encountered. Substantial discounts on tuition were made so recent immigrants and low-income families could afford to send their children to the school. The members of Chinese Bible Church, the sponsoring church, found themselves giving sacrificially, contributing thousands of dollars a month to the school so it could meet payroll and keep its doors open. There were even times when teachers were not paid for weeks until funds became available. Literally, the school was subsisting on a "hand-to-mouth" basis; still, the teachers were upbeat, content in the knowledge that they were doing God's work. Their faith increased as, time after time, they saw God provide monetarily for the school in various and sundry ways.
Not only was the school struggling to keep afloat financially, but so also were many of its students. Some students, who came from low-income families, didn't even have the proper clothes to wear to school. Again, compassionate teachers and members of Chinese Bible Church donated clothes and money so that the students could be dressed in warm, clean clothes. One female student was so thrilled with a new pair of tights that she had received that she wore them every day to school, even after she had torn a big hole in them after falling down while playing jump rope. Undeterred, the little girl pulled the hole closed with a rubber band and continued wearing the tights. The poignant picture of this little girl running around happily in tights fastened together with a rubber band still remains in the hearts and memories of CCS staff members today.
From the very start, Chinese Christian Schools' primary goals have been to send forth students into the world with strong academics and "Christ-like" characteristics. The school has always maintained the following things:
- all students can learn, achieve their goals, and attend college
- finding godly teachers who love and care for students and live uprightly before them is more important than qualifications, facilities, or programs
- improving a student's character is the best way to improve his or her academics.
The first year of school ended with twenty-six students, double that of the first day. More students came the second year and in the years to follow. The word was beginning to spread that not only were students who attended CCS polite, respectful, and compassionate, but that they were also being accepted into the top colleges and universities in the state. The school's belief in student achievement is borne out in the fact that 100% of its high school graduates attend college, 100% of its high school students graduate (0% drop-out rate), and 90% of its graduates complete the "a-g" requirements to attend the University of California and other four-year universities. After years of being known as a "dumping ground" for the weak and rejected, the school is now starting to receive recognition and praise for its academic accomplishments.
By 1985, the school had grown to 285 students and had rented all six apartments in the complex, filled three trailers brought onto the parking lot to provide additional classrooms, and occupied all the rooms in the church next door. Bursting at the seams, the school moved to its current 10.2 acre campus in San Leandro. In 2003, a second, brand new campus opened in Alameda and the school solidified its international reputation by winning the U.S. Department of Education¡¦s Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award, the highest honor in the nation.
Chinese Christian Schools may have come a long way, and countless awards have since been earned, but it has not departed from its core values. The school continues to remind itself, as well as its students, to follow the example of Christ by continuing in the path of humility, saying, "Do not let your achievements and what you have become change who you are. Whether accomplishments come or not, who you are in God's eyes does not change." It is that affirming truth, that you are valuable (whether a cast-off immigrant or a prep-school star, whether a 13-student school in a one-bedroom apartment or an 900+ student school on two campuses), that has made the difference in Chinese Christian Schools and in the lives of many young people.
